Irons MD & Prospecting thread

[vichris]

So yesterday our local gold prospecting club did a MD only outing. It was really a lot of fun but not our typical get together. There were 25-30 members there with metal detectors. Just about every kind of MD's you could think of. Of course my wifey and I were there with our Mine Lab Equinox 800.

So what they did was mark off a fairly large area and they had buried a good number of coins mostly and then a couple of other items. There was one particular item (a washer) that when found was going to be the grand prize, a 10th oz gold coin worth about $200. There were also 5 nickles marked with red sharpie that were worth a 1oz silver eagle. And then there were a number of door prizes. I actually found 2 nickles but one of them was a leftover from a previous year I got an extra door prize for finding that one. My wife and I worked as a team I would locate and mark and she did the digging.

So we ended up with a 2013 silver eagle, a 5 gallon water jug, a roll of Gorilla tape, a nice box cutter, and a pocket full of change. Not bad and more importantly,......We had a great time.

 

[Irons]

I have not been out much at all been busy with work and chores. Also this time of year the black flies and horse flies will chew your head clean off in minutes. That shit will calm down as we get into July. I did do a little exploring for new creeks and found some good color one new creek today.

Lots of the places I find on maps turn out to have little or no access because they are on private property and others are at the bottoms of freaking canyons I'm not going to try to pack equipment down and then back out of again.

I got a new sluice I am really looking forward to putting to work, it's a 24 by 6 inch aluminum stream sluice with Micro Dream Mat. I see lots of folks who go after flour Gold and beach Gold running sluice mats like the Devin Gold VDR and Mini Dream Mats. The idea is to reduce the concentrates to just small heavies and allow the rest roll right off. Dream mats are pretty forgiving and can run good with high or low water flows.

The reason I started researching sluice matting for small Gold is the sheer amount of garnets and black sand I get in my good creeks.

I'm glad to see everybody is doing well, makes me happy! I can't wait to get back at it myself!


.

 

[coopersmith]

We went and rock hounded an area with dikes of rock, and magma tubes, close to a volcano core today. We found lots of cool stuff, opals, zinc veins, veins of diff color clays, pyrite, a bunch of other cool looking stuff, I dont know what it is................LOL

I have no idea whats going on, but I found a bunch of pretty rocks. My friend is up on the whole stuffs, and how the volcano events went down, pointed it out, where the lava flowed and showed me the blast shit that went flying when she blew, and he looked it over well. He didnt really mess around. he knew all the rocks.

No gold, but he says we might find some, lots of crystally stuff and semi precious stones. he was interested in a rhyolite/clay area (possible gold site) to look at further. I am taking my rocks over to his place tomorrow or sunday and we will scrub em with brushes and water on his deck in a tub, and give em a good look over.

That is all I got so far.

 

[PhucilliJerry]

Hey Irons, I have a lead for you if interested:

The work of packing the sledges continued the next day, and in the afternoon Shackleton called all hands together into the center of the circle of tents. His face was grave. He explained it was imperative that all weight be reduced to the barest minimum. Each man, he said, would be allowed the clothes on his back, plus two pairs of mittens, six pairs of socks, two pairs of boots, a sleeping bag, a pound of tobacco —- and two pounds of personal gear. Speaking with the utmost conviction, Shackleton pointed out that no article was of any value when weighed against their ultimate survival, and he exhorted them to be ruthless in ridding themselves of every unnecessary ounce, regardless of its value.

After he had spoken, he reached under his parka and took out a gold cigarette case and several gold sovereigns and threw them into the snow at his feet.

That‘s from the book Endurance by Alfred Lansing about Ernest Shackleton’s expedition in the Antarctic. (Great read if you’re looking for something.)

At the time they were on pack ice about 346 miles southeast of Paulet Island in the Weddell Sea. The ships position was 69*5’ South, 51*30’ West. Not an easy find for sure, but I know how much you like sovereigns from your old avatar. Good luck!

 

[coopersmith]

We went and rock hounded an area with dikes of rock, and magma tubes, close to a volcano core today. We found lots of cool stuff, opals, zinc veins, veins of diff color clays, pyrite, a bunch of other cool looking stuff, I dont know what it is................LOL

I have no idea whats going on, but I found a bunch of pretty rocks. My friend is up on the whole stuffs, and how the volcano events went down, pointed it out, where the lava flowed and showed me the blast shit that went flying when she blew, and he looked it over well. He didnt really mess around. he knew all the rocks.

