What would a 5 gallon bucket of Black sand be worth from a sand & gravel plant ?

[russau]

I've seen a LOT of gold prospecting shows. and I've been eyeing a certain sand and gravel plant somewhat close to my home . I've given up prospecting / dredging about 12 years back because I'm a old guy (78) and it get rough on a old boy like me! BUT it's hard to get this out of my system ESSPECIALLY watching these gold show and the price of gold sky rocketing. I'd like to do it SMARTER / and EZer ! I want to go talk to the owners of this or any S&G plant to see what kind of a deal I could arrange between us ! This plant uses a clam shell bucket that goes down 150 . I've panned their waste that they dump when the weather starts to get cold and freezing is coming in . and then they dump their waste out to some flat ground , , to keep from freezing up ! what would be a suitable agreement between the 2 party's in a contract ? TRY to pickup a full 5 gallon bucket of Black sand ! Odds are you can't !

 

[Assembler]

I've seen a LOT of gold prospecting shows. and I've been eyeing a certain sand and gravel plant somewhat close to my home . I've given up prospecting / dredging about 12 years back because I'm a old guy (78) and it get rough on a old boy like me! BUT it's hard to get this out of my system ESSPECIALLY watching these gold show and the price of gold sky rocketing. I'd like to do it SMARTER / and EZer ! I want to go talk to the owners of this or any S&G plant to see what kind of a deal I could arrange between us ! This plant uses a clam shell bucket that goes down 150 . I've panned their waste that they dump when the weather starts to get cold and freezing is coming in . and then they dump their waste out to some flat ground , , to keep from freezing up ! what would be a suitable agreement between the 2 party's in a contract ? TRY to pickup a full 5 gallon bucket of Black sand ! Odds are you can't !

Perhaps the key here is the plant is dumping material / sand when things slow down if you can then process / sluice some at that given location?
Sounds like moving the sand is out of the question.
There may not be enough values in the sand that the plant would be interested in a percentage however would be enjoyable for you to get out and run a sluice again. If you do find enough values, then have some kind of contract.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

To me it seems you could get it for free ( or almost ) the issue would likely be safety and what not. Many places don't want folks in their work areas . Perhaps you will need to pay their guy to collect some ( half ) pails for you to play with.

 

[DizzyDigger]

TRY to pickup a full 5 gallon bucket of Black sand ! Odds are you can't !

So many times I have considered the same. There's quite a few sand/gravel
pits in my area, and I've often considered just pulling into one and asking
a manager about getting a couple buckets of their smallest material.

I was thinking of just panning it down to black sand, and then running it all
on a miller table.

 

[russau]

DD I agree 100% with your thoughts !Years back I was up in Northern Washington State at a rally up there ! There's NO DOUBT your in gold country and keep a eye out for sand & gravel plants allowing people in after hours OR before the freeze hits to keep their equipment from freezing up and breaking ! I'm thinking I maybe barking up the wrong tree and get in WAY over my head ! What I think I need to do is set something up to allow me and some (LOTS) of help to do this! I or we would need to get in and get it done in a day to avoid being in any body's way ! GET in and get out type of operation on a day that they aren't working ! I think their hopper would have maybe 40 5- gallon buckets of material that would be drained into the backwash field . The black sand could be sold to whom ever and the fine gold that gets processed out and everyone would get some kind of split (to be worked out BEFORE anything is agreed to ! Come up with a contract that everyone signs and agrees to !

 

[pepperj]

The sand and gravel gives folks free sand if they want a small trailer full.
It's only a few bucks a ton.
12 different sands.
But no gold or black sand in my area.

 

[russau]

There is i the mid-west where I'm from !

 

[mtdoramike]

I got a piece of advice for you, stop watching those Gold hunting shows.

 

[Gold Maven]

your best bet, is get to know someone that can get you into the plant when they are shut down.
It's not easy, msha, osha, have made everyone scared of having nontrained personel in their plant.
If you can get in, you will soon see where the black sand accumulates.
I have worked in and around gravel plants for over 50 years, and have taken a few ounces of gold from them.
Normally the best place to look, is in the sand screws. A round screw, in a square inclined tub, filled with water and sand, auggering the sand out the top. The heavies slip around the screw, and end up in the bottom of the tub. If they run in freezing weather, the tubs are drained each night, and gold can be found on the ground around the drain. I built a sluice box that i hooked up to the drain, and then washed the sand from the tub through it. Hard to control the feed. and it boomed too much, but i still recovered a good ammount of gold.
The trick, if you gain access, is get in at the end of summer, just before the daily drainings take place.
i have some pics on here, of some good pans, but can't figure out how to retrieve them.
good luck.

 

[IdahoGoldGettR]

Nothing better than great advice from someone who’s “been there, done that.” Thanks for sharing.

 

[KevinInColorado]

your best bet, is get to know someone that can get you into the plant when they are shut down.
It's not easy, msha, osha, have made everyone scared of having nontrained personel in their plant.
If you can get in, you will soon see where the black sand accumulates.
I have worked in and around gravel plants for over 50 years, and have taken a few ounces of gold from them.
Normally the best place to look, is in the sand screws. A round screw, in a square inclined tub, filled with water and sand, auggering the sand out the top. The heavies slip around the screw, and end up in the bottom of the tub. If they run in freezing weather, the tubs are drained each night, and gold can be found on the ground around the drain. I built a sluice box that i hooked up to the drain, and then washed the sand from the tub through it. Hard to control the feed. and it boomed too much, but i still recovered a good ammount of gold.
The trick, if you gain access, is get in at the end of summer, just before the daily drainings take place.
i have some pics on here, of some good pans, but can't figure out how to retrieve them.
good luck.

An old friend of mine used to buy a 5 gal bucket of stuff from the bottom of the screw for $10. He’d run it through his Gold Cube and get a gram of gold each time.