Prospector

[delnorter]

Interesting Herb. Lot of steps/work for the gold. What’s the source of your pond?
Mike

 

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[gold tramp]

Interesting Herb. Lot of steps/work for the gold. What’s the source of your pond?
Mike

Mike glad you asked about my pond. We use to just have a pit lined with plastic it was a pain to clean.
One day we had a giant wind during a thunder storm probably 50 mile hour stuff. Anyways during the height of the storm, my neighbor lives about a mile behind me, i guess didnt have enough water in his big plastic tank, well it became airborn and ended up just missing my well head, which would of been catastrophic and probably cost me bunch $$$, it came down broke in half...
Us miners tend to collect and make use of weird stuff, if you been to old mine camps or mill sites you know what im talkin about we like to improvise, so i was able to sawzall that sucker at the 500 gallon mark and in the ground it went replacing the crappy ole sheet plastic lined earthen pond..
Was perfect for my finishing station
And didnt cost a dime...

My pond, the chicken wire keeps the bunnys from goin swimming at night..

Note the slime buildup its like 2 inches thick, time for cleanout, gets this way it starts to cloud my table water making it harder to run. You cant see whats happening, leading to overloading the table, then you start loosing values..
Table is the finishing of ones ore so you want to be able to monitor your feed rate, you dont just ram it through fast, it needs to be slow n steady feed rate...
I geter cleaned will get a pic of the slime, it all goes out to the driveway burm very nasty stuff.....
Not toxic just messy..
Till next time
Keep the dirty side down
Gt.....
Folks I gotta bail out for awhile I can't really enjoy talking of the mining with all this hate going on in the world, it just ain't right.
Pray for those people in Ukraine.

 

[gold tramp]

I was getting kinda melancholy there guys, watching news today it pretty bad stuff.

Anyway I got my jaw plates fabricated got some chicken poop hard face welded on them looks pretty bad but it will do the job, get us through a few more barrels of rock.
Got all my midlin buckets run off the pond cleaned out n filled again and a run ground up with pulp buckets lined up for the table..
Hoping get another load ground up today before the family get here for Easter, I loaded the arrastra last night so just gotta turner on this morning add some water start making paste.

My samples from table run are looking good I might smelt them this coming week. I don't do fire assays my interest is the yeller stuff it doesn't matter how little I get it all adds up..
Sometimes we get good runs sometimes its on the skinny.

Starting to warm up here in the desert soon the 100 degree days will be upon us making it a living hell, seems the sun he's a little strong feeling on the skin, maybe I'm just getting old..
Something I noticed while out in it...
Anyways here comes the judge I gotta get out start the day another long hot one, least I ain't dealing with chiggers or skeeters something we don't have in the desert ...
Keep the dirty side down.
Gt....

Slime mess note nice reddish color usually means good gold.

My power plant for mill it serves both arrastra and jaw crusher dual purpose. Its made with the i beam ole Mitchel had used as a road drag up at the GL claims, a 41 dodge weapons carrier trans n transfer case Heavy duty 4 wheel drive, a recycled industrial strength fart fan motor from the barracks on board the marine base twentynine palms,
Pulley off my old dry washer and a belt shroud from a mine out in the dale probably was on a crusher, 2 wood blocks keep that belt tight...

 

[delnorter]

Just plain great Herb. Really interesting your making what’s available from so many sources work for you. I hope you and your family have a fine Easter together.

Keep covered up from that hay-maker above you. Relentless wear and tear on the old skin.

All the best to you,
Mike

 

[gold tramp]

Thanks Mike we had a great time hope you were able to have family time also....
Had our first 100 degree day finally seems it's running late this year
Not that I'm missing it....
Here's a few mill pics from this week's run .
Keep the dirty side down....
Gt....

Dry load ready for water

Making paste

Rodding the paste

Starting to geter all classified to same grind another hour or so and wee bit more water it's finished and would be what I call pulp ...
Ready to finish, or be washed across the table, turned into concentrate...

 

[delnorter]

Just plain fascinating Herb. I’ve got to come see your operation some time if you’ll have me, while I can and you’re still pulling the plow.

