Morlock Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 7 hours ago, homefire said: Dust is being collected by the earth by the tons every day. HF It's estimated 100 tons of mostly meteoric dust enters the atmosphere each 24 hour period. You can collect it from your roof top by placing a strong magnet in the gutter spout when it rains but you'd need a microscope to really see it up close. You may not be successful the first time but eventually you will. Notable meteorite collector Robert Haag once estimated there are 6 to 8 meteorites per square mile but the vast majority are smaller then a pea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzNuggetBob Posted March 8, 2017 Author Share Posted March 8, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, Morlock said: It's estimated 100 tons of mostly meteoric dust enters the atmosphere each 24 hour period. You can collect it from your roof top by placing a strong magnet in the gutter spout when it rains but you'd need a microscope to really see it up close. You may not be successful the first time but eventually you will. Notable meteorite collector Robert Haag once estimated there are 6 to 8 meteorites per square mile but the vast majority are smaller then a pea. He told me the same thing Morlock but I disagree. I think there are many more than that just hidden in plain sight. If you dont want someone to find it where do you hide a rock? another friend told me how they tracked down a fall site by taking and analyzing scotch tape samples off of parked cars in the area. AzNuggetBob Edited March 8, 2017 by AzNuggetBob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morlock Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 1 hour ago, AzNuggetBob said: He told me the same thing Morlock but I disagree. I think there are many more than that just hidden in plain sight. If you dont want someone to find it where do you hide a rock? another friend told me how they tracked down a fall site by taking and analyzing scotch tape samples off of parked cars in the area. AzNuggetBob Well, I don't know how you would prove it or disprove it. Certainly you wouldn't have many in high temp & humidity areas like the southeast part of the country. They would disintegrate pretty quickly I would imagine. But you're right. Most people wouldn't recognize them but how to figure out the true "meteorites per square mile" is beyond me. We just know they are out there.... Interesting way of tracking a fall with the scotch taping of cars. That would require incredible patience due to altitude and wind, imho. Thankfully I don't have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homefire Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Got me thinking with the Tape thing. You know they have those plant pollen collection machines all over the country. Guess they check them every few days or what not for your dandy pollen report on the weather. They have a vacuum set up drawing air threw a filter paper some what like a coffee filter. I think the EPA also uses them to gather data on Particulate Matter. Wonder if anyone has ever used them to do a star dust check. ???? Just a thought. HF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyy Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 On 3/2/2017 at 0:09 AM, AzNuggetBob said: After looking at my last post it got me thinking about putting more up on what has worked for me., some people don't think indicators are important. That's fine they have their methods, I have mine. So lets talk about indicators and I'll share some of how I use them to find gold and you can too. There is a lot to learn here so stick with me and I'll try to cover them. Whether your hunting flats, creeks,Dry washes or mountain hillsides. Indicators can and will point you in the right direction once you learn how to understand them. They include simple visual mineral ID commonly associated with gold and can lead to some other valuable minerals as well. also basic geology and basic use and understanding of the topography, geographic shape of the land(boulder runs are one of my favorites) so you concentrate on high probability areas rather than wandering around the mountains waiting for a nugget to pass under your coil. love that statement.JK!. Some say they don't really care if they find gold or not, just have fun getting out, meeting people, ETC. So I guess we wont see many of them here. AzNuggetBob Great story, AZNBob. I was wondering what you meant by "boulder runs" until I got caught up with your Dynamite 101 story. Must be a Rich Hill thing 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzNuggetBob Posted March 9, 2017 Author Share Posted March 9, 2017 22 hours ago, Andyy said: Great story, AZNBob. I was wondering what you meant by "boulder runs" until I got caught up with your Dynamite 101 story. Must be a Rich Hill thing Glad you liked it Andy. true story too. but it is funny when I think back on it. crazy miners. gota get that Gold! As far as the Boulder run comment. Its a slang term I use to describe these odd boulder concentrations on hill sides and slopes. I noticed them years ago looking down from hill tops and realized that they were often the source of the gold nuggets in patches I was finding near and even around them. now I use google earth to spot them. Boulders and nuggets often run together and can contain "cut you coarse" nuggets from near by veins or lodes. they are caused by gravity and erosion concentrations rather than old large flooding events. and