One Tough Crack!!!

[Hefty1]

One tough deep crack that produced good gold on top.
Any suggestions on how to get to the bottom of this one
The water mark shows the depth.

 

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[jog]

Small generator and an electric jack hammer.

 

[Hefty1]

Now thats funny
Thats what my wife said.....

 

[Gravel Hog]

Fertilizer and Gas Drill

If Not Remote Enough For A Little Boom Then Dexpan Set Overnight.

Dang nugs will keep wanting to travel downward.

 

[Armchair prospector]

Hefty, a friend of mine took a golf club shaft and welded a small spoon on the end so I could get down deep into cracks just like that. It works very well. Just bend the sides of the spoon to get deep.

 

[Hoser John]

Nice long piece of rebar, hammer 1 end flat,curl over and bend into a cup shape in a vice works REAL nice. Down from Briceburg on the Merced we had a 6' deep crack that was fulla righteous oro puro. It was a club claim and a couple of us had a ball as was snowing and we wouldn't give up till it was empty-Went back in the spring and the freezing and thawing of the water/snow revealed no more so we did her but good. Always check again and nuttn' work like mother nature --tons a au 2 u 2 H-1--John

 

[TerryC]

Try building a large, hot fire on the rocks at the crack. The water in the rocks may "steam" causing them to crack. Just stay a distance away for safety. TTC

 

[dave wiseman]

By your left foot below the flat boulder are other smaller cracks..start there with a single jack and handsteel(or if you've a partner a double jack).you do have a wide space in that crack to Break to,if you know what I mean.

 

[Hefty1]

Thanks for all the good ideas we will try.
Keep the suggestions coming.
63 and I will get to the bottom of this one way or another.

Hefty

 

[Gravel Hog]

Hefty keep this in mind. Cracks like that swallow nuggets as they expand and contract from the forces at work.
Busting them down to the bottom and beyond is recomended.
On the Feather I have seen pockets absolutely chuck full of nuggets beyond what we thought was the very bottom.
Amazing how things like that work. Feathers full of them and the Yuba, too.
Good Luck that is a great crack you uncovered makes me want to go dredging but took today off.

 

[Gramps43]

Hefty,

In the first pic there are some small rock flakes and one of them is lying across a crack. That crack seems to run across and down the side of that shelf. You could take a rock chisel and a small sledge to that crack and break that shelf free. If you are like me I suggest a chisel holder or end up with a smashed left hand. You might have to break up that shelf into smaller pieces to get it out but a good pay off should be at the end.

Gramps

 

[Hefty1]

Thanks Gramps
Thats a great suggestion. And the chisel holder.
Even though I am Left Handed.

Hefty

 

[2cmorau]

hey Hefty
nice little spot, and very time consuming
can ya bring a Generater and Good hammer drill down to this spot? Plus a sledge hammer
I would drill a series of holes and then wedge them with the sledge hammer.

Or drill one hole, pack it n cap it

 

[calisdad]

Crackamite !

http://crackamite.com/advantages.html

Tho Terry's idea is a good one too.

 

[jog]

Thanks Gramps
Thats a great suggestion. And the chisel holder.
Even though I am Left Handed.

Hefty

Use the wifes left hand as the chisel holder.

 

[2cmorau]

yes use her left hand while her right hand holds your cohonies, i am sure you'll be spot on every swing

 

[Gravel Hog]

I still say pop it to pieces or just tell your wife there's a shopping spree at the bottom of that crack.

Water is getting colder and colder, I might have to call it a season here soon, NOT.

 

[jog]

yes use her left hand while her right hand holds your cohonies, i am sure you'll be spot on every swing
[/quote

 

[TheHarleyMan2]

Judging by the size of your pry bar and the width of the crack, I would find a powerful wet vac or something like that, and get a about a 1/2-3/4 inch tubing/pipe and mount it to the end of the hose, and shove it down the crack while you are vaccuming up the gold, whatever, if the vac is strong enough, it may lift all the gold out.

If you have a powerful enough vaccum, it might be strong enough to suck everything out of the bottom of the crack and make things a little easier than swinging a sledge hammer and holding a chisel!

 

[Klondikeike]

Klondike here...

I've done this before and it worked well.. but is time consuming....

Using a concrete drill.. 12 plus inches long and 1/2 to 3/8 in diameter....and a hammer drill off of a small generator... on one side of the crack.... start a series of holes parallel to the crack and maybe out away from the crack about 6 to 8 inches..... and with a slight angle towards what you perceive the bottom of the the crack to be... drill a hole about every 3 to 4 inches..... then using a rock chisel... scribe a deep scratch between the drilled holes.... and then with a mighty blow of a sledge hammer... hit the rock surface on the crack side of the hole drilled... and with one or two good blows, the rock will crack and break down to the depth to the holes you drilled... be sure to wear safety goggles as you may get chips f rock flying around...

If necessary, repeat as often as necessary to reach the bottom of the crack.... removing the gold as you get deeper and deeper into the crack...looking at the well worn edges of the crack, I'd say the bedrock isn't as hard as some I've seen....and may drill easier than you may think...

This method is very time consuming, but practical, so you won't loose any gold flying as would happen with most any explosive device or method used...

Good luck to you... hope it helps...


Klondike...