Got out a little today....................

[johnedoe]

Most people who go outside for some exercise only come home with sweaty clothes, you come home with gold!

Well there is that.......
Just would like to see a little more reward for my efforts but it's still better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick I guess.

 

[arizau]

Well it was a beautiful day on the beach...... the gold?.. not so much......

View attachment 1238753

In my mind I am projecting (read: drooling over) what your probable take will be once the thicker layers of black sand begin to form or are uncovered with the winter storms. Makes a desert rat, more and more, want to step out of his comfort zone and suffer the, what I have experienced previously, wind, rain and chill of the Oregon coast in the winter. Not living nearby it is a crap shoot to pick in advance, a mild winter day or week.

 

[johnedoe]

In my mind I am projecting (read: drooling over) what your probable take will be once the thicker layers of black sand begin to form or are uncovered with the winter storms. Makes a desert rat, more and more, want to step out of his comfort zone and suffer the, what I have experienced previously, wind, rain and chill of the Oregon coast in the winter. Not living nearby it is a crap shoot to pick in advance, a mild winter day or week.

I would rather be seeing returns along these lines,........ This is what a friend of mine got further up the coast a few weeks ago.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

I would rather be seeing returns along these lines,........ This is what a friend of mine got further up the coast a few weeks ago.

View attachment 1239069

Wow, that is some pretty gold!! Did he just get lucky or were the black sands really concentrated for him?

 

[arizau]

I would rather be seeing returns along these lines,........ This is what a friend of mine got further up the coast a few weeks ago.

View attachment 1239069

That and more was what I was seeing in my mind with the more concentrated black sand deposits. Is that from across the Columbia or still in Oregon? South coast near and further north of the OregonViking area should be getting good again soon too.

 

[johnedoe]

That and more was what I was seeing in my mind with the more concentrated black sand deposits. Is that from across the Columbia or still in Oregon? South coast near and further north of the OregonViking area should be getting good again soon too.

Yup... across the river.......

 

[johnedoe]

Well we got our chores done.....again....... and the weather has been great... SOOOO... I think we are gonna try and hit the beach tomorrow.....
Still don't have all my cons cleaned up but with the take I've been getting I am not in too much of a hurry, get enough stored up and I might get a little surprise.... maybe....

arizau.....even you could handle the weather we been getting lately...

 

[johnedoe]

OK We made it to Brookings and met up with Oregon Viking at Whales head Cove.

The black sands that OV was worried about being gone were still there just very lightly mixed with the blond sands, enough to just change the appearance.

So we set up the cleangold sluice and I initially thought there was enough water...... There was plenty of water just not a strong enough flow, we even built a dam, ok that looks good..... So in went a shovel full of black sands... and BAM, sets up like frigging concrete .... it moved but very slowly ... there was no way I could run this stuff with the current conditions and water flow, or should I say lack of flow.......

I needed faster water and more sluice angle, neither of which were achievable, had they been I think we would have gotten some good results.
So with this knowledge I will have to set things up as a high banker and fortunately the vegetation line is close so next time I will be ready for these IRON sands.

Here we are, Just a little disappointed with the situation.......

 

[GoldpannerDave]

Bummer! The sands looks good and I see the water; it sure is disappointing when conditions won't let you work!

 

[johnedoe]

Bummer! The sands looks good and I see the water; it sure is disappointing when conditions won't let you work!

Yeah it was kind of a bummer... However on a positive note the vegetation line was about 75 feet behind me in that photo..... So next time we be high banking where we can use a pump....

 

[arizau]

Yeah it was kind of a bummer... However on a positive note the vegetation line was about 75 feet behind me in that photo..... So next time we be high banking where we can use a pump....

Such is the life of a beach miner with me being no exception. Ma Nature has only given me one perfect set of conditions (good weather, feed source and stream flow) and that is when I didn't have the proper sluice set up to do any good anyway. My family wonders why my pickup bed is full to the gills with mining equipment when I go out there. Boy Scout Syndrome (Always Prepared) has set in.

