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.

 

[DizzyDigger]

A machine is only as good as the setup, power supply, and training provided with perhaps some other factors not being pointed out yet.
Take any one of these factors away and the AI will likely fail in some fashion.

This is an entirely different subject, so we can discuss it elsewhere rather than disrespect Desertgolddigger's thread.

 

[Assembler]

This is an entirely different subject, so we can discuss it elsewhere rather than hijack Desertgolddigger's thread.

My point made above is what does this have to do with the topic of mining in the desert that has been hit hard for over a 100 years?

Most posts will get off topic just to keep the good conversation going and the interests up. Even to the point where a lot more people are posting and that is not totally a bad thing.........lol

Perhaps a good new question is if the step of classification is the big bottle neck slow down step of dry washing in the desert.
Should one consider any steps / methods of classification to speed up the bottle neck stage of the over all processing be a very good idea??

 

[BoulderTroll]

Most posts will get off topic just to keep the good conversation going and the interests up. Even to the point where a lot more people are posting and that is not totally a bad thing.........lol

I think we went a little beyond that with all the "assembler is AI" stuff. I think these guys need to make a thread specific to that and stop hi-jacking DGD's journal for it.

DGD, thanks for continuing to share your adventures! I hope I can still do half the things you do when/if I get to that age!

 

[desertgolddigger]

Thanks, I like sharing in the hope my experiences will provide possible help to others.

As for placer mining, we've had rain for two days, and more coming, so no drywashing for a while.

I probably will hit the old timer waste pile again, weather permitting, and gather more rock that I know have the flour gold in them. I'll tote back a half dozen pails of the 1/2-3/4 inch gravel for sorting when the weather is icky. At least I now know which of those small stones has the flour gold, in this particular waste pile.

Three other old timer waste piles have the same flour gold, but the type of rock at each location is totally different at each one. It'll take me some tests to see which types of rocks has the gold in them.

If any of you have ever watched the TV show "Mine Rescue" with Freddy Dodge and Juan, they visited one local miner, and helped them increase their gold take considerably, enough to finally make their operation pay the bills, and become profitable, or so it is hoped. One comment Mr. Dodge made was that the risk of going into those old shaft mines wasn't worth the risk, and in fact wasn't being profitable. But he said that the old timers threw a lot of gold into those waste piles. Apparently the old timer operations just didn't have the technology to get a lot of the gold out of certain rock in those piles. A modern operation, or corporate operation can work these piles, and get a considerable amount of gold from them, especially at the gold prices of today. I know that with gold over $3000 per ounce, I'm finally paying for my equipment and energy costs, though it'll take some time before I start making money. Gotta pay the bills first. Just wish I had a better way to pulverize the rock, but apparently the machine making companies don't make machines for the micro miner like myself, or if they do, the price is horrendous.

 

[russau]

Thanks for your post ! I agree with your comment about the cost of new machines that you need BUT until you do hit the glory hole why not buy a well used crusher that is in need of repair parts and try to save on $$$ by repairing it yourself ! I've done this and kept up-dating / improving my equipment back when I was into prospecting / dredging . Anything to get you back down the road & making money !

 

[desertgolddigger]

Thanks for your post ! I agree with your comment about the cost of new machines that you need BUT until you do hit the glory hole why not buy a well used crusher that is in need of repair parts and try to save on $$$ by repairing it yourself ! I've done this and kept up-dating / improving my equipment back when I was into prospecting / dredging . Anything to get you back down the road & making money !

Hey Guy, I'm not mechanically inclined. I have trouble keeping new machines working, even when I do the required maintenance.

If you mean a jaw crusher, I'd love one, but I'd need work on my electrical to completely overhaul the panel, which costs thousands of dollars, plus city permits, which here in 29 Palms can be higher than the electrical work. My house was built in 1970, and is only 800 sq ft which means it came with a small energy requirement.

All I can do is squat down, and wield a two pound sledge hammer, breaking rock into 1/2 inch pieces. If someone only made a 120 volt jaw crusher, I'd be happy.

 

[russau]

I understand ! I was there once and I have a home built in 1950

 

[southfork]

Give that propane furnace a chance I fill to the top with rocks and heat for 10 / 15 min. It fractures the rock and makes it way easier to breakup sometimes I just heat one large piece at a time. The chain mill will love you for it the material breaks up some much easier a few hours heating rocks gives me material for days of sluicing.

 

[Assembler]

All I can do is squat down, and wield a two pound sledge hammer, breaking rock into 1/2 inch pieces. If someone only made a 120 volt jaw crusher, I'd be happy.

With dry washing there is no crushing / hand pounding.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

I understand ! I was there once and I have a home built in 1950

1950? That new? Mine was originally built in 1918. I've remodeled, including enlarging it, twice since buying in 1986....LOL
Jim

 

[desertgolddigger]

Hi Guys, Since I'm staying home a lot to save money to pay the rest of my bills off, to finally become debt free, I've been working the gravel gathered at out club claim old timer waste dump.

I've been getting about the same amount each day, but not even close to be satisfying. Yes, it's gold, and I'm always happy to get some.

But today I returned to using my old cement mixer ball mill to see what's in the sand sized material I've been dumping atop my 150 foot retainer block flood control barrier, which is also a place to plant desert happy cactus and other plants.