when I say flooding events I'm referring to ancient placers. they are much older. sometimes before the mountain pushed up under them. they are often cemented in and the stones show much more wear and rounding and the nuggets are smooth as slugs in them and often contain rock types from other areas miles away. Boulder runs are much more recent concentrations and contain local rocks. some are in just slightly lower areas on a hillside some times covered by brush. some are higher up. some are just above the current washbed and referred to as old benches. where the current wash has abandoned them and took an easier path down the hill leaving these odd concentrations of boulders and nuggets behind. Boulder runs are in more or less straight lines or groups. they can also be in groups up on ridges or flat spots high up on the mount side. AzNuggetBob 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwaysdirty Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 On 3/7/2017 at 9:26 PM, clay said: I used to spend a lot of time riding horses with the chief geologist in Jerome. I learned a lot about the history, geology, mineralization and operations in Jerome during those long rides. When the main shaft there was still under lease to Verde Ex and later UVX there were major efforts to quell portions of the burning tunnels. "Burning" of the ore is probably not the visual you might be enjoying. The tunnels had been sealed with massive doors and all the "burning" taking place was intense de oxidation of the ore bodies. No flames and the only oxygen involved was the bound oxygen in the minerals - there was no free oxygen left in the "air" down there. Here's the interesting part, the minerals found in those burning tunnels and stopes were being pushed by the intense heat and oxygen starvation to extremes of their natural series. This has created some of the rarest minerals on earth. I saw many small but beautiful specimens found in the "fire" areas. The Jerome mines created the "Billion Dollar Copper Camp" but the biggest secret was the fact that more gold and silver values were pulled from the mines than copper. The copper investors were thrilled by the huge copper returns but the owners were made some of the wealthiest men on earth by owning the "byproducts" of that copper operation. I saw pictures of a 40 foot high by 12 foot wide lens stope that contained almost solid gold. According to the records that was neither the only one nor the largest found. That article on Jerome got a lot of the history wrong. Mining has continued on a smaller scale almost continuously since since Phelps Dodge closed their working operations in 1953. As an illustration the Big Hole Mine lease operation continued until 1975. This involved scaling the pit walls with a crew of between 8 - 12 men and transporting the ore by pickup truck to the railhead in Clarkdale. The ore was processed at the Douglas smelter. The Big Hole Mine operation produced 200,000 tons of ore that contained 25 million pounds of copper (12,500 tons), 2,800 ounces of gold, and almost 200,000 ounces of silver. All that with less than a dozen employees working the exposed wall of the "worked out" pit. The Jerome deposits are still a potential target for free gold mining, tungsten mining of the tailings piles and one of the largest zinc deposits on earth. That is without even considering the significant copper, silver, gold sulfite ore bodies still known to be in in place. Freeport Mc Moran, the successor to Phelps Dodge owns the hill there now - including nearly the entire town of Jerome. They will mine Jerome again when the time is right. There has been talk through the years of razing Jerome to establish a bigger mine than in the past. Freeport not only owns Jerome but also most of Clarkdale and the Smelter/Slag dumps along the Verde River. There are long term leases on most of the surface buildings but I'm familiar with those lease contracts and it wouldn't take much money to close them before term. They also own the air rights for the Verde Valley and have water rights senior to the State and SRP. Much like the history of the Rosemont plan south of Tucson the Jerome plan is a long timeline plan that is being played out mostly behind the scenes. Rosemont started acquisition and manuevering for position in 1964 and it is a world class deposit that is yet to be mined. Jerome on the other hand is already into it's second century of planning and will eventually become one of the largest mines on the planet - again. Of course all this planning is taking place by the owners of the mega mining corporation(s). The sad part for the little guy is neither one of these mega deposits has much in the way of surface pay. Without a mega miner hiring labor and staff there will be no payout for local small operations - unless you want to negotiate another Bug Hole Mine with Freeport. Wow clay! I grew up in the Verde Valley and live in Cottonwood now, I've heard rumors of Jerome being one of the most valuable mineral deposits in the country and that someday it will be mined again and the real true value is in the gold and silver and rare minerals, many assume it was just copper, everybody here thinks that operations there are gone and never coming back. It is really cool to hear all of that from you. Back in the 90's when I was in highschool we would sneak up to the old ore refinery above the slag pile along the river that we thought was abandoned and play paintball inside. It was perfect! Like being in Beirut with all the collapsed concrete and multi levels. We got away with that for about two months until someone caught wind and they erected the 10' storm fence with razor wire on top. That alone made me realize there was future plans for the place, also while in the old refinery at the west end we could hear large pumps? or heavy equipment vibrating? Yet there was hardly any activity on the grounds but you could tell some of the smaller buildings had people going in them once in awhile. