New York Gold

[gravelMaster]

The three words in the title create an oxymoron with most everyone.... but! After a few years of poking around with the fine glacial dust, I finally have decided not to waste the gas and time to extract it with my four inch dredge. After examining the bedrock and its' structure... I may have figured out the only viable means to get some out of the the ground. We have an abundance of exposed bedrock with the cracks and fissures that are sufficiently deep, that once the gold goes in, it never goes out. I figure that the only gold to go after is the TRAPPED dust and flakes left by the Canadian glaciers. Attempting to find the occasional deposit of glacial gold is a hit and miss proposition at best.

I have disassembled my four inch dredge and I am downsizing it to a two inch. Installing a two inch power jet from Keene, 1.25" supply hose from the same pump and the best damn sluice in the USA, my old faithful Gold Well Drop Riffle 12" X 60". Probably wondering why downsize? I found that a four inch could not get down deep enough to extract the findings at the bottom of the fissures. I tried to modify the size by various means, but the weight was getting too much to handle. Granted, reducing the throughput was less, but I am not going to be sending tons of material through the sluice anyway. Only the material caught or trapped in the crevice will be going through the sluice.

When I get all of the sluice assembled and tested in the nearby Great Chazy River, Champlain, NY, I'll upload the images ASAP. In the meantime, I am trying not to freeze my buttocks off in this sub zero winter weather just south of Quebec, Canada.

Best of luck to all

 

[Terry Soloman]

Good Luck!

 

[russau]

Good luck to you GM !! I kinda did the same thing ! BUT I used my 2 inch dredge to get a hole started for my 4 inch dredge to get started in ! Both were my options BUT there again I'm to old and beat up to do this and I sold it all to a younger guy ! BUT I still love dredging BUT can't physically do what needs to be done to do it ! And I keep thinking about it if I were to build a LARGE dredge with a 6 inch nozzle on a large floating platform , and hire some guys to do the work ? Probly just a old mans fantasy dream !

 

[bc5391]

I had a gold well sluice about 8-10 years ago, it was a beast to carry around, solid machined aluminum, great sluice, just heavy as hell. Sold it.

 

[gravelMaster]

I had a gold well sluice about 8-10 years ago, it was a beast to carry around, solid machined aluminum, great sluice, just heavy as hell. Sold it.

I have to agree with you, the beast is a heavy thing. Maybe one day, the owner of the patent will make them out of 3D printed metal instead. They would be a fraction of the weight. Great design features... lousy execution.

 

[Reed Lukens]

I have to agree with you, the beast is a heavy thing. Maybe one day, the owner of the patent will make them out of 3D printed metal instead. They would be a fraction of the weight. Great design features... lousy execution.

The type of metal used in the Gold Well is there for a reason, unlike other metals, this type of aluminum helps to naturally draw the gold into the wells. I knew the designer and spent hours talking with him and using his sluices. Most people don't know that different metals can help or hinder when it comes to catching Gold. This is why the mats being sold with the Gold Well riffle design copied don't work near as well...

 

[bc5391]

I agree with you Reed, it is like putting an ice cube on a gold, or silver bar, the ice will melt extremely fast, compared to placing it on other metals. But when you are in your 50's or younger, the heavy gold well sluice is fine. When you reach your mid 60's, that thing is getting harder to carry a half mile. When you reach your 70's, it is a lead weight.

 

[gravelMaster]

I had a gold well sluice about 8-10 years ago, it was a beast to carry around, solid machined aluminum, great sluice, just heavy as hell. Sold it.

Didn't sell mine. I am modifying the beast to morph into a smaller more manageable beast. I have reduced the physical size to reduce down to a 12" X 36". This reduces the weight significantly. Also by changing the suction end from 4" to 2" reduces the weight tremendously. Since it will be mounted on my 12' plastic boat, I don't worry about lugging it anywhere. I'll send you a photo or two when springtime arrives.

 

[bc5391]

Didn't sell mine. I am modifying the beast to morph into a smaller more manageable beast. I have reduced the physical size to reduce down to a 12" X 36". This reduces the weight significantly. Also by changing the suction end from 4" to 2" reduces the weight tremendously. Since it will be mounted on my 12' plastic boat, I don't worry about lugging it anywhere. I'll send you a photo or two when springtime arrives.

Having a boat to get to where you need is nice. Unfortunately in Northern CA, it is up and down steep hillsides, same in Arizona, only difference, in Arizona the water is seasonal. Try going up and down 2 or 3 of these hills when your 70, and this is a small one, go down the hill, then climb a larger one, and back down the hill. Where I need to go is in the background., down to the bottom

 

[gravelMaster]

Having a boat to get to where you need is nice. Unfortunately in Northern CA, it is up and down steep hillsides, same in Arizona, only difference, in Arizona the water is seasonal. Try going up and down 2 or 3 of these hills when your 70, and this is a small one, go down the hill, then climb a larger one, and back down the hill. Where I need to go is in the background., down to the bottomView attachment 2241625

Water is something that New York has plenty of, including of course, the Adirondack Mountains. Trust me, these are not some small hills, but fairly large mountains, some with fairly steep sides. The rivers that I'll be going on, have exposed bedrock with fairly large fissures crossing the path of the river. To access the bedrock, it does require a lightweight boat with a mud motor... outboards will not survive the rocks. The boat is a 20 year old plastic, 12 foot Pelican, not a yacht. Just a small note... most of the rivers and lakes are frozen solid until March or April.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Water is something that New York has plenty of, including of course, the Adirondack Mountains. Trust me, these are not some small hills, but fairly large mountains, some with fairly steep sides. The rivers that I'll be going on, have exposed bedrock with fairly large fissures crossing the path of the river. To access the bedrock, it does require a lightweight boat with a mud motor... outboards will not survive the rocks. The boat is a 20 year old plastic, 12 foot Pelican, not a yacht. Just a small note... most of the rivers and lakes are frozen solid until March or April.

Did you realize any gold found in NY is the property of the state? That’s a very old law and I’m not sure it’s still in effect. If it is, keep your mouth shut!🤫

 

[Tpmetal]

Yeah all gold in ny belongs to the state, hope you are aware of that

 

[gravelMaster]

Did you realize any gold found in NY is the property of the state? That’s a very old law and I’m not sure it’s still in effect. If it is, keep your mouth shut!🤫

Yes it is the "property" of the state... but a $50 check and a doc from the Secretary of State (NY) and you can file a mineral claim. I'll still keep quiet, even with a mineral claim in hand.

 

[gravelMaster]

Having a boat to get to where you need is nice. Unfortunately in Northern CA, it is up and down steep hillsides, same in Arizona, only difference, in Arizona the water is seasonal. Try going up and down 2 or 3 of these hills when your 70, and this is a small one, go down the hill, then climb a larger one, and back down the hill. Where I need to go is in the background., down to the bottomView attachment 2241625

I'll be 80 in May... don't smoke, love my vino and been a veggie for 55 years or so. I don't do hills to much.... let the younger guys do that.

Best of luck