Interesting discovery today

[goldenIrishman]

Well we got hammered pretty hard by the monsoons here last night and this morning I went out to check the washes. I went to check the area I had just started testing to find that it had all been filled back in and the pile of rocks I had stacked up to get them out of the way had been washed downstream.

Being a inquisitive type I followed the wash down stream into an area that I had not been into before and low and behold what do I find? Someone at some time in the past had taken rocks and cement and dammed the wash! The dam wasn't all that high being all of maybe three feet tall but it has rock and sand backed up for about 40 feet! Talk about a great gold trap! There was a little water flowing over the dam so I got out my trowel and backpacker pan which I always take with me and started testing right next to the dam. First pan showed a little color as well as some of the largest Garnets I've found in the wash here to date.

Since I only had limited tools to work with today, I did what I could before I had to get back to the homestead and do the "Munchkin Wrangling" thing. Since tomorrow is Saturday and I know what to expect, I'll be hauling out some equipment that is better suited for the task at hand. I'm thinking that if I can get the built up sand and rocks classified and out of the way, water should fill it back in for a bit and give me plenty to run the recirc sluice without having to haul H2O from the house. It should also help to keep any more gold that washes down from "flat boarding" as it will have water there already that is level and deeper then the channel upstream thus allowing the gold to drop out of the flow.

As to the dam I can tell it's been there for a very long time by the condition of the cement holding the rocks in place. I'm thinking that it was setup for watering cattle some time in the past as it's range land and range cattle are all over it. Filled in as it is it's not doing the cattle any good so I can see no reason that anyone should complain about me clearing it out. If all that sand just happens to be processed at the same time......

 

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[goldenIrishman]

I'm thinking the one from A&B Prospecting and Equipment in Mesa, AZ It runs $129.95 and looks to be a good, effective and easy to use unit. https://abprospecting.com/?q=catalog/26

 

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[jcazgoldchaser]

I'm thinking the one from A&B Prospecting and Equipment in Mesa, AZ It runs $129.95 and looks to be a good, effective and easy to use unit. https://abprospecting.com/?q=catalog/26

Ah. I was thinking this

 

[KevinInColorado]

Ah. I was thinking this

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL9deyMSzs8"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL9deyMSzs8

Yes this is the style my friend makes and sells for about $100

 

[goldenIrishman]

My main worry about a retort is that there are some designs out there that are not safe to use. Last thing I want is to have something go wrong and give the family mercury poisoning.

I've been saving up all that black sand with the flour in it and already have several pounds worth of mercury that I was given by a friend. I am NOT going to use it until I have a proper retort to use for recovery. I've worked as a lab tech in the past and am used to handling dangerous stuff and following safety rules. Some of the videos I've seen on mercury recovery are flat out scarey and should be to anyone with lab training. My least favorite one I've seen was recovering gold from mercury using a potato in a camp fire! YIKES!!!!! Yes... I know it will work, but there's zero capture on the mercury and though most would be caught by the spud, some of it goes right into the air. We miners have been fighting to clean up mercury left in the streams, rivers and lakes by the old timers and though the majority of us use mercury in a responsible way now, we're still fighting that legacys' awful image thanks to the enviro-nuts use of it against us. I for one am not going to give them any more ammo to use against us. SO until I have the correct equipment to to the recovery in a safe and responsible manner, I'll keep saving up the black sands and keep the mercury locked away.

 

[KevinInColorado]

My main worry about a retort is that there are some designs out there that are not safe to use. Last thing I want is to have something go wrong and give the family mercury poisoning.

I've been saving up all that black sand with the flour in it and already have several pounds worth of mercury that I was given by a friend. I am NOT going to use it until I have a proper retort to use for recovery. I've worked as a lab tech in the past and am used to handling dangerous stuff and following safety rules. Some of the videos I've seen on mercury recovery are flat out scarey and should be to anyone with lab training. My least favorite one I've seen was recovering gold from mercury using a potato in a camp fire! YIKES!!!!! Yes... I know it will work, but there's zero capture on the mercury and though most would be caught by the spud, some of it goes right into the air. We miners have been fighting to clean up mercury left in the streams, rivers and lakes by the old timers and though the majority of us use mercury in a responsible way now, we're still fighting that legacys' awful image thanks to the enviro-nuts use of it against us. I for one am not going to give them any more ammo to use against us. SO until I have the correct equipment to to the recovery in a safe and responsible manner, I'll keep saving up the black sands and keep the mercury locked away.

Well said Irishman!

 

[goldenIrishman]

Thank you sir! I will now step down from my soap box so we can get back to our regularly scheduled prospecting......

