29 Prospector

Bob spoke so highly of you all, he considered you family...and now i understand. I can't begin to express my gratitude for your thoughts and prayers and generous gifts. As you can imagine this time has been unbelievably difficult but you all have carried me through what would have been even more devastating. I'm sure he'll take a moment away from prospecting the universe to tap you on the shoulder and cause you to look in an unusual spot to beep or a crazy rock to overturn to bless you all for your kindness with a weird nugget or... (who knows?) the mother load! He loved being out in the deser

As most seasoned miners & prospectors know, you stay away from open shafts, caved in tunnel fronts, etc. Those of use who have worked underground and in mine rescue work, a fall of that distance will pretty much break up your bones. The decision to leave someone is a hard one to make, but you must take into consideration the danger to the rescuers as well as the material thats going to fall down on the person. Bob

This thread has been extremely interesting to follow. All points made are fully understandable from one person view or another. Having been in the recreational prospecting & mining hobby for over 50 years now, I have seen the laws change. Some for the good some for the not so good. As most here on the forum know I mine in the Dale District in So.Ca. and my father worked in the District when he was a young man. He worked in 4 of the main producers and also worked placer on his days off. When I started prospecting with him at the age of 6, I asked why we only owned one mine when he knew wher

Everyone who came in contact with RD, never walked away without learning something. I met RD while drywashing a small wash that had flattened out coming down a hill. RD was working the ridge line and came down to visit. We spent an hour talking about the Dale and our love for the place. After RD passed, Denny and I went out to his camp site to pay our last respects. The energy and emotions felt that day were heavy. It was as if RD was there with us. I'll never forget that day. We lost a truly wonderful prospector. Bob

Welcome to the forum Dusty. Your question is somewhat of a loading statement. That being said, Is the MXT a good all around detector? The easy answer is yes. It is a very good starter detector. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to the VLF style detectors, but most are together in opinion when it comes to PI units. My old hard rock partner use an MXT and has done very well with it. As with any type of detector, patience, practice, and more practice a long with more patience is what is needed to find gold. Just make sure your in a good area that's known for gold and join a club. I

Well yesterday it almost got warm, 52 degrees. Sun went down and at 4am today it was 24 degrees on our back patio. It's now 38 degrees with a high of 48 today. Where were these temps. in July & August? Bob

Good morning prospectors! Such a nice day out, for those who like to freeze their N%ts off. It's 28 degrees out here in 29 Palms @ 7:15am. It was 24 @ 5am. Fire sure feels good. Bob

I jokingly opened with the 100 bullets so that you might understand that this hobby is fun and taxing on the brain. Like Bill, my first nugget came from my own drywasher tailings. I've dug more bullets, nails, tacks, and pieces of wire than nuggets, but that's the name of the game. If it beeps repeatedly, dig it. You never know what you might find. Bob

Well there is an old saying out here in the Dale. "A newbie must dig at least 100 bullets before his first nugget" Ol'29er

Matt, Terry, and Max are right. You want to stay away from chemicals if at all possible. In today's mining world, the small independent miner usually starts out in the hole(money wise) and it takes time to begin your recovery rate. We used a 2 table set up. One was a primary cut table and the second one was a home built design by my father which we used as a finish table. If you ore runs 1/2opt or better, and free milling(no sulfides), you should get between 90-95% recovery @-80 mesh or smaller. There are many variables to any process and it will take some testing to get the right combination

This question seems to be one that confounds prospectors. For me it is quite simple to answer. BOTH. For a new person starting out, unless a good deal can be found on a gold detector, I personally would start with a drywasher. A good puffer drywasher can be bought used for a good price and is a consistent all day producer. The metal detector is a very good tool for relaxing. When you take your morning stroll or you evening walk, take your detector. As for me, due to a few limitations, I have found in the last 4 days what will work for me and that is both. The metal detector is my number 2 pro

Nice finds John. With the way your luck has been running, I would hunt gold and for go the coin shooting too. Bob

SWEEEEEEET.............

Well hello there Mike. Long time no hear. Glad to hear from you and I hope all is going well in the adventure of retirement. Bob

silvervortek, It's not that no one believes you, its the fact that all of us have been there. :hahaha: :hahaha: OL'29er