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Hard rock mining

Looks like a lot of hard work, and hard rock
 

I hope you blocked any and all boulders on the uphill side of the hole to keep them from getting displaced and rolling down into your' hole! They look very dangerous and could trap, injure or do worse, if one happens to get displaced whether by slippage due to rain, cooling and heating or an earthquake or tremors.


Frank
 

GT... I love reading your Thread posts and seeing the pics as well as those from many others on TNnet even though I don't often comment on them! I just don't have a lot of knowledge of hard rock mining, so I don't have a lot to offer but occasional congrats, kudos and safety warnings, LOL. Sorry, if I knew more, I would offer more! Maybe I will get into if I ever come out that way or find the opportunity in North Carolina or here in Tennessee. If I can ever get around to unplugging the underground stream that feeds Gold into the stream where I prospect, who knows what I may be in for! I have been told that the underground stream is likely flowing through an eroding volcanic pipe due to material that is found in white, grey and bluish clays that come up in my' secret hole. There is Gold, apparently Silver as well as other unknown heavy metals that I pan from the clays and I get a some gems ever so often.


Frank
 

Count me in as another reader of your project. *Gets back out of the way of swinging pickax*


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

gold tramp said:
More hard rock prospecting picks for youall out in the great white north that are cold this mornin, most of our pics are at least 90 to 105 degree days, we had one night it was so hot that the chuckawallas were out after dark well into the night, i guess it must of been at least 103 after dark ? and could only work the hole 15 minutes at a time, till one was totally drained of all energys, the heat in the air and surrounding rock was just incredible and for a day or so we made very little progress down, cant wait for those hot days to return.

hope you enjoy
Cpt. Herb n Crew...................

View attachment 1116365View attachment 1116363View attachment 1116364
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At least it's a dry heat ........... right . :laughing7:
 

It has been fascinating watching the progress you've made, at first on your website, and now through the forum. I love seeing the pictures and reading your stories.
 

Don't be surprised if a TV producer shows up at your mill one of these days Herb (sooner or later they will want to do a reality show on a real miner)
 

Hard Prospector said:
Don't be surprised if a TV producer shows up at your mill
one of these days Herb (sooner or later they will want to do a reality show on a real miner)
Click to expand...

Agreed...would make great TV..but then..

...unless you know him, just "showing up" at Herb's place
might not be a good idea..8-)
 

gold tramp said:
Heres some shots of differant stages of milling from today, after we get it all to the same grind size we end up with a paste, at this point we start adding a little more water till we end up with a pulp, that we then grind to proper size for the release of our gold values.

You can also see what i call rodding the pan thats where i keep the outside sluff mixing into the stones kinda makes grinding go faster.

the last shot you can really see how heavy the stones are, as they wipe clean the bottom stones as it turns, i can achieve a nice even grind as you can see, i just keep grinding till it get to the proper size for particle release. this i check by panning a sample most times i can just look at the pulp and tell but its always best to do test panning.

Hope you enjoy the pics
GT....................


View attachment 1118454View attachment 1118455View attachment 1118456View attachment 1118457View attachment 1118458
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Awesome photos
 

stanowen said:
It has been fascinating watching the progress you've made, at first on your website, and now through the forum. I love seeing the pictures and reading your stories.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised he hasn't been contacted yet. I'd venture to say there might not be another prospector in the West bringing back to life old time methods like goldtramp.
 

Awesome pics and method! I know that you have voiced concerns that you have not been able to release all of the Gold even with this method and are looking for better methods, so have you considered Kiln firing the powders or the mush to release more Gold? I know some Miners or Mining operations apparently use this method as well as other methods, so I wonder if it would be cost effective or profitable for you to use this method as well! With your and your workers/helpers expertise in building the mill as well as your knowledge, I would imagine that building a Kiln to fit your needs and not sinking too much funds in the project, would probably be a fairly easy project for you all. Just a thought! I know that some Mining operations still use Mercury and other dangerous...toxic methods to release Gold from the host rocks but I would imagine that you want to steer clear of these types of methods, especially considering the costs involved with reclaiming and/or disposing of them as well as the Governmental red tape and oversight that comes with it.


Frank
 

Last edited:
Well it looks like not alot of folks care to like hard rock mining, for those who like our stuff heres another shot or 2.
Click to expand...

I'm enjoying it. Looks like a lot of fun.

gold tramp said:
Just realized i dont have an updated shot of my arrastra mill on here.
Claudette mill , 29 palms Calif....
GT...................
View attachment 1116924
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That is pretty neat... OLD school I'd say...

Mind if I ask a few questions? I'm going to anyways...

Did you build it yourself?
How is it powered?
How many feet in diameter is it?
What RPM's do you spin it at?
What is the center bearing?
Do you use gold bearing rocks for your crushing rocks?
How long until they wear down?
The floor of that thing has to wear down also, I'd guess?
How do you attach the chains to the crushing rocks?
How much ore can it take?
How long does it take to get a good grind?
Is the mill at the site, or back at your homestead?
Do your neighbors think you are crazy?
Why old school instead of a more modern impact mill, or jaw crusher?

I think I'm going to have to build one, if not for practical use, it would make an interesting conversation piece,
it would fit into a southwestern landscape nicely.
 

I didn't read this whole thread. But I did catch your mention of using Hg and leaching. I just thought I'd point out that there seems to have been some advances in the design and use of rod mills. If you have time, there's been some discussion of this on the gpex forum. The talk started out because of stories like this one:

New gizmo could help placer miners snag lost gold | Yukon News

I'm just getting back into prospecting after about 25 years and going from basic panning, to hard rock mining, so I don't have first hand knowledge of this method. But it's something I'm seriously considering forbade claim I just staked.

Good luck!
 

goldtramp,

I'm still working in the ball mill design I came up with. Getting close to a final design. Just waiting on a new welder.
 

Thanks for the photos GT! Much respect your way my friend!
 

The "gold park" idea seems worth pursuing Herb and those are some fine looking greens.
 

Hi Dave :)

This thread is awesome! I see a hanging wall, which means you're in the right place. That vein looks fantastic. Please keep the pictures coming. I can't believe you have a working arrastra, that's so cool.
 

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