No gold, but he says we might find some, lots of crystally stuff and semi precious stones. he was interested in a rhyolite/clay area (possible gold site) to look at further. I am taking my rocks over to his place tomorrow or sunday and we will scrub em with brushes and water on his deck in a tub, and give em a good look over.

That is all I got so far.

Also kind of related. The past few weeks we had rain, and it blew up the windflowers and cacti. Very few flowers left now/today for ID (at the extreme ass end), mostly seed pods, I missed it by a few weeks. It would have been spectacular!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

c'mon man..............as my dad would say when im starting something, and its a joke, and we laugh about it, 'you barely got started and you fucked up already............'

I have been buying native seed from www.alplains.com for a decade. It is wild collected seed, and I speak latin so its on.

Missed one of the biggest prairie blooms in 10 years fucking around with combines, moving cattle, and planting milo. That is life. next time it rains alot in the spring, I will take the time to look it over.

My priorities are all fucked up, and its costing me.

 

[Bottom Feeder]

Missed one of the biggest prairie blooms in 10 years fucking around with combines, moving cattle, and planting milo.

But you made money. Wasn't that your prime directive?
Now ya got money and you can realize what you missed.
If more peoples would take the time to enjoy the beauty around them the world wouldn't be as fucked up as it is.

JMSO,
BF

 

[coopersmith]

That is wot im saying man...........

 

[newmisty]

. it's a 24 by 6 inch aluminum stream sluice with Micro Dream Mat... sluice mats like the Devin Gold VDR and Mini Dream Mats.

Oh crikey! The gold's done kgott'im talkin' all funny.

 

[savvydon]

We went and rock hounded an area with dikes of rock, and magma tubes, close to a volcano core today. We found lots of cool stuff, opals, zinc veins, veins of diff color clays, pyrite, a bunch of other cool looking stuff, I dont know what it is................LOL

I have no idea whats going on, but I found a bunch of pretty rocks. My friend is up on the whole stuffs, and how the volcano events went down, pointed it out, where the lava flowed and showed me the blast shit that went flying when she blew, and he looked it over well. He didnt really mess around. he knew all the rocks.

No gold, but he says we might find some, lots of crystally stuff and semi precious stones. he was interested in a rhyolite/clay area (possible gold site) to look at further. I am taking my rocks over to his place tomorrow or sunday and we will scrub em with brushes and water on his deck in a tub, and give em a good look over.

That is all I got so far.

What a blast to be able to rockhound in such a rich area. I'd love to see a pic of what you bagged after it's all cleaned up.

Slightly off topic but I took the kids out to Arkansas a couple of times when they were younger to go searching quartz mines. We didn't bag anything spectacular but I spent some time cleaning the specimens up that we collected with muriatic acid and a wire brush. They cleaned up decent. The kids got a kick out of them and we all had lots of fun.

 

[Irons]

Got out today for some prospecting and playing with my new sluice! It was great I needed that! I had carpal tunnel, trigger finger and some nerve pressure release surgery on both arms 2 weeks ago so this is the first time I got to have some fun in quite a while. They went in both wrists, my right elbow and left thumb. I am happy to report the Doc's did a good job and everything is feeling great.

Remember when I was metal detecting in the water constantly for like 7 years? Yeah that fucked my arms all up.

But damn, it was worth it!

We found this creek on motorcycles back in the spring and it looks just fantastic, great gravels black garnet sand and all sizes of ancient rounded river rocks in the creek bed and eroding out of it's banks. Exactly the kind of glacial deposit area you want to see. Apparently at some time in the past another outlaw prospector thought so too because I found his sluice dam! I used it too!

I did find some Gold specks but not as much as I thought I would, they were random and not in any deposit where you get a good concentration. Probably because some other fecker already worked this particular stretch of creek. That's OK, I was happy to know there are other crazy peeps with Gold pans around. This stretch is really easy to get to so it makes sense, I will hike in further downstream and look for other good spots.

The new sluice works great, set up is fast and the sluice mat does what the makers claim. This is the dream mat micro size from Prospectors Dream.
I can shovel loose gravel right onto the top and the rocks roll right down the mat and off the end. The little round vortexes spin the sand into the holes pushing the heaviest particles to the bottom where it stays. Pretty cool to watch the material immediately spread out over the mat and the last thing you see is trails of light blonde sand trailing in lines from every vortex as the mat clears. I am very excited about this set up I can't wait to use it in an area that has good Gold concentrations, it's going to kill it!

 

[Goldbrix]

Inquiry: Why would you want to prospect down stream and not up stream ? To me it seems that the dam would have caused gold to drop out as it slows the current so down stream not much gold.
The gold obviously comes from up stream or a branch up stream.
I do not understand.

