Alwaysdirty Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 (edited) I had a chance today to get out with a guy I work with who's a total gold newbie and has been showing interest in prospecting. He's a hard worker and a smart guy so I figured I'd take him out drywashing and test his worth with a shovel and my Keene 140. If this works out we could be contenders in the next handstacking nationals representing Northern Arizona.We hit a spot I know has yellow but I haven't been there for over a year and man how things had changed from the monsoons. 10+" of overburden had been deposited on top of what was 10" to bedrock last year.and the ground was pretty moist all the way down so I would rather have moved on, but we had no plan B and limited time so we went for it. New guy (Cory) got a quick lesson in handstacking and went for height with his walls but came up with some would be penalty's. A collapse, encroachment, and bumping the riffle box while running material would be frowned upon by the national's judges. Overall a very strong showing for a first timer. I showed some great effort with no collapse's or hourglassing, but would have been docked points for a poor location chosen and losing count on buckets ran.We were only able to run about 30 buckets because of the massive amount of overburden removed first and we also ran those 30 buckets through twice because of the moisture content. I beeped the bedrock after vacuuming and only came up with a BB.I'm sure our recovery rate sucked considering the damp soil and first time with the 140. But, I think there might be a new handstacking team on the horizon. We didn't end up with a lot, but in the end did have some color to show for it. Looks like the training will continue.Little tiny picker out of the riffle tray from the first cons empty. Edited December 8, 2015 by Alwaysdirty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garimpo Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Good school AD, guess that one little picker was enough to give Cory the "fever". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoser John Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 The good, the bad and the ugly. I really appreciate these "true" stories as nobody hits the motherlode very often. Lots of hardwork done in your school of hard knocks and it sure seperates the boys from the men....and us ol'farts too If I shoveled 30 buckets I'd be on the way to the ER with my trouble prone back. Kudos great pics/story thanx-John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahorton10 Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Awesome! That's definately enough gold to get someone hooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulder dash Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Good golly!! I see quality handstacks!! Looking like you earned that gold.. That is some deep damp ground there my friend. Watch out for hourglassing,it's the beginning of the end when that happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 This just go`s to show......Have a back up plan The hand stacks admirable, however, losing track of buckets will definitely earn a penalty Glad you found some color "AD" & co.! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwaysdirty Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 Thanks guys!Gold in the box did it. Corys talking about getting another blower so we can run the drywasher and vacuum at the same time. Sweet! Can't wait to seriously clean some gulches out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampstomper Al Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Good job spreading the fever, AD SA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomH Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Way to Go Shay Hopefully you found a kindred spirit there to team up with and do some dry washing.Great story! GL to youTom H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisski Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 (edited) I want to show a handstack that stood the test of time, at least an entire monsoon season. I dug three feet of overburden to get this handstack. Edited December 9, 2015 by chrisski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulder dash Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 O no!!! Another contender!!! Excellent stacking!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisski Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Good samples from that spot. Once I moved and ran that material, did not get near the gold from the spot the sample did. At least the handstack is something to show for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampstomper Al Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Interesting, Chris.. I would think that should point you in the direction where the better values lay..Only exception I can think of would be it's 'uniformly' thin throughout and the location you sampledjust happens to be where it all settled out but hadn't yet worked its way to the bottom..The monsoons giveth and the monsoons taketh away.. Thistlesinmyskin 14, 5..Swamp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisski Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 I think that at that spot the place I sampled was where it "concentrated." After working several days on that wash, I ended up getting about $1 per ton worth of gold, far not worth any production run. That wash does have pockets though. I know that it had been worked from old maps showing prospects and at least four stone pile claim markers a couple hundred yards downstream. I don't see signs that this place had been worked this far up. Could be because the old timers did not find it worth their time and left, or could be because they did work it and in the last 60 years there's been an "epic" flood that washed away their handstacks and other evidence.Most of the bedrock in that area is so soft and cracked, sometimes I've dug a couple of inches into it before I realize I'm at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulder dash Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Dude only a buck a ton?? Need a buck for 50lb bucket.. Good experience and exercise.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampstomper Al Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 A buck a bucket indeed..! $44 a Mt is a great return if one is processing multi 200 yard capable dumptrucks per hour day in and day out but only ehhh to ok when doing it the most efficient dry way by hand possible in a somewhat high-graded location as well.. A perfect example would be you, BD, and adam.. Discounting everything except actual vacuuming and drywashing time I'm fairly certain the two of you would put $44 return from 44 buckets run into the "Dude why are we even working here?" category.. Now let's look at chrisski's situation: First claim, I'm guessing.. He did his research, knows it's produced gold in the past, but still most likely a fringe location because everything nearer the higher-yielding area(s) are claimed up.. The kicker is due to his work he has hardly even begun investigating his claim, just made a stab or two at a couple likely looking spots months to well over a year ago.. There's two completely different methodologies taking place.. BD & adam have years of experience and are roaming BLM land looking for potential new hot spots while also working past producing and nearby locations.. Chris is much newer to the sport, is limited to a finite amount of space and really just in the beginning stages of discovering what his claim may hold in store.. While it's great, amazing in fact, to revel in the ongoing saga of BD/adam, I'm also quite interested in following the story of chrisski's process of discovery and growth.. Keep on keeping on all of you..! Swamp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulder dash Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 Thanks for the compliment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisski Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 My problem is also time. I can only break away from work a day a week when I'm in AZ. I'm away 10 and half months a year now. I've been limiting myself to an hour drive from the West Valley Phoenix.My breakeven point is $40 per ton.I change jobs in May or June and I'm looking at a few places that would need me to stay a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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