Sonoran Dave Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 I have done zero prospecting this season, so when I got a chance to head for hills...I took it. About 20' from the buggy I realized...omg I have gotten fat! I need to do this more often. I went all the way to the head of the wash to investigate some old diggins that I had previously discovered a few years ago. Along the way I collected rock samples and half assed beeped the old pits I found on the veins showing copper minerals. One particular sample sang pretty good on the gb2, so into the sac it went. On another old waste rock pile I found the compass in the pics below and a milk bottle someone used as a target...even found the bullet that smashed it. An old round ball was cool find too. After beating around the desert for a couple miles, I had worn myself to frazzle and headed for the buggy with my treasures and 3 sacs of samples. The samples were mostly duds and when crushed yielded nothing interesting in the pan. Remember that sample that I heard with the beeper? It contained a nice surprise. 13 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