 

[Uglytruth]

Would it be logical to move the sluice box location left or right & check the buildup from the dam?

 

[newmisty]

Remember when I was metal detecting in the water constantly for like 7 years? Yeah that fucked my arms all up.

Crikey, who knew beepy-sticking was such a dangerous sport!?

I guess ya gotta pay even to be a beach pirate.

 

[Irons]

Inquiry: Why would you want to prospect down stream and not up stream ? To me it seems that the dam would have caused gold to drop out as it slows the current so down stream not much gold.
The gold obviously comes from up stream or a branch up stream.
I do not understand.

Would it be logical to move the sluice box location left or right & check the buildup from the dam?

Good questions. I did shovel around the dam and that's where the little bit of Gold I got came from. Even though that dam has been there for a long time, the tops of the rocks are all black, it hasn't been there long enough to make a difference in where Gold is deposited yet. There is so little Gold entering the creek that once you clean out a good spot it may take 500 years or more for it to be a good spot again.

This particular creek gets sandier and flatter as you go upstream and rockier and more cut in as you go downstream. The little dam is less than a mile from where the creek enters a major river, and these creeks cut deep ravines right before they hit the river. Also there is no road that follows this creek for it's last stretch so odds are good no other fool has hiked it with a sluice in their backpack.

So finding a good inside bend or other deposit area down by the river ought to be pretty damn good. Or not. Can't say for sure.
This is Gold we're talking about and it doesn't follow any frickin' rules.

 

[rte]

Irons, I'm far from an expert (probably because we dont have any water here in the desert)
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the MICRO mat is more of a cleanup mat? (not really optimal for that location) pictured??
That mat in my reading is more designed for a #8 (1/8" screened material)
I'd look into a larger size dream mat for river sluicing in that location.
Also
Looks like you have (a lot) of water flow, maybe level out the sluice (less drop to slow down the material)
Looking at your picture...
I'm thinking you may have been pushing all that gold out the back?

I did find some Gold specks but not as much as I thought I would, they were random and not in any deposit where you get a good concentration. Probably because some other fecker already worked this particular stretch of creek. That's OK, I was happy to know there are other crazy peeps with Gold pans around. This stretch is really easy to get to so it makes sense, I will hike in further downstream and look for other good spots.

The new sluice works great, set up is fast and the sluice mat does what the makers claim. This is the dream mat micro size from Prospectors Dream.
I can shovel loose gravel right onto the top and the rocks roll right down the mat and off the end. The little round vortexes spin the sand into the holes pushing the heaviest particles to the bottom where it stays. Pretty cool to watch the material immediately spread out over the mat and the last thing you see is trails of light blonde sand trailing in lines from every vortex as the mat clears. I am very excited about this set up I can't wait to use it in an area that has good Gold concentrations, it's going to kill it!

View attachment 219037View attachment 219038View attachment 219039

 

[Irons]

Irons, I'm far from an expert (probably because we dont have any water here in the desert)
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the MICRO mat is more of a cleanup mat? (not really optimal for that location) pictured??
That mat in my reading is more designed for a #8 (1/8" screened material)
I'd look into a larger size dream mat for river sluicing in that location.
Also
Looks like you have (a lot) of water flow, maybe level out the sluice (less drop to slow down the material)
Looking at your picture...
I'm thinking you may have been pushing all that gold out the back?

Correct on all counts!

I did cut the water flow to around one inch traveling over the sluice, I took the first picture right after setting it in the water. You can see in the third picture the flow over the riffles is about right, and that the vortexes are all full of black sand. You want the black sand fluttering in the vortexes but not completely clearing out. The gold is supposed to drop through the black sand to the bottom and stay there. I may have had it running too hot, once I have more time in with it I'll know more about what I can get away with.

It's possible I was losing Gold, but my test pans weren't showing hardly any Gold at this location either. Digging deeper in any one spot didn't improve the speck count like it does in good areas and the gravel wasn't packed together like it should be. In my 2 best creeks the gravel is packed so tight you literally have to grind the spade side to side while standing on it just to get a half shovel full.

And yes the dream mat micro is a clean up mat, but that ought to be ideal because all there is here is flour Gold. A guy in Wisconsin I watch on youtube uses another type of clean up mat called the Devin Gold VDR by infinity prospecting. He does really well with it because all they have over there is the same flour Gold I have here. I would have gotten a VDR sluice and mat but infinity prospecting is in Canada and I didn't want to deal with international shipping, and besides that it's expensive as feck!