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowPoint Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 8 hours ago, AzNuggetBob said: Glad you liked it Andy. true story too. but it is funny when I think back on it. crazy miners. gota get that Gold! As far as the Boulder run comment. Its a slang term I use to describe these odd boulder concentrations on hill sides and slopes. I noticed them years ago looking down from hill tops and realized that they were often the source of the gold nuggets in patches I was finding near and even around them. now I use google earth to spot them. Boulders and nuggets often run together and can contain "cut you coarse" nuggets from near by veins or lodes. they are caused by gravity and erosion concentrations rather than old large flooding events. and when I say flooding events I'm referring to ancient placers. they are much older. sometimes before the mountain pushed up under them. they are often cemented in and the stones show much more wear and rounding and the nuggets are smooth as slugs in them and often contain rock types from other areas miles away. Boulder runs are much more recent concentrations and contain local rocks. some are in just slightly lower areas on a hillside some times covered by brush. some are higher up. some are just above the current washbed and referred to as old benches. where the current wash has abandoned them and took an easier path down the hill leaving these odd concentrations of boulders and nuggets behind. Boulder runs are in more or less straight lines or groups. they can also be in groups up on ridges or flat spots high up on the mount side. AzNuggetBob Hello AzNuggetBob, I have been following along reading much of the information that you are providing as to where gold comes from. You provide some pretty-valuable information, especially for those just starting out detecting and/or prospecting. I have learned to utilize much of that same information as well over the years, especially those regarding Indicators of gold. I am curious though, when you are describing "Boulder runs" how can you tell the difference between a boulder run (Indicator) and just a bunch of localize boulders or boulder-mounds in an area?? Is there anything significant (or different) about a boulder run, as opposed to the localized boulders?? I hunt the North Bradshaw area of Northern Arizona (Lynx Creek). When I am on a ridge looking down in some of the areas the localized boulders all look the same, nothing, as I can see sticks out as being different. It's only when I actually get down into a wash that I can see the differences in strata (the granites, schist, serpentinite, etc.). I have noticed in some areas where there is a completely different-type of rock mixed within the localized-rock. It is different in texture and colored, and I have usually found nuggets there. But I don't consider it to be a boulder run, just a different boulder (rock) outcropping. Gary 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzNuggetBob Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 2 hours ago, GDM/PV said: Hello AzNuggetBob, I have been following along reading much of the information that you are providing as to where gold comes from. You provide some pretty-valuable information, especially for those just starting out detecting and/or prospecting. I have learned to utilize much of that same information as well over the years, especially those regarding Indicators of gold. I am curious though, when you are describing "Boulder runs" how can you tell the difference between a boulder run (Indicator) and just a bunch of localize boulders or boulder-mounds in an area?? Is there anything significant (or different) about a boulder run, as opposed to the localized boulders?? I hunt the North Bradshaw area of Northern Arizona (Lynx Creek). When I am on a ridge looking down in some of the areas the localized boulders all look the same, nothing, as I can see sticks out as being different. It's only when I actually get down into a wash that I can see the differences in strata (the granites, schist, serpentinite, etc.). I have noticed in some areas where there is a completely different-type of rock mixed within the localized-rock. It is different in texture and colored, and I have usually found nuggets there. But I don't consider it to be a boulder run, just a different boulder (rock) outcropping. Gary Gary there is no 100% on boulder runs. they occur around the world. Its another tool I use. but if your hunting in a boulder pile area like the Prescott area, this may not help you much. Prescott sucks for prospecting by eye.to many pine needles,trees and boulders. thats why I like desert hunting. in many gold mining areas you can use this and they are a priority for me to hunt. as soon as I get to a new area this is one of the things I concentrate on. sure there are the usual "other" more well known nugget indicators but you can't see them from a distance, and you can't see them if the ground is covered with leaves or brush. AzNuggetBob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homefire Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 (edited) Just a tid bit. All bodies of salt water like oceans and sea's are not created equal in salt content. http://www.answers.com/Q/Do_all_oceans_have_the_same_salt_content?