Your work ethic and use of basic tools to get the job done in this day and age is what interests me the most. Amazing.

You will sure be welcome in my neck of the woods. Maybe when the old haymaker is hottest down your way you can enjoy some time here in our mild coastal summer. About 70 degrees.

Mike

 

[gold tramp]

You are welcome any time at Claudette mill Mike, thanks for the words, we don't get the pat on the back much these days.
Most would call us hillbilly's for the way we geter done...
Heck I still break down n mount my own tires by hand on my minin truck, I tell ya those long winded 8 lug 16s are a real bear now that I'm older .

I'm gonna try get up north take the wife see some family, if I do you probably get a call from me, thankyou for the invite....

Another day at the mill, almost got enough cons to do a final finish run amalgamations and smelt.
Then its make a mad dash for the cash, get grubstaked for the next prospecting trip, things are starting to get played out in them old hills might have to go underground, or be a drywasher. Underground is something I don't like much, I had a bad experience with a raft a tunnel n the tide coming in left me with the heebie jeebies when I'm closed in..
If I'm finding good yeller I can geter done...

Workin into the night, yesterday heres a couple more pics, i dont mind showin the minnin stuff this is a prospector forum....

Keep the dirty side down....
Gt.....

Business end of the Rp table....

Kinda out of focus night shots.....

Another load ready to grind, geter done......

 

[delnorter]

You darn right Herb, be my pleasure.

 

[gold tramp]

All the talk about smelting I had to fire my smelter up, got a little 4 gram piece for my troubles.

Keep the dirty side down
Gt ...

Easiest way to go just buy flux.....

Shot of inside of my smelter, crucible loaded n fluxed..

Pic of smelter heating up, looks a little rough as it's made from an old shot up cyanide can I found out in the hills threw a few old fire bricks in and stacked some rock on the outside hold the heat. It's propane fired with a small blower.. Dont take much to geter done...

BB mining co. I stamp all my buttons and bars, soon as I clean the glass off it's part of the process makes me feel like a pro.
Was yellow glass this time....
Sometimes it's green or black, it's been reddish Brown before depends on the impurities in the smelt I guess ?

 

[gold tramp]

Was gonna come back had a good story n pic written up .
I'm better off leaving here for good..

The end ....

 

[southfork]

Was gonna come back had a good story n pic written up .
I'm better off leaving here for good..

The end ....

Sorry to see you go.

 

[N-Lionberger]

Lame…

 

[Goldwasher]

Was gonna come back had a good story n pic written up .
I'm better off leaving here for good..

The end ....

Honestly. How many times are you gonna say that? SMH You've told us you were leaving numerous times.
Just share your stuff and stop getting so easily offended.

Or just go with out the poor me drama.

 

[delnorter]

Don’t do it Herb. I like your experiences and the writeups. Lot of knowledge to share.
Mike

 

[gold tramp]

Honestly. How many times are you gonna say that? SMH You've told us you were leaving numerous times.
Just share your stuff and stop getting so easily offended.

Or just go with out the poor me drama.

Sorry gold washer to busy hangin out with my sons n grandsons, teaching them how to be stone Mason's and run claudette mill.
Maybe one of them will pickup where I left off ..

 

[DizzyDigger]

Herb, please send me a PM with your contact info...lost your email addy and phone number when my old computer croaked.

I ain't dead yet, and still want to try and get back down there for a visit some day.

 

[gold tramp]

Lame…

If you think about it is pretty lame using an arrastra to mill hardrock ore in the 21 century..

 

[Goldwasher]

Sorry gold washer to busy hangin out with my sons n grandsons, teaching them how to be stone Mason's and run claudette mill.
Maybe one of them will pickup where I left off ..

Good it sounds like you have a good fulfilling life.

Its just weird that you come to your own journal everyone likes then keep talking yourself out of using your own journal even though no one really wants you to do that.

People like your posts and what you do. Thn you get all offended by some tiny little thing say your leaving...

Repeat.

It's weird man. Just sayin'

 

[gold tramp]

This here's America I can be as weird as I want .
Enough said....

 

[Goldwasher]

This here's America I can be as weird as I want .
Enough said....

true regardless of how pointless and unneccesary it is.