I plan on getting the mini dream mat and trying that too. I already have their sluice so getting the other mat that's already cut to fit is only around thirty bucks. I also have a chunk of indicator V mat to put on the sluice flare to slow the water down before it hits the dream mat, but I was in a hurry to get to the creek so I didn't bother putting it on this time. That will be another good way to see if I'm losing Gold.

All in all I am having a lot of fun learning all this as I go, and I sure appreciate the tips from you guys who have a lot more experience than me!

 

[Irons]

Crikey, who knew beepy-sticking was such a dangerous sport!?

I guess ya gotta pay even to be a beach pirate.

Well Mr Misty, it probably isn't unless you go obsessive hog freaking wild to the point you are pushing icebergs out of the way just to get back into the water first. But Gold does that to folks.........................

 

[Goldhedge]

Remember when I was metal detecting in the water constantly for like 7 years? Yeah that fucked my arms all up.

how did it do that?

odds are good no other fool has hiked it with a sluice in their backpack.

How about a comparison picture. Something next to the sluice to get an idea of size.

Also how heavy is it??

 

[Irons]

!) how did it do that?


2) How about a comparison picture. Something next to the sluice to get an idea of size.

2) Also how heavy is it??

1) Probably waving my right arm holding the detector and coil weight against fluid resistance for several thousand hours. And scooping up a few pounds of sand and gravel several thousand times with my left arm. The left knee that pushed said scoop into the gravel several thousand times is a little rough too, but holding.

2) The sluice is 6" wide by 24" long, the dream mat is 6x16. All together with the legs kit it's probably around 4 or 5 pounds. Tossed into a medium size backpack it's nothing to carry along. My heavy duty shovel and 5 gallon bucket is more work to pack along than the sluice is.


.

 

[newmisty]

Well Mr Misty, it probably isn't unless you go obsessive hog freaking wild to the point you are pushing icebergs out of the way just to get back into the water first. But Gold does that to folks.........................

View attachment 219144

 

[HistoryStudent]

I have found MESSAGES, THREADS, INFO, and personal things - VERY entertaining since 2012...

It is like a great movie with comic relief mixed with common sense...

 

[Irons]

Same creek as last week just went upstream a ways, and I ran my new mini dream mat (not the micro mat) in the sluice. My guess based on other area creeks was correct, this one got really rocky! I am looking forward to hiking it in the fall when the ferns aren't 4 feet high and the jungle has died down a bit. Funny, it's frickin' bear central back there and I go tromping through shit with about 10 feet of visibility. Ah well I'm sure they hear me coming, maybe I'll sing a bear song on the way in next time.

This creek has great potential I was only in there for around an hour and a half, 2 half 5 gallon buckets run through the sluice and I found pretty decent Gold. I just hit 2 rocky low pressure areas and I'm really happy with what I found so far. Finding a big inside bend and sharp corner where the creek slams into a bank ought to be really good. Hell if the creek bottom turns into a clay slick I'll be happy as feck!

Next time I go in I'm going to bring something to drink, stay longer and classify down to 1/8 inch before feeding the sluice. I am going to have to figure out a method that works and wastes as little time as possible, and I think I'm on the right track. The problem in my good creeks is every pan has so much black sand and garnets you'd stand there for a week trying to get a speck count. What I'm doing now is if I know the creek has good Gold once I get to a good area with packed gravel I just hammer it through the sluice and run as much material as possible.

Here is a good look at the creek, the black sand from hell in just one pan, a good shot of the glacial deposit cobbles and black sand eroding from the bank and a pretty decent speck count for less than 2 hours on the creek!

I'll never make any money doing this, but it's fun as hell and good exercise. And the locations are just gorgeous.

 

[Tbonz]

Irons,

Just wondering when you are going to admit, you have trained your dog to find all of this gold?

 

[Irons]

Irons,

Just wondering when you are going to admit, you have trained your dog to find all of this gold?

 

[newmisty]

 

[Irons]

View attachment 219801

That would be a formal Finny smirk!

 

[newmisty]

That would be a formal Finny smirk!


View attachment 219802

Straight G

 

[Goldbrix]

Funny, it's frickin' bear central back there and I go tromping through shit with about 10 feet of visibility. Ah well I'm sure they hear me coming, maybe I'll sing a bear song on the way in next time.

Back in the late 60s my dad took us on vacation to Yellowstone. At the time Park Rangers would give talks and presentations in the designated camping areas of trailers and tents. After a slide presentation - Stay Away from the Bears-which had photos of a bear ripping through the top of a convertible to get at food in the back seat. The Ranger advised anyone hiking to carry & play a radio while on hikes. " Changes in altitude can make you winded" he said " playing a radio keeps you from scaring wildlife especially bears who you may walk up on on the mountain trails".
What you said reminded me of that camp talk way back when. They'll hear or smell you before you ever see them, and playing the radio just in case.