#slide=4 I learned to swim in the Mediterranean sea. It's so salty you would just about have to try to drown. Edited March 10, 2017 by homefire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyy Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 20 hours ago, AzNuggetBob said: Gary there is no 100% on boulder runs. they occur around the world. Its another tool I use. but if your hunting in a boulder pile area like the Prescott area, this may not help you much. Prescott sucks for prospecting by eye.to many pine needles,trees and boulders. thats why I like desert hunting. in many gold mining areas you can use this and they are a priority for me to hunt. as soon as I get to a new area this is one of the things I concentrate on. sure there are the usual "other" more well known nugget indicators but you can't see them from a distance, and you can't see them if the ground is covered with leaves or brush. AzNuggetBob Yeah, I think you bring up a good point. Indicators are SOOO different in different areas. I'm getting better at reading indicators in Wickenburg and East Bradshaws, but I know there is so much more that I don't even see. When I'm in the LSD area, I'm just a fish out of the water. I'd be the same way in Prescott. LOL. As the saying goes "You don't know what you don't know". Well, that is until AZNuggetBob shares what we don't know by throwing us a bone once in a while. Many thanks for sharing knowledge. You've given us many pieces of the puzzle, it's up to us to make them fit someplace. I know you've helped me much in my gold hunting. Much appreciated. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowPoint Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 20 hours ago, AzNuggetBob said: Gary there is no 100% on boulder runs. they occur around the world. Its another tool I use. but if your hunting in a boulder pile area like the Prescott area, this may not help you much. Prescott sucks for prospecting by eye.to many pine needles,trees and boulders. thats why I like desert hunting. in many gold mining areas you can use this and they are a priority for me to hunt. as soon as I get to a new area this is one of the things I concentrate on. sure there are the usual "other" more well known nugget indicators but you can't see them from a distance, and you can't see them if the ground is covered with leaves or brush. AzNuggetBob Well, you got that right; the Prescott (Lynx Creek) area is Not an easy prospecting area for anyone. Lynx Creek is very trashy (metal-wise) almost to the point of driving one Nuts. And the only way to really view or observe the existing terrain is down within the wash area itself. Here's another question for you, and this situation Baffles me each time it happens (as it has happened at about 4-spots now). I have run across many patches over the years up here where I would pull out 15-30 nuggets from a spot and then go upstream a bit and then find Only 1-nugget. It's usually a 3 to 5 gram nugget, but there's only One!?! I have returned over and over again each time, (and at each spot) attempting to anticipate where it may have originated-from; trying to find out if there are others there (upstream or down) and I have not as yet figured out why there is only 1-nugget at these spots??? When I have returned I have actually taken a pick and shovel and dug straight down to solid bedrock creating a ditch about 3' wide by 6' long both upstream and down, but no more nuggets?? I have detected both side banks, as well as the hillsides upstream of it without any success. In one spot the bedrock looked so good upstream that I completely cleared away the overburden of boulders, rocks, etc. for about 30' upstream to expose what (most- experienced-detectorists) would swear for sure there would have been more nuggets there.....But there was nothing. I found this nugget on a very sharp 90-degree inside bend lodged about 2" deep in a tight crevice. When my coil first picked up the signal it sounded like "just another lead slug" signal, until I popped it out there. I have kind of come to my own conclusion about these "unusual-spots" in that the nuggets in these unusual spots "Originated-Right-There" by itself, and that spot is that nugget's source. Food-for-thought. Gary 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzNuggetBob Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 Andy Give me some time to write it up and I'll throw ya another bone. Gary Here is some info that may help you out. I've been hunting the area since the 80's, lived there in 99. Prescott is a tough area. as much as I hate to admit it, its a hunt it all (not my style) in some areas because its tough to read the geology for all the tree's and pine needles. in many areas you can't even see the float. even quartz outcrops are buried under the pine needles. as you come off the mountains there the thick scrub oak brush that takes over. much of the gold I found there was from quartz or associated Iron/hematite dikes. one patch my partner and I found over by PV was a huge Iron/hematite dike about three feet thick. smoking hot stuff, could not hunt it with VLF's. all the nuggets had hematite in them. no doubt where they came from. I found three patches along