 

[goldenIrishman]

I'm FREEEE!!!!!!!!!

Well after a full summer of "Munchkin Wrangling" I'm happy to report that school in my area has started up again and I'm now off duty! Why is this such an important event you ask? Simply put I couldn't make the munchkin spend her entire summer vacation tracking through washes with me so my activities have been "lacking". Well that's at an end now and I can be hitting the washes full time again.

I've already got the packs loaded up with gear and will be heading to "Work" at 7:00 am tomorrow! I can't wait to get back to it! Plus I won't have to be answering questions from 6 Y.O.s all day.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Well after a full summer of "Munchkin Wrangling" I'm happy to report that school in my area has started up again and I'm now off duty! Why is this such an important event you ask? Simply put I couldn't make the munchkin spend her entire summer vacation tracking through washes with me so my activities have been "lacking". Well that's at an end now and I can be hitting the washes full time again.

I've already got the packs loaded up with gear and will be heading to "Work" at 7:00 am tomorrow! I can't wait to get back to it! Plus I won't have to be answering questions from 6 Y.O.s all day.

Oh tell the truth, you loved every minute of it didn't you?!?

 

[Jeff95531]

Sept 4 for me GI. Good luck and good gold on that wash! I gots me eyes on a loverly little hole in the bedrock that is fully exposed now thanks to the low water. It's a back wash and there is (literally) a ton of sand to be looked at. It's a little too far downstream for my liking but it looks like a giant blue bowl...can't wait!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Sept 4 for me GI. Good luck and good gold on that wash! I gots me eyes on a loverly little hole in the bedrock that is fully exposed now thanks to the low water. It's a back wash and there is (literally) a ton of sand to be looked at. It's a little too far downstream for my liking but it looks like a giant blue bowl...can't wait!

Just finished cleaning out a hole like that in "my" creek. It was nice gold and a 5h1t load of bird shot which was a confirmation as to how the hole collected heavies

In the couple weeks since I finished digging it out, we've had several dramatic downpours (creek goes from 4 inches to 4 feet deep!!,) and my hole is 100% filled in with light sand. Wonder how long it takes for the heavies to reconcentrate in that hole...hmmm.

 

[Jeff95531]

Hmmmm indeed. Did you get to bedrock during the clean out? My spot screams for a 4 inch dredge, but since nobody has done that since 2010 (or before) what lies at the bottom of that hole? At least it's easy sand digging to start...gonna go to the center and attack with a post hole digger.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Yup, I got down to the sandstone bedrock...scrape, scrape!

 

[goldenIrishman]

Well guys it sounds like you both have some good honey holes to work on. I'm still in need of water in the wash here. Fricken rains have been hitting all around us but none in my wash worth talking about. Tomorrow I'm heading up to the top of the wash to get some samples and to check out the rocks. Of course this is dependent on if the "Border Boys" are doing a sweep through the area. Wouldn't do to have to call ya'll for bail if I mistakenly got picked up in one of their sweeps.

I've also been doing some research that I think you'll both find interesting. I'll PM what up instead of letting the cat out of the bag here in public.

And Kev.... While I don't mind kids in small doses, a full summer of "Wrangling" has reminded me most aptly of why I never had any of my own! Got no problem with other folks kids because at the end of the day I could always give them back!!!!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Well guys it sounds like you both have some good honey holes to work on.
///Tried a diff spot on my favorite creek today. A thin layer of material, then 2 feet of thick clay, then another gravel layer with good gold. Very interesting...until I stepped in my own hole! I'm clearly a hazard to myself!! Ouch Still, got gold, played in the creek, life is good.

I'm still in need of water in the wash here. Fricken rains have been hitting all around us but none in my wash worth talking about. Tomorrow I'm heading up to the top of the wash to get some samples and to check out the rocks. Of course this is dependent on if the "Border Boys" are doing a sweep through the area. Wouldn't do to have to call ya'll for bail if I mistakenly got picked up in one of their sweeps.

///LOL, stay out of jail! Guess you could start carrying your passport while in your own country...hmm, something about that sounds wrong.

I've also been doing some research that I think you'll both find interesting. I'll PM what up instead of letting the cat out of the bag here in public.

///Good stuff, you've got a line on the inside scoop!

And Kev.... While I don't mind kids in small doses, a full summer of "Wrangling" has reminded me most aptly of why I never had any of my own! Got no problem with other folks kids because at the end of the day I could always give them back!!!!

///Too true! Mine are 19 and 21 so the next wrangling I do will likely be grandbabies!