Hit it hard on Native Silver - field trip

meMiner

Bronze Member
Jul 22, 2014
1,047
1,177
Port Perry, Ontario
Detector(s) used
Minelab 800,
Fisher CZ21, F75SE, Gold Bug 2.9 & Minelab GPX 5000
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Just got back from a weekend detecting in Northern Ontario for silver. It was really hot - both in temperature and results.

On the way up, I dropped into an old gold/silver/copper mine that was hand mined in the early 1900s. I had tried to find it once before - typical problem is the location info is not accurate in the mining reports. This time, while I did not find the main mine, I stumbled across a shallow trench and tailings in the woods. All of the rock was dark brown stained with minor amounts of quartz and calcite - the majority were hot rocks. It did not look like it had been detected before (no holes). With the Gold Bug, I found 4 large rocks that I thought worth further investigation and humped them back to the truck. When I smashed one at the site, I could see/smell the chalcopyrite. I will play with them more at home.

I arrived at my final destination with about 2 hours of daylight remaining and went directly to a silver mine that I had detected once before. It is the most dangerous spot that I know. The hillside is laced with deep trenches and shafts, "protected" by crisscrossing woven wire fencing that is mostly rotted and collapsed. Beside each of these deep holes are piles of loose tailings where one miss-step could result in a slide and a "bad day". Of course, my dog Daisy busted a partridge and decided to chase it up. Luckily, she is a good dog and listened when I called her back.

I detected around one 100' high tailings pile with poor results, so climbed to the top where there were the remains of a number of old structures. One must have been a refinery because the tailings nearby were mixed with small pieces of slag. Slag are the true "uglies", but some actually seem to contain silver. From my last trip, I had sliced one that the detector loved and it appeared to be solid silver inside. I found about a dozen similar this time for the collection pouch. I was mostly detecting on exposed bedrock, looking for smaller-shallow items and got a few 1-3 inch rocks with silver and nickel (green stain). These little guys are heavy and give a great bang on the detector when shallow. On my way out before the sun set, I got a screamer. It was a very strange looking thing from about a foot down. It looks like a concrete homemade anchor, except this looks to be melted silver (instead of lime) with chunks of 3/4 crush. It is about 8 inches wide with a smooth rounded bottom of solid metal. I am thinking it was from a large crucible.

The next day's plan was to meet Sheldon later in the morning at the same site, which gave me an opportunity to explore/scout a different location that I had mapped out. I don't think I found the correct road for the mine, but noticed a trail to a hunt camp where they had used mine tailings to fill in the low spots. Out came the detector and between the road and edge of the private property, I found 8 pieces of high grade silver. The largest was perhaps 5 pounds and some of the other was solid chunks of pure silver vein material. Most of it was right on the surface and required no digging! This must be what it was like to be the first guy with a metal detector. Of course, there was some junk like tin and blasting caps, but what a joy! Just before leaving, an old fellow stopped who thought I was bear hunting and gave permission. So, off to see Sheldon...

I got to the mine site and there was Sheldon carrying out a 30 lb rock containing a nice vein of silver. I was so excited about my new spot and there he was doing spectacular on a chuck of ground that I had previously walked by at least 4 times. All of the targets in that area were deep, so we exhausted ourselves until the afternoon digging both junk and silver. I put on my Go Pro after getting two nice rocks and prior to digging the next good signal. I will post the video:

to be continued.
 

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So here is a typical target and dig fairly close to the spot Sheldon got the 30 pounder and a few others. The detector is a Gold Bug 29er with a large NEL coil. :


We stopped getting good targets, so rushed over to the new trail. What a bonanza! I can always tell when Sheldon is doing well, because the weight in his pockets is pulling his pants down. LOL In this location, his pants were giving him trouble after 5 minutes. It was like an Easter egg hunt, with a "got one" every few minutes! We were like little kids, trying to get ahead of each other and picking goodies right from the surface to max 6 inches down. Eventually, we agreed to take different sides of the trail but we still had trouble slowing down. My backpack by the end of the trail weighted about 60 lbs and we were selective on what we kept. We turned around and detected back to the trucks, finding more stuff.