lower Lynx up on the ridges. But they weren't virgin patches. the old timers had beat me to them but they left me some nuggets they missed. If it hadn't been for the hand stacks and piles along the wash sticking out of the pine needles I may have missed them. point is not all the gold is in the creek there! Ive run into several one nugget patches.They suck. I usually hunt in widening circles around it trying to find more and help define a line or direction to the source. some Ive figured out that the nugget had to be from a weak small stringer. but in almost every case the nuggets were small, gram or less. If I were you, if you haven't already and if the creek or wash is not very large I would go just above where you found that nugget(not far) and hunt the banks up several yards above the creek. that nugget hasn't traveled that far and if you find a patch you only have to give me half. just kidding. Good luck. AzNuggetBob 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowPoint Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 On 3/11/2017 at 0:40 AM, AzNuggetBob said: Andy Give me some time to write it up and I'll throw ya another bone. Gary Here is some info that may help you out. I've been hunting the area since the 80's, lived there in 99. Prescott is a tough area. as much as I hate to admit it, its a hunt it all (not my style) in some areas because its tough to read the geology for all the tree's and pine needles. in many areas you can't even see the float. even quartz outcrops are buried under the pine needles. as you come off the mountains there the thick scrub oak brush that takes over. much of the gold I found there was from quartz or associated Iron/hematite dikes. one patch my partner and I found over by PV was a huge Iron/hematite dike about three feet thick. smoking hot stuff, could not hunt it with VLF's. all the nuggets had hematite in them. no doubt where they came from. I found three patches along lower Lynx up on the ridges. But they weren't virgin patches. the old timers had beat me to them but they left me some nuggets they missed. If it hadn't been for the hand stacks and piles along the wash sticking out of the pine needles I may have missed them. point is not all the gold is in the creek there! Ive run into several one nugget patches.They suck. I usually hunt in widening circles around it trying to find more and help define a line or direction to the source. some Ive figured out that the nugget had to be from a weak small stringer. but in almost every case the nuggets were small, gram or less. If I were you, if you haven't already and if the creek or wash is not very large I would go just above where you found that nugget(not far) and hunt the banks up several yards above the creek. that nugget hasn't traveled that far and if you find a patch you only have to give me half. just kidding. Good luck. AzNuggetBob "Actually", I have been back to that one-nugget-spot "at least" a half dozen times since I first found the nugget. I have tried different methods, strategies, and even different search coils in an attempt to find another nugget, or at least some kind of hint as to where it may have come from. I have detected up on both sides of the banks at least 20' up the hillside both upstream and downstream; and I have physically-cleared all of the boulders, rocks, etc. clear down to bedrock both upstream and downstream for about 30'. I even took my gold-vac down into the exposed bedrock sections of what I had cleared and sucked every crack and crevice clean, then panned that out. All-without even a hint of any more gold. As the saying goes: "Gold is where you find it" ....BUT, the saying does not include just how much, nor how little will be there, ... nor "IF" there will be a distant-source of that gold OTHER-THAN-WHERE that one nugget is at. I know what would solve the problem, ... If you would give me the GPS locations of those 3-patches that you found up here along the lower Lynx (all those many years ago) I could go check them out to see if you overlooked any nuggets back then, or if any have surfaced over the years Gary 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampstomper Al Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 16 hours ago, GDM/PV said: ...I know what would solve the problem, ... If you would give me the GPS locations of those 3-patches that you found up here along the lower Lynx (all those many years ago) I could go check them out to see if you overlooked any nuggets back then, or if any have surfaced over the years Gary You're kidding, right..? They didn't have GPS back then.. I'm not even sure the compass had been invented yet either.. You're kinda in luck though.. With the vernal equinox coming up I bet he could give you the portable pyramid / north star midnight cross-point, which is accurate to within 15 or 20 miles.. Better ask him soon though, cos even tho his pyramid is a scale it's still a hassle to load onto a trailer.. Yer kinda out of luck at the same time.. He would never give the locations to only one person; he would give them to everyone on the forum who ever hunted Lynx, and heck, even " I've " hunted Lynx.. You're best bet is hoping he'll throw a " Let's all hunt these locations together " day / weekend, kinda like this coming weekend, which I believe he's planning on doing -- just as soon as someone invents the metal detector "Crosstalk-B-Gone" or 'infinite frequencies within allowable bands' plug-n-play