 

[newmisty]

Many hikers on the AT (Appalachian Trail) wear small bells on their pants for the same effect.

 

[rte]

That country sure beats 110 in the dry desert.
We got some rain Friday evening and the street was running pretty good with the wind driven rain.
Was going to head out to the claim and see how the road going in faired, but when the thought came up it was 92 degrees (supposedly felt like 102 with 54 percent humidity)
May be next week in the early morning.
I think I did a good enough job making the baracade that it should have held.

 

[HistoryStudent]

At

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latest radio show 7/31/2021

says that in the next few years the methane and temperature will
rise some 20 degrees... every day... move now...

www.engineeringwatch.org

click downward see the FREE MOVIE
"the dimming "

if your mommy did not drown all the dumb ones!

 

[Goldbrix]

if your mommy did not drown all the dumb ones!

That joke is in bad taste.
Back in the late 70s in my ER work the local ambulance brought in a 27-30 yr old female who had attempted suicide. She not only cut up her arms but they appeared burned up to the elbow.
Surgeon said there was no vital vessels slit so they sedated her, wrapped both arms and put her in leather restraints.
Within an hour the Coroner walked in escorting a gurney into the morgue.
About a half hour later he came back through the ER and told us the woman had scalded and drowned her three small children then tried to take her own life, but failed.
When the floor nurses found out about the incident some of the nurses wanted to go record the babies crying in the Deliver Room/Nursery and wanted to play the recorded crying in her private room while she slept in her drug induced coma. (some weird shit happens on the Late Night- Early Morning shifts, at least back then).

One of the saddest days of my career in the ER.

 

[Irons]

Got back to the creek today and even though it was as God awful hot and steamy as florida I still had a great time. Learning more about my sluice and this particular creek every time I get out there. I was shoveling a hard packed gravel bench that should have had good Gold but it only had a few good sized colors at clean up. I am learning every creek is different, a bench like that in my clay bottom creek would have been loaded with specks.

Ah well, as I learn more I will find more and just being out is wonderful. I put the deep V indicator mat on the top of the sluice with a couple clips and that worked great, I am confident this setup is a killer on the little Gold.

Prospecting makes me happy and I didn't get skunked, so it was a good day!

 

[rte]

With practice comes perfection and just as important, organizational skills for all the extra baggage.

 

[Goldbrix]

Ya got room for some more buckets if ya didn't notice.

 

[coopersmith]

With practice comes perfection and just as important, organizational skills for all the extra baggage.
View attachment 220609

I wish I was closer, id come help you shovel.

How many full buckets can that rig haul?

 

[rte]

Ya got room for some more buckets if ya didn't notice.

Actually no.
The generator and drywasher have been moved to the garage out of the heat.
The shovels are other tools are getting used around the house.
I thought there was plenty of room for everything when we first got the jeep.
Had to relocate the spare tire and add a full length roof cargo rack.

 

[rte]

I wish I was closer, id come help you shovel.

How many full buckets can that rig haul?

We comfortably have about 18 when we go out.
We usually fill 6 to 8 buckets screened to 1/4" through the trommel before running the buckets through the drywasher.
Rinse and repeat 3 times in about 5 hours before were pretty beat down for the day.
The back seats are folded down to get the best use of space.
Not bad for the initial purchase price of $800

but it had to be brought home on a trailer.

The kid was out fishing and bounced it around enough to disconnect the electrical connection for the fuel pump.
Water pump had a drip, sat long enough for the radiator to be dry,dead battery and it needed tires soon.
Was a bit of a gamble.

 

[hammerhead]

We comfortably have about 18 when we go out.
We usually fill 6 to 8 buckets screened to 1/4" through the trommel before running the buckets through the drywasher.
Rinse and repeat 3 times in about 5 hours before were pretty beat down for the day.
The back seats are folded down to get the best use of space.
Not bad for the initial purchase price of $800
View attachment 220645but it had to be brought home on a trailer.
View attachment 220646
The kid was out fishing and bounced it around enough to disconnect the electrical connection for the fuel pump.
Water pump had a drip, sat long enough for the radiator to be dry,dead battery and it needed tires soon.
Was a bit of a gamble.

Those are fun rides. Used to have one for work. Got me where I needed to go. I rented a brand new Grand Cherokee back in 2015. Rode nicely on the highway.

 

[Uglytruth]

That beep stick didn't take up that much room. I see an off road trailer in your future.