worth it or not?

Metal.detective · Jan 5, 2014

Hello all. I've been metal detecting for a few years now and just got into the prospecting game. I've gotten permission to enter an old gold mine in the eastern part of NC. I went out on Thursday and checked it out. Did a few test pans in a nearby creek and got 3 or 4 tiny flakes in each pan I did. Brought a 5 gallon bucket home and panned it with the same results. Do y'all think it would be worth my time to sluice the creek? Next question...the gold that I found is only 2 to 4 inches under the surface of the gravel and sand. About a foot down is clay...and I mean some MEAN clay. Is my bigger gold going to be deeper? The last time this place was operated was in about 1910 or so. Help please for the rookie. Thanks a bunch!

russau · Jan 5, 2014

yep, id definatly sluice/dredge that creek! i wouldnt worry about anything under the clay if its really tough!

dave wiseman · Jan 5, 2014

First off,if you've gotten permission to prospect your way ahead of the game.Secondly your finding gold which is always a good thing.The main thing for a greenhorn in placer mining is to learn what bedrock is and get down to it in your digging.The bigger gold is usually on/in or right above bedrock.There's lot's of free books and videos online to learn from..but in the field learning is where it's at.The main thing is do not quit..persist.Having a lot of clay would mess up your sluicing plans.One can stack up the clay and boil it or let it slack in the sun and then run or pan it.But this would only be practical if it carries(gold).Finding out out the history of the area your working would be helpful...You mention entering an old gold mine.Are you referring to a hardrock quartz gold mine or just the general area of the property?Hardrock mining/sampling/prospecting is another story unto itself.Do you have all your crevicing tools?...The clay may or may not be a false bedrock.

Hoser John · Jan 5, 2014

Stay outta old mines till you have a... a partner outside holding a rope to you and a cell phone. Miners hardhat,2 lightsources(you've never seen blackness till undeground and that flashlight dies) extra water,couple a power bars and be extremely careful where you walk,I prefer a metal pole to tap tap the floor like a blindman as metal rings hollow so you don't go down and die in a hole. In the VC 6 mile canyon I had a whole floor give way and air vent was many 100s' a feet deep as I slammed up against the wall and scrambled out to change my underwear :tongue3:

Sometimes that impacted clay acts like a false bedrock and produces some nice gold too. I have found in a couple of instances of better gold on that clay layer than on bedrock as worked in days of old and reconstituted gold streak on top-lotza luck-John

smokeythecat · Jan 5, 2014

I wouldn't go in that shaft for a million dollar bet. Some people go in but the don't come out. The timbers from a century ago are rotten and will collapse if you sneeze on them. Focus on sluicing the creek. Move a couple tons of gravel and see what you've got. Apparently since there was a mine there it has already been worked albeit at 1900 standards.

Jeff95531 · Jan 5, 2014

I wouldn't try going in the mine either IMHO. But there has GOT to be lots of tailings around. After 100+ years, you're gonna have to look carefully for things that don't look quite right. Once you find them, break out that metal detector. Something tells me you're going to have fun after that. Good luck! :icon_thumleft:

Metal.detective · Jan 5, 2014

Hey guys...thanks for the comments. Dave I don't have any crevicing tools. The mine isn't a shift style mine from what I've seen. It looks more like Fred's glory hole on gold rush. It's a gigantic pond now. The pond has started overflowing a path and has carved out a huge creek on the other side. Lots and I mean LOTS of sand bars with gravel on top in the creek. I found some parts of the creek with big boulders in it. I don't go in there alone yet until I know my way around and spots that I can safely travel without falling in a hole. Been taking the girlfriend and I've left the gps coordinates of where I'm at with my family. I haven't found any old tailings yet. I did find a place in the creek area that is mounded up pretty tall like an island. I wish there were some people around my area that was into this as much as me and had good knowledge of the stuff. I'm allowed to take who I want to the place but no one here prospects.

rocme44 · Jan 5, 2014

The layer of clay you describe often acts like bed rock. It was formed when there was little water flow. Any gold movement of gold after the time of clay formation would be on top of the clay. Because the clay forms with little or no water movement, no gold will be found in the clay.
Any gold flowing before this time will be under the clay.
Chances are good that clay was formed as part of the mining operation. It was probably mined.

Good luck!

Metal.detective · Jan 5, 2014

Jeff95531...what do you mean by doesn't look quite right? Will it be a big pile of rocks maybe? I do know a little history on the place. It opened around the late 1800's and ran until about 1910 or so. No one has been in there and seriously done any work since then.

Metal.detective · Jan 5, 2014

This is the big mine part filled in with water.

Metal.detective · Jan 5, 2014

This is the creek part with the funny island mound I was talking about. On farther down the creek actually starts flowing down over big rocks and gets faster.

Jeff95531 · Jan 5, 2014

Metal.detective said:
Jeff95531...what do you mean by doesn't look quite right? Will it be a big pile of rocks maybe? I do know a little history on the place. It opened around the late 1800's and ran until about 1910 or so. No one has been in there and seriously done any work since then.

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So it's a placer and not a hard rock mine. Then you're looking for piles and/or rocks. Maybe around 3 feet high and long. The island looks promising. Mother nature did a lot to hide em in 100 years. It will look out of place with the rest of the environment. The metal detector could be of some help there too. Stuff left behind can tell you what and where they were working. Might even find that elusive gold coin. Good luck!

Metal.detective · Jan 5, 2014

Nice! When I saw that island I knew it looked out of place. This is the south west corner of the property. I haven't been anywhere else on the property but here. The rocks in the creek are small and plentiful around the little island. Almost as if they were dumped there. I did a few test pans digging out farther down the creek behind some rocks and off the wall of the creek where the water runs faster and nothing. I set my gear out on the gravel when we got in the area and went for the faster water. When I got skunked the girlfriend said why don't you dig right here...right where I set my gear down. First pan...gold...second pan...gold...and so on and so on. The gravel where I set up is right at the base of that island on the left side behind that hill. You can't see where I was from the pictures. Of course I caught flak from her too lol. I've done all the research...watched every video on YouTube...read books...she tells me where to dig to find gold. I'm buying her a shovel hehehe!

Jeff95531 · Jan 5, 2014

A second pair of eyes is always good to have. A gal that will go prospecting with you? Priceless. I've gotten a lot of advice from my wife and it is usually sound...not always well timed...but good :laughing7:

Get her that shovel, some buckets and tear it up!

Metal.detective · Jan 5, 2014

Yeah Jeff she's a great girl. She wasn't happy cause it was COLD but she stuck with me. She said she would rather take my AT Pro and learn to use it and nugget hunt while do the rest. Just might make it happen.

kazcoro · Jan 5, 2014

Get yourself a higbanker and go to town on that mound you found gold in. I would be on that like white on rice....

Metal.detective · Jan 5, 2014

I wish I had the cash for a highbanker. I was looking at the Bazooka sluice boxes today. I've got a 50x10 inch folding sluice. I've got a long way to walk down a path so I really have to backpack in what I've got. I need to invest in a wagon lol.

goldenIrishman · Jan 5, 2014

Hummm.... Maybe your girlfriend is some long lost relative of my lady! mine digs, classifies, pans, runs the highbanker you name it!

Metal.detective · Jan 5, 2014

Lol maybe so. I've just gotten her into all of this. She found a gorgeous piece of quartz with pyrite embedded in it the other day and had a fit. I think those gorgeous colors she saw gave her the fever. Now if I can get her finding big chunks of real gold I'll have it made.