unit.. Swamp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzNuggetBob Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 18 hours ago, Swampstomper Al said: You're kidding, right..? They didn't have GPS back then.. I'm not even sure the compass had been invented yet either.. You're kinda in luck though.. With the vernal equinox coming up I bet he could give you the portable pyramid / north star midnight cross-point, which is accurate to within 15 or 20 miles.. Better ask him soon though, cos even tho his pyramid is a scale it's still a hassle to load onto a trailer.. Yer kinda out of luck at the same time.. He would never give the locations to only one person; he would give them to everyone on the forum who ever hunted Lynx, and heck, even " I've " hunted Lynx.. You're best bet is hoping he'll throw a " Let's all hunt these locations together " day / weekend, kinda like this coming weekend, which I believe he's planning on doing -- just as soon as someone invents the metal detector "Crosstalk-B-Gone" or 'infinite frequencies within allowable bands' plug-n-play unit.. Swamp That's funny, thanks swamp. AzNuggetBob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzNuggetBob Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 Old placer cherry picking. I said I would share more gold indicators, here is more info that has worked well for me. this trick has helped me find a lot of patches and big nuggets. When I find an old placer area worked by the old timers (stacked rocks and classified piles along the banks of the creek/wash) are a good indicator. When I find one the first thing I do Is head to the top of these old placers, in most cases that's where the big nuggets are. where the old timers stopped working the creek or wash. If the area is new to me I dont even bother with the lower end first. too much trash. the old timers often camped on the lower portions of the placers and if your into relics, there you go. Work your way up to the top where the stacked rocks stop. you will probably find that the stacked rocks most the way up were on both sides of the wash and then up toward the top they start to move the stacking to (one side of the wash). They almost always stacked the rocks higher up on one side of the wash than the other and if they did. here is why. They knew by sampling what side of the wash the gold was coming in from and stacked the rocks on the opposite side behind them as they worked up it. they often even pulled down some of the opposite bank testing. Put your back to the stacked rocks highest up in the wash and look up, your probably looking at the source of the gold and a possible hillside patch. There is a good chance you'll also find exploratory test dig holes from the old timers up on the hillside too, they may be covered by brush and hard to see from below. Why didn't they dig up the hillside and run it? because the gold was often too scattered out for hand digging the whole hillside and very little gold showed up in their test digs. Its not concentrated like the wash and they would give up on it. in most cases that's where the big nuggets are and that's were a metal detector really comes in handy. AzNuggetBob 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonoran Dave Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Good stuff Bob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Furness Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Thanks Bob! Your candid advise on this thread is well worth its weight in gold ... pun intended! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyy Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 AZNBob - I remember that tip. See, I'm paying attention. My confusion is usually telling whether the tailings are older or not. Boot tacks in the piles will sometimes tell me more. I want to follow the old timers. They were smart as a whip. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzNuggetBob Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 On 3/14/2017 at 10:38 AM, Mike Furness said: Thanks Bob! Your candid advise on this thread is well worth its weight in gold ... pun intended! Mike Thanks for your comments. Your right I don't sugar coat things. I get to the point and still try to explain it more simple terms. I learned that when I was taking people out for nugget hunting training. I haven't forgotten what its like to be a nube. As far as trash Its hard to define trash from treasure whether it be intrinsic value,historical or just for the memories of an adventure. I have a lot of trash/relics scattered around my house and its not the value, every time I look at them it reminds me of the adventure when I found them. you cant put a price on that. On 3/14/2017 at 7:32 PM, Andyy said: AZNBob - I remember that tip. See, I'm paying attention. My confusion is usually telling whether the tailings are older or not. Boot tacks in the piles will sometimes tell me more. I want to follow the old timers. They were smart as a whip. Andy Thanks for your support. Ive decided to try and put it all here on this thred. so I may be repeating myself based on what you already know from reading my old posts or tips I have scattered around this forum. but its good to hear you learned from them. I like to date the mine site by the trash/relics. most of the time I use broken glass laying around to date them. Its not hard to tell old glass from newer glass. Its often laying around old mine or ghost town sites and there is always a dump site near by if the mine was used for very long. Search around on the net and look for a site