I just got the results of my pulverizing this sand to mush. Seems there's a lot of the very tiny gold locked in these sand grains, enough to come out to 50 percent more than what I've been getting just using the chain mill. And there's probably a lot more, as over half of what I ball milled has yet to be run through the sluice.

I sure am glad I haven't been taking this sand back and dumping in the desert, as I'm guessing that I can pretty much double my daily take by ball milling the sand.

This brings me back to the Arrastra, Gold Tramp used to mill his material. He got a lot of gold, though it was much higher grade. But his mill also unlocked most of the gold by turning it to a near slime material.

Does anyone know about electric motors that are strong enough to move a heavy pair of rocks? I've tried to research this, but really don't know what would work to move two heavy rocks. I know that the speed is about 12-15 revolutions per minute. But a motor like this needs high torque, and more than likely needs to be geared.

I'm not sure Gold Tramp is still with us, as he was sick when I met him. But I sure wish he were here to walk me through the building process.

If I had the motor, and a way to mount something that would turn with those two rocks attached, I probably would build a very small Arrastra.

The one nice thing about an Arrastra is that a chin mill can then be used for just sampling. But a jaw crusher is then needed to pulverize the rock small enough to be pulped in an Arrastra. My sluice still can be used, though, if I could ever figure out how to get my shaker table setup working, that might be a time saver.

I just can't believe I've been dumping all this gold in the sand for a year or so. Just how much did I lose. Sigh. Always learning, even if it is the hard way.

 

[Assembler]

I have picked up one of these for $10.00 at an estate sale:
Grinding Sharpening Stone Wheel Square Hole 11 x 2.25 pedal vintage primitive
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266994780547?gQT=1

Should grind your materials if placed on a slab of stone.

 

[desertgolddigger]

I have picked up one of these for $10.00 at an estate sale:
Grinding Sharpening Stone Wheel Square Hole 11 x 2.25 pedal vintage primitive
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266994780547?gQT=1

Should grind your materials if placed on a slab of stone.

Nice. But there aren't any replacements. Looks like just one available. Using rocks like quart are easily available from our claim

 

[DizzyDigger]

I'm not sure Gold Tramp is still with us, as he was sick when I met him. But I sure wish he were here to walk me through the building process.

If you have Herb's phone number could you send it to me in a message? We used to keep in touch, but I haven't heard from him in a long time.

As for building an arrastra, that's a boat load of hard work, plus maintaining it. In all honesty, for the scale you're working at I don't think it would be worth the effort. JMHO

 

[desertgolddigger]

If you have Herb's phone number could you send it to me in a message? We used to keep in touch, but I haven't heard from him in a long time. View attachment 2208201

As for building an arrastra, that's a boat load of hard work, plus maintaining it. In all honesty, for the scale you're working at I don't think it would be worth the effort. JMHO

You're probably right about things. Wish I'd understood more about gold mining back in the early 2000's when I moved out here. Back then, a lot of places hadn't been touched. Placer gold was much easier to find, and the old timer dumps weren't picked over like they are today.

Maybe if I could get a super heavy duty, large capacity cement mixer, I could just ball mill things each day.

I'm starting to realize the chain mills were never meant to be run like I do. Both are wearing out. Guess I just need to see our local welder again for some repair work on the housings.

But I know one fix that would make life easier, and that is getting a wider/longer sluice with proper matting, miner's moss and various sizes of expanded metal. I've been watching Mine Rescue with Freddie and Jan, and Freddie's sluice solutions allow for catching very small particles of gold The problem is getting rid of the waste.

 

[Assembler]

Nice. But there aren't any replacements. Looks like just one available. Using rocks like quart are easily available from our claim

A drilled hole for a anchor chain will work for your larger quarts rocks.

The smaller premade wheel stones will work to see if it is worth the grind time.

 

[Assembler]

If you have Herb's phone number could you send it to me in a message? We used to keep in touch, but I haven't heard from him in a long time. View attachment 2208201

As for building an arrastra, that's a boat load of hard work, plus maintaining it. In all honesty, for the scale you're working at I don't think it would be worth the effort. JMHO

This is the main reason for trying a premade grind stone wheel to see if it is worth the time, nose, effort for the returns.

 

[desertgolddigger]

A drilled hole for a anchor chain will work for your larger quarts rocks.

The smaller premade wheel stones will work to see if it is worth the grind time.

Thanks, For now I'm going a bit smaller and cheaper. I use a mix of 1/2, 3/4, 1 and 1.25 inch balls in my cement mixer. But I've read I need some larger balls (2 inch and maybe 2.5 inch) for getting larger particles smashed to paste. So I'll invest at first for the 2 inch balls and see if that will work.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Thanks, For now I'm going a bit smaller and cheaper. I use a mix of 1/2, 3/4, 1 and 1.25 inch balls in my cement mixer. But I've read I need some larger balls (2 inch and maybe 2.5 inch) for getting larger particles smashed to paste. So I'll invest at first for the 2 inch balls and see if that will work.

I'd worry about busting a seam in the mixer.

 

[desertgolddigger]

I'd worry about busting a seam in the mixer.

I keep the mixer tilted so the balls never contact that area. I never overfill a mixer, as generally they are under powered.