We drove into town for a late breakfast/lunch (early dinner) and some cold pop. The water in the truck was like drinking bathwater. We then headed back again to the new trail and basically cleaned it out. On the walk back to the trucks towards dusk, the targets were few and far between. Oh but I would like to know the mine where those boys got their dirt...

The next day, I can describe best with a video. It started slowly at a new site. My dog Daisy was tired from the day before and her feet were sore. I did not go far and found a few good targets. Sheldon joined me and started a hole that I can only describe as incredible. Here are the videos:


 

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WTG Placergold, looks like you guys are having fun. Trenching / excavating is effort well spent if you can find worthwhile material. Enjoyed the video, thankyou very much... it was great to see Sheldon working again. Daisy is such a faithful little companion. :)

I'll be along as soon as the heat and sticky humidity blows away... probably this weekend. Hope to see you and Daisy sometime during the autumn season, that would be great!!

Jim.
 

That was a great day of detecting. Super hot amongst the black rock piles but the rewards were fantastic. Well worth it! I had no idea that you were filming in the videos that you posted. If I had known I could have ran around and did cart wheels like they do in the metal detecting show "Diggers" lol.
 

Thanks for sharing your video's, I wish I could have been right up there with you guys finding the good stuff. :)

I Subscribed to you through my YT Channel, keep those video's coming! :D
 

So here is a typical target and dig fairly close to the spot Sheldon got the 30 pounder and a few others. The detector is a Gold Bug 29er with a large NEL coil. :


We stopped getting good targets, so rushed over to the new trail. What a bonanza! I can always tell when Sheldon is doing well, because the weight in his pockets is pulling his pants down. LOL In this location, his pants were giving him trouble after 5 minutes. It was like an Easter egg hunt, with a "got one" every few minutes! We were like little kids, trying to get ahead of each other and picking goodies right from the surface to max 6 inches down. Eventually, we agreed to take different sides of the trail but we still had trouble slowing down. My backpack by the end of the trail weighted about 60 lbs and we were selective on what we kept. We turned around and detected back to the trucks, finding more stuff.

We drove into town for a late breakfast/lunch (early dinner) and some cold pop. The water in the truck was like drinking bathwater. We then headed back again to the new trail and basically cleaned it out. On the walk back to the trucks towards dusk, the targets were few and far between. Oh but I would like to know the mine where those boys got their dirt...

The next day, I can describe best with a video. It started slowly at a new site. My dog Daisy was tired from the day before and he feet were sore. I did not go far and found a few good targets. Sheldon joined me and started a hole that I can only describe as incredible. Here are the videos:




Jim:
I hope to get back up north one more time soon. It will be nice if there is somewhat cooler weather. It would be good to see you up there.
 

So to finish this story, I got back into my buddy's trench and got some signals from the walls, which were mostly corroded nails, but a few small pieces of nickel/silver were added to my pack. By this time, he had dug another deep hole off to one side, trying for similar success to that of his glory hole. At this time, I went over to where there was exposed bedrock at the edge of the tailings (and no signals) and started moving rocks too. Both of our attempts were failures, other than confirming that there was nothing there. By this point in our day, I was really dragging my behind. I would have kept going, but was happy to hear that the feeling was mutual - we were both whooped. As such, I decided to pack it up and get onto the road. At the best of times, it is a 7 hour drive and I was worried that if I left it to the next day that I would be stuck in holiday traffic.

On the way back, there was still some daylight left and I was out of the major "moose at night" on the highway zone and could not help myself from turning up a dirt road towards the Ajax Mine. I just love exploring new places and this one did not disappoint. At the end of the rough road is a pit with abandoned buildings and silos. Tailings piles are every which way. The pit is now a lake (Daisy got a swim and barked at a critter that I did not get a chance to see). Lots of interesting rock to comb through and the edge of the pit itself, including some veins stained blue from copper or red from iron. It was too dark to take pictures, so I will provide a link to the description:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanichee_Mine

I collected a few samples and hit the road before it got too dark. The drive home was uneventful and I got to have a glass of wine with my wife and tell her about the adventure.
 