that talks about bottle glass history. The piles if old will often have weeds,bushes or even trees grown up thru them. the older ones are the ones that your thinking Is that an old pile? some times almost flattened. just dig in with your pick you can tell if its classified, loose etc. Also dont give up on a small mine site ether. just because they didn't work the placer for very far doesn't mean they didn't leave gold behind. Ive found several small patches in these sleeper small mine sites. maybe only 2-3-4 small nuggets, still a nice skunk free day(s). AzNuggetBob 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzNuggetBob Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 (edited) Andy The old timers missed a lot of gold. In the deserts they used a simple process of elimination method by testing (panning) (dry washing) drainage's for discovery. If the operation was smaller and if water wasn't available the old timers where limited to their dry washers. Here is a map I made to illustrate some of the flaws in their method of discovering,tracing or tracking all the possible gold from a hardrock outcrop and residual placer. Random exploratory test holes on the hillside left huge gaps in their testing recovery samples and that led the to false conclusions about what may really be there. Many early miners of the gold rushes were nube's and did not understand geology at all, just a minimal amount about gravity separation. They missed small outcrops of gold that haven't made it to a wash yet.(scattered hillside placers) or even hard rock gold outcrops on gentle mountain slopes or larger hardrock deposits (pockets) that are just starting to erode out. A lot of things have changed since then.They didn't have the net,Google earth,Gold prospecting forums or metal detectors. in most cases not even books on prospecting. If they had metal detectors back then and knew how to use them, there would be a lot less gold left today. Ive got another post I'm working on about dry wash piles. Take care out there. AzNuggetBob Edited March 21, 2017 by AzNuggetBob 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dakota Slim Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 3 hours ago, AzNuggetBob said: Andy The old timers missed a lot of gold. In the deserts they used a simple process of elimination method by testing (panning) (dry washing) drainage's for discovery. If the operation was smaller and if water wasn't available the old timers where limited to their dry washers. Here is a map I made to illustrate some of the flaws in their method of discovering,tracing or tracking all the possible gold from a hardrock outcrop and residual placer. Random exploratory test holes on the hillside left huge gaps in their testing recovery samples and that led the to false conclusions about what may really be there. Many early miners of the gold rushes were nube's and did not understand geology at all, just a minimal amount about gravity separation. They missed small outcrops of gold that haven't made it to a wash yet.(scattered hillside placers) or even hard rock gold outcrops on gentle mountain slopes or larger hardrock deposits (pockets) that are just starting to erode out. A lot of things have changed since then.They didn't have the net,Google earth,Gold prospecting forums or metal detectors. in most cases not even books on prospecting. If they had metal detectors back then and knew how to use them, there would be a lot less gold left today. Ive got another post I'm working on about dry wash piles. Take care out there. AzNuggetBob Bob, can I have your permission to reproduce and sell this map? I didn't think so. lol Seriously, this is great. Thank you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampstomper Al Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 (edited) 10 hours ago, AzNuggetBob said: ...The old timers missed a lot of gold. In the deserts they used a simple process of elimination... AzNuggetBob I like it..! This makes absolute total sense..! How many times have we read something along the lines of: "... backtracked the wash a good 50' past where the hand stacks stopped and even checked up the couple small tribs..." But the one thing ya almost never read is their finding the source.. Therefore it pretty much stands to reason as long as one is still in the same drainage zone one hasn't backtracked far enough.. And while it seemingly stands to reason there needs to be the caveat of the head to the main wash near by, even that isn't necessarily required -- its absence merely makes for a greater search area.. Plus, since it probably took more than several lifetimes-and-a-half followed by a really long dry spell followed by a bigtime gully-washer or two to load up the original location then having the Au 'run out' during initial discovery & recovery, the next time gold shows up in a decent amount it won't be found nearly as far down the wash.. The thing is though, why wait..? Go find the source..! The old timers didn't have the means to easily locate the just-beneath-surface "out-croppings"; we do.. Swamp Edited March 21, 2017 by Swampstomper Al 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Furness Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Hey Bob ... Great information and makes a lot of sense for many areas that I now need to go back to and reach out further into the 'wilderness'! Thanks for adding to my poke! Mike F 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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