Question for the experts

[Arachnofreak]

I assume that most of you all here know more that I do, keeps me from getting a big head

I am digging in an area that has a short layer (a foot in the deep areas at the most) of rich material laying on top of decomposing bedrock that is being cracked apart by scrub oak and other brush. I am finding quite a bit of flower gold and thin flakes on the top layer but I am finding that the deeper I go into the cracked and decomposing bedrock the less gold I find, sometimes not a single speck in entire 5 gallon bucket.

My question is should I stop going deeper all together or is this like when you find a clay layer in a creek where the gold stops but you can still find more underneath it? Thanks in advance for any information you can share.

Charlie

 

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[beekbuster]

it could go either way. all depends on when it was deposited. the bigger gold could have been scrubbed out already if the bedrock was soft at the time there was water moving through. maybe what you are getting is gold that has been deposited after the base layer

 

[beekbuster]

*i am no expert*

 

[Arachnofreak]

it could go either way. all depends on when it was deposited. the bigger gold could have been scrubbed out already if the bedrock was soft at the time there was water moving through. maybe what you are getting is gold that has been deposited after the base layer

That's kind of what I was thinking and I am no expert either lol. Thanks man.

Charlie

 

[Reed Lukens]

Because Lynx and Rose have been hammered for years, you will know a virgin crack because the material is cemented in, really hard to get out. If the material comes out easy, then it's been hit already. Finding the good cracks take time and you will need a hammer and chisel to break into them even in decomposing bedrock because the sand, mud and clay will cement everything together.

 

[Arachnofreak]

Because Lynx and Rose have been hammered for years, you will know a virgin crack because the material is cemented in, really hard to get out. If the material comes out easy, then it's been hit already. Finding the good cracks take time and you will need a hammer and chisel to break into them even in decomposing bedrock because the sand, mud and clay will cement everything together.

Thanks Reed, That's usually the case and I carry a hammer and chisel with me for just that reason. But if this area has been worked it's not been for quite a few years. I'll take a picture tomorrow when I go out so you can see what I mean. Thanks again brother.

Charlie

 

[Bejay]

One must consider the condition of the bedrock when the gold/placers were deposited. It is very possible that the bedrock was not decomposed and that the gold would only be in those cracks and crevices that existed when the gold/placer was deposited.....on a solid bedrock. Thus the bedrock could have been decomposing for a very long time after the gold/placer was deposited. Due to decomposition the bedrock is now so decomposed you can go deep....but at the time of deposition the ability of the gold to get down into the lower cracks and crevices, created by decomposition, did not exist.

The difficult part for you is knowing which deep cracks and crevices existed at the time of deposition and which did not.

Bejay

 

[Arachnofreak]

One must consider the condition of the bedrock when the gold/placers were deposited. It is very possible that the bedrock was not decomposed and that the gold would only be in those cracks and crevices that existed when the gold/placer was deposited.....on a solid bedrock. Thus the bedrock could have been decomposing for a very long time after the gold/placer was deposited. Due to decomposition the bedrock is now so decomposed you can go deep....but at the time of deposition the ability of the gold to get down into the lower cracks and crevices, created by decomposition, did not exist.

The difficult part for you is knowing which deep cracks and crevices existed at the time of deposition and which did not.

Bejay

I think this actually might be the case. Thanks for your info.

Charlie