Jim:
I hope to get back up north one more time soon. It will be nice if there is somewhat cooler weather. It would be good to see you up there.

I hope so too Placergold because I'm looking forward to finally getting to meet you and Daisy. I'm thinking we should get together at my place one night and have a cookout of roast sausage and hotdogs over a blazing campfire. We'll see if we can prevail on Sheldon to do a ‘show and tell’ about his favorite silver finds this summer.

Nice closure to your silver adventure story, you've got a talent for making a reader feel like he's right there with you guys. Thanks a lot for including the videos, they lit a fire under my caboose to get packed quick and head north. Happy Trails. :icon_thumleft:

Jim.
 

Ah, Jim - no excuse now. The weather is cooler. I look forward to meeting you. I have only been home a week and am anxious to get back there...

Neotokyo - I have subscribed to your videos. You are hunting gold by my favorite method...mask and snorkel. Love it!

Cryptic - I look forward to our next adventure. I have already researched some new spots. As for cart wheels, you hardly had the energy to hi five... LOL
 

Thanks for subscribing to me too. :)

Sniping is what I love to do the most. :D
 

Thanks for posting the videos--I had no idea what chasing native silver involved. I've tuned in to Jim's page and picked up a few hints, but seeing what you're doing brought it all together.

Nicely done on your tale of chasing the silver as well. It's always great to tag along on a metal finding adventure.

I guess you had lots of hot weather in your neck of the woods as well this summer, as did I. It kind of takes the edge off the fun until you get a nice positive tone, then the fun seems to even out the temperature.

All the best and congratulations on your finds,

Lanny
 

Sheldon I see you are active here at the moment, so just to let you know I'm on my way tomorrow morning. I got held up with constant pouring rain this weekend but figured I'd be leaving this morning. Headed out the door and my camper had a flat tire. So I had to partly unpack the Jeep to get at my tire irons, put the spare on and it wouldn't hold air either. Unhooked the camper, and dashed into town to Canadian Tire to fetch spare tires and rims. All done now, I just have to get there, set-up, and get another load of firewood stored under the trailer... then finally I'll be ready to fire-up a detector and have some fun.

Been looking forward to this trip for a long time, I'm initially going back to the same place where the piece below came from because I want more such specimens with that black stephanite mixed into native silver. Hope the weather stays good well into November. Will see you shortly (with any luck), and hopefully Placergold sometime very soon. :)

Jim.

2.2 LB NATIVE RUBY CALCITE SF19Y1G.JPG
 

I drove to Kirkland Lake at 2AM for a funeral this morning and will be around this afternoon. Jim - I thought I would try the public sand beach pretty close to where you are staying to give Daisy a swim and see if there is anything lost in the water. If you see a guy with a chocolate lab messing around in the water with a detector, that would be me. Sheldon - I will try to hook up with you when you get back this evening. All I have done so far today is sit and I am whooped. Once again, I picked a hot day to come north....
 

Thanks John, that piece turned out a nice surprise after some acid treatment. If the wife hadn't brought it home I probably would have left it somewhere under the trees at my campsite with a lot of other discards. Of course it is nothing compared to what Sheldon and others have been finding this summer. Appreciate your comment though, thanks again. :)

Placergold, I'm still at home. I've sent a PM explaining a further delay to Sheldon. I was in the Jeep ready to go and thought to recheck the camper lights. To my dismay, no regular lights, no brake lights and only the passenger light was working for both signal and hazard lights. I tried switching bulbs and then replacing them... with the same result. The lights were working fine just two nights ago when I checked them. These circumstances delaying my trip have been so improbable, but I suppose that sometimes when it rains it pours.

So, I've made an appointment at the local repair shop, but they can't look at it before this Monday at 8 AM. Hopefully I'll arrive the next day at Loon Lake camp as all my stuff is packed and sitting on the dining-room floor presently.

