Placer Claim Mined Out?

[desertgolddigger]

I belong to a local club that owns a claim. This club has had this claim for many years, and acquired it after the old timers had mined it previously, and others after they commercial outfits closed up.
I walked quite a bit of the 160 acre claim, and noted that just about every wash had been worked. Most of the surface nuggets has also been detected by those with gold detectors. In other words, this place has been picked over and over and over.
But I m a stubborn type of person, and I figured, just watching how people ram their puffer and blower drywashers, that some gold was just being blown through them. maybe not much, but some small stuff that never got a chance to settle behind the riffles.
I know many of you would never go to the effort of digging for three to four hours through the tailings in these washes. Again, I'm a bit stubborn, and anyway, I just wanted to have some fun locally, instead of driving 300 miles roundtrip to something that gives a little more for less effort.
I've spent the last three weeks, digging a few times a week along about 30 yards of wash, and have recovered just about a gram of gold. That might not seem like much, but I have only dug up 5 grams, not counting this one gram in almost 20 years out here drywashing in the desert of southern California.
As you would know, things always seem to go wrong. My gas powered blower motor decided it was time for the repair shop, and haven't heard from the shop in two weeks. So I purchased a WORX WG521 corded electric leaf blower to use with my Royal Large drywasher. I'm using a portable generator to provide the power. And it actually is working better than with my old gas powered blower. I have to run the blower on the lowest speed, or I just blow everything through the riffles. Results are very good, as I am getting gold specks so small that I will have to use the Blue bowl in order to recover them.
I'm not only getting a little gold, I'm having some fun, and I am getting a good workout. I've lost 10 pounds since I started. So things are going well.
I'm still digging test holes around the old time hard rock mines in the hope I will find where the gold has drifted downhill below these mines. So far just a couple specks here and there. I figure I just have to move laterally one way or the other before I get something better Of course, I' don't really know if the old timers stripped the hillsides. Even if they have, they apparently aren't as thorough as I am. I hope that I may be lucky and find a larger piece of gold that the old timers, previous placer miners, and detectorists have missed.
Hope everyone is having as much fun as I have been having.

 

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[russau]

If you think you've cleaned out your Placer location BUT haven't hit bedrock yet...........dig deeper!

 

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[Johnnybravo300]

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[desertgolddigger]

If you think you've cleaned out your Placer location BUT haven't hit bedrock yet...........dig deeper!

Nope, the complete wash was mined down to bedrock, and the cracks cleaned.

The people who did the drywashing used shovels to load the hoppers through the drywasher grizzlies, weren't very careful. All they waanted was to process as much as they could, as quickly as they could.

Yes, they got most of the gold, but the wire, flake and occasional chunky gold either bounced off the grizzly, or was flushed through the drywasher because that miner was in a hurry.

What I'm getting is that gold that they missed because of their haste. So far I've gotten about 24 grams of gold from their drywasher tailing piles. I get anywhere from 1/20th gram to 1/2 gram per ten 5 gallon buckets classified to smaller than 1/4 inch. I've never found anything larger, as the rock piles I leave don't have anything in them. I detect them.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Funny how sleep can bring out details on something you've forgotten to consider. What did my subconscious tell me? That my bilge pump hose won't be long enough, So Amazon got another order, and I'll have to wait until the middle of the month for the tubing. At least I didn't fill the troughs with water. I'll just fill them a little bit to test the spigots I have installed.

 

[arizau]

Funny how sleep can bring out details on something you've forgotten to consider. What did my subconscious tell me? That my bilge pump hose won't be long enough, So Amazon got another order, and I'll have to wait until the middle of the month for the tubing. At least I didn't fill the troughs with water. I'll just fill them a little bit to test the spigots I have installed.

I was surprized to find that Ace Hdwe has bilge hose on reels along with their plastic tubing, etc. Maybe yours does too?

 

[desertgolddigger]

I was surprized to find that Ace Hdwe has bilge hose on reels along with their plastic tubing, etc. Maybe yours does too?

Nope, I checked. They Have clear plastic tubing, but only one inch. I need 1 1/8 inch ID.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Here's the pictures I promised.

1. My rock collection, crusher and electric sifter. This is all atop repurposed pavers and soil retainers. Since I was careful to level this platform, my crusher is not making as much noise or shaking like it used to. Apparently my patio wasn't level, and I'm assuming that caused strain, as the chains were not in alignment due to that slight slope.

2. This is my shelter, by Shelter Logic. It has been a bear putting it together by myself. But I'm always finding ways to do things without help. I still need to put on the main tarp. I couldn't this morning because the wind was picking up, and I feel a little out of sorts for some reason today.

3. My sluice setup is a work in progress. I got the big troughs because I didn't want to change the water after every 5 gallon bucket. The sluice discharge end resides over an elevated 5 gallon catch bucket. The pump will be inside another bucket at the far end of the second trough. Hopefully the fine silt will mostly filter down into the catch bucket, or first trough, so my water doesn't get so murky. I'm trying to find gallon bottles of the "C lay-be-Gone", but it apparently is only sold in tiny bottles at a premium price.

 

[HeavyMetalThunder]

Here's the pictures I promised.

1. My rock collection, crusher and electric sifter. This is all atop repurposed pavers and soil retainers. Since I was careful to level this platform, my crusher is not making as much noise or shaking like it used to. Apparently my patio wasn't level, and I'm assuming that caused strain, as the chains were not in alignment due to that slight slope.