 

[Oregon Viking]

OK We made it to Brookings and met up with Oregon Viking at Whales head Cove.

The black sands that OV was worried about being gone were still there just very lightly mixed with the blond sands, enough to just change the appearance.

So we set up the cleangold sluice and I initially thought there was enough water...... There was plenty of water just not a strong enough flow, we even built a dam, ok that looks good..... So in went a shovel full of black sands... and BAM, sets up like frigging concrete .... it moved but very slowly ... there was no way I could run this stuff with the current conditions and water flow, or should I say lack of flow.......

I needed faster water and more sluice angle, neither of which were achievable, had they been I think we would have gotten some good results.
So with this knowledge I will have to set things up as a high banker and fortunately the vegetation line is close so next time I will be ready for these IRON sands.

Here we are, Just a little disappointed with the situation.......

View attachment 1241390

Why is the big guy holding his arms like that?
I bet the cons from that trip had....well....somthin' in them!

 

[johnedoe]

Why is the big guy holding his arms like that?
I bet the cons from that trip had....well....somthin' in them!

We were watching the sands of time move like a snail race.... The big guy was rooting for the blonds.......

 

[johnedoe]

Well it was/is a beautiful day and I was curious what my beach looked like from the winter storms.
Man it has been scrubbed, even the big bit of basalt was exposed..... Haven't seen that in years.

There were some good looking sands though so I did take a small sample..... I have not done the cleanup yet.... still not feeling quite up to my old self.
Anyway here are a few pics.

Well heres one, seem to be having some difficulty downloading the others so I will try those later.

This is that big bit of basalt that finally showed again after I don't know how long.... Google earth had some images of it from 2000 and another from 2012.

 

[arizau]

What a beautiful day. The storms did a good job of scouring your beach. Did you dig a little to see if there is an underlying thick layer of black sand or are there only the stringers that you show in the creek/tidewater?

 

[Oregon Viking]

Well it was/is a beautiful day and I was curious what my beach looked like from the winter storms.
Man it has been scrubbed, even the big bit of basalt was exposed..... Haven't seen that in years.

There were some good looking sands though so I did take a small sample..... I have not done the cleanup yet.... still not feeling quite up to my old self.
Anyway here are a few pics.

Well heres one, seem to be having some difficulty downloading the others so I will try those later.

This is that big bit of basalt that finally showed again after I don't know how long.... Google earth had some images of it from 2000 and another from 2012.

View attachment 1269927 View attachment 1269992 View attachment 1269993 View attachment 1269994

It's still....71 degrees down here!! Man beach diggin' at night!
I hope your beach cooperates. If not I'll send you some black sand. You want Whaleshead or Nesika beach?

 

[johnedoe]

What a beautiful day. The storms did a good job of scouring your beach. Did you dig a little to see if there is an underlying thick layer of black sand or are there only the stringers that you show in the creek/tidewater?

I just did some surface skimming. Haven't finished it up so I don't know the results yet. also I only skimmed about 2 gallons worth.
Also the cobble was real close to the surface so you wouldn't be getting too deep without having to move rock.
And too damn many people on the beach today and I still feel rode hard and put away wet...... getting old sucks.

 

[johnedoe]

It's still....71 degrees down here!! Man beach diggin' at night!
I hope your beach cooperates. If not I'll send you some black sand. You want Whaleshead or Nesika beach?

I still haven't cleaned what little we did when we met up with you there at Whales head.....

 

[johnedoe]

Hey OV.......
Have you got a cube or high banker set up yet so you can get into that grass line and use some pumps?
Still think that would be the way to go there since it is so close to the workings.

 

[Oregon Viking]

Hey OV.......
Have you got a cube or high banker set up yet so you can get into that grass line and use some pumps?
Still think that would be the way to go there since it is so close to the workings.

Not yet. I'am still getting my blue bowl set up, so I can process the black sand I'am bringing home. It's heavy!! Dragging it home is getting to be a PIA.. My arms....my back ...