I'm going to miss seeing you this time around, but I hope that can be remedied later in the season. If it would simplify things, you are welcome to the extra double bed at the other end of my camper for your weekend stay... just bring a sleeping bag... no worries about food, that's one thing I always have in quantity. We can get snow early October, but it never stays. Normally the nice weather can extend into late October and possibly even later before permanent frost becomes an issue.

Jim.
 

Hey Takoda… these things seem to happen at the most inopportune moments. It’s really cutting into my prospecting season, but sometimes I guess things happen that way. My daughter was saying today that the long range forecast is for a warm autumn, so that should extend things a bit.

Trust all is well with you, and that you’re having your usual success with gold rockhunting. I see those gold specimen photos you’ve put up here over the years and I figure there’s a lot of resourcefulness and hard work standing right behind them. Good luck with everything this autumn, and thanks for getting in touch.

Jim.

2.7 LB NATIVE AG CALCITE SF18YGN.JPG
 

This trip was quite rushed and really I was up north for another purpose. I took yesterday as a vacation day and got some detecting and exploring in. Exploring was difficult because the leaves are still on the trees and the ground cover is high (ie. I did not find any of the abandoned mines that I searched for). The maps are inaccurate. It is very easy to walk right by one of the smaller sites and never see it. Some colder weather and decreased daylight in the next few weeks will solve that - making visibility much better. I still have vacation left, so will definitely be up again soon.

Sheldon and I went to a new area towards the end of a rough mining road about 20 KM from town. I immediately found one 3 lb rock with an obvious silver vein, right on the surface. I suspect it was dug by somebody else...there were holes everywhere. After that all of the targets were cobalt or blasting caps. It was hot and I was baking in the sun when out in the open. Finally, I got an interesting hit on the detector on the edge of a loose tailings pile. After moving a few big rocks, it was a screamer. Digging on the side of a tailings pile is a bit frustrating, because the hole itself fills in with waste rocks from above and the rocks that were moved with the pick tend spread out and make run for the bottom. Add to that the wee rocks that tend to find their way into my boots with every scoop. Anyway, the screamer was a 5.2 oz nugget - mostly silver with a bit of calcite. That was followed quickly by 3.1 and 2.7 nuggets of the same material. Sheldon had kind words about the big nugget and thought it was my best find yet. I spent the next few hours racking material and getting deeper and wider to see what other goodies might be there. This resulted in 8 very small nuggets (all less than 0.3 oz) and then it was done, so I moved locations.

Towards dusk, I spotted something big and black through the trees run by on a trail about 20 yards away. It ran like a wolf but was big like a bear. I am not sure if I saw a tail. I looked around for my dog Daisy, who usually would be under a tree very close to me, but she was gone. I tossed my detector and ran out to the trail, pick in hand. However, by the time I got to the trail, both were gone from view. I stopped to listen for a fight or yelps, but was dead quiet. At this point in time, 3 things were going through my mind: Daisy was already hot and tired, so she will not be able to outrun whatever was on her track for long. If Daisy does get away, how the heck am I going to find her? I was prepared to attack anything out there with pick, but really missed having my Henry 45-70 (I had it last time)....if I could find them.... One other part to the story; on the way into this spot a half hour earlier, there was a hunter with a 30:30 parked on an ATV about 0.5KM away on the same trail and the right direction. My hope was to hear a shot where he nailed whatever was chasing Daisy. I ran up the trail, hoping to hear or see something. As it turns out, the hunter was gone, so now what do I do? I retraced my steps calling my dog as I went and listening for anything I might hear. Back at the truck and not knowing what else to do, I did the old deer hunter trick, when they lose their dog. I put her dog bed and my jacket on the ground, so if she found her way back (dogs will backtrack on their own trail, even if it takes all night) she will find something comforting and stay there. However, as I was turning the truck around Daisy came out of the forest, exhausted, but safe. Only thing wrong was a scratch on her eye from a branch. On the way home, I bought a lottery ticket.

I will post some pictures shortly.
 

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Hey Jim - I hope you get your kit organized on Monday and wish you a safe drive north. I drove both ways in the dark and saw a moose walking on the road and a dead bear. Always, a nicer and safer drive in the daylight. I have a project to complete at work and then will head up for a week.
 

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