2. This is my shelter, by Shelter Logic. It has been a bear putting it together by myself. But I'm always finding ways to do things without help. I still need to put on the main tarp. I couldn't this morning because the wind was picking up, and I feel a little out of sorts for some reason today.

3. My sluice setup is a work in progress. I got the big troughs because I didn't want to change the water after every 5 gallon bucket. The sluice discharge end resides over an elevated 5 gallon catch bucket. The pump will be inside another bucket at the far end of the second trough. Hopefully the fine silt will mostly filter down into the catch bucket, or first trough, so my water doesn't get so murky. I'm trying to find gallon bottles of the "C lay-be-Gone", but it apparently is only sold in tiny bottles at a premium price.

flocculant...there's powdered and liquid forms with different compositions .... it's sold in varying volumes and weight even by the 55 gal. barrel or ton if you want... then disperse/ repackage in what ever Oz. weight bottles and throw some wiz bang fancy name (clay be gone )on it and make 300% profit if you were of

 

[Reed Lukens]

Home | Hi-Desert Plumbing | Yucca Valley, CA | plumbing services

Hi-Desert Plumbing is your trusted source for professional plumbing services in Yucca Valley, CA and the surrounding areas. Contact us today at (760) 820-2164.

www.hi-desertplumbing.com

 

[Reed Lukens]

flocculant...there's powdered and liquid forms with different compositions .... it's sold in varying volumes and weight even by the 55 gal. barrel or ton if you want... then disperse/ repackage in what ever Oz. weight bottles and throw some wiz bang fancy name (clay be gone )on it and make 300% profit if you were of
View attachment 2082751

You need a larger water storage area to use flocculent, in small systems flocculent can't work until you shut down and it can sit for 30 minutes. It works great in pond set ups, but it's not for small totes

 

[desertgolddigger]

Home | Hi-Desert Plumbing | Yucca Valley, CA | plumbing services

Hi-Desert Plumbing is your trusted source for professional plumbing services in Yucca Valley, CA and the surrounding areas. Contact us today at (760) 820-2164.

www.hi-desertplumbing.com

Reed, what's this AD for. I don't see anything helpful

 

[desertgolddigger]

You need a larger water storage area to use flocculent, in small systems flocculent can't work until you shut down and it can sit for 30 minutes. It works great in pond set ups, but it's not for small totes

Reed, do you consider two 110 gallon troughs as totes?

 

[HeavyMetalThunder]

You need a larger water storage area to use flocculent, in small systems flocculent can't work until you shut down and it can sit for 30 minutes. It works great in pond set ups, but it's not for small totes

one thing with desertgolddigger is things get lost in translation sometimes...like the fine sediment from crushed ore gets referred to as clay. from the description of her recirculating fluids just silted up with fine particles and not a thickened clay slurry which would require treatment with a deflocking agent...(clay begone)

with her tote volume now... and her low flow rate she mentioned using for her macroscopic gold, she should get a decent retention time to avoid shearing flock particles. A polyacrylamide flocculant in the correct ratio "should" work...elevating her pickup from off bottom would be a given and beneficial.

​

 

[desertgolddigger]

As things seem to get out of control here, I'll just live with silty water. When my panning container sits overnight, everything settles.

My plan was to run 10 to twenty buckets of material before having to change the water. Each trough has an outlet near the center side near the bottom. All I have to do is turn the spigot handle, and it drains through a hose into my wastewater sump. I then use a fat shovel toi remover most of what has settle to the bottom, then refill for another 10-10 bucket round.

With the catch bucket below the discharge end of the sluice, I'm actually hoping most of the weightier debris will be caught there, and maybe changing the water will be less often than 10-20 buckets I'll have to see.

 

[N-Lionberger]

From what I remember clay b gone is not polyacryamide I have a recipe for it around here somewhere.

 

[arizau]

From what I remember clay b gone is not polyacryamide I have a recipe for it around here somewhere.

It's probably Alum. Search this forum for a thread called "clay b gone alternative" open and scroll down to Clay Diggens post.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Reed, what's this AD for. I don't see anything helpful

It's your friendly neighborhood plumbing store Caley, you should go over or give them a call.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Reed, do you consider two 110 gallon troughs as totes?

I use it in my pool once a year if ever needed... but I buy Clorox products. Read the reviews and go from there. Flocculant takes time or length to settle, where your sluice is constantly stirring. I've also got a bottle of clay be gone and it's the same story... it works to a point. If you had a couple of the long, skinny troughs it does ok, but you need the long length to get any settling.You could try it, but I'd just toss some Jet Dry in there and call it good. Here's a link for the item above -



Then here's the Clay be gone -

Clay Be Gone: Keene Engineering Online

SEO: META DESCRIPTION

www.keene.store

 

[Reed Lukens]

one thing with desertgolddigger is things get lost in translation sometimes...like the fine sediment from crushed ore gets referred to as clay. from the description of her recirculating fluids just silted up with fine particles and not a thickened clay slurry which would require treatment with a deflocking agent...(clay begone)

with her tote volume now... and her low flow rate she mentioned using for her macroscopic gold, she should get a decent retention time to avoid shearing flock particles. A polyacrylamide flocculant in the correct ratio "should" work...elevating her pickup from off bottom would be a given and beneficial.

​

Thanks 😃👍🤩
I've been to her house.

 

[mikep691]

I may be envisioning your set up wrong, but I would set my sluice over the junction of the two troughs. The sluice discharge can go into your heavies bucket and will be easily accessible. The water flow works backward under your sluice to the pick up pump. You won't need a long hose , just elevate the pump so it's not sitting in fine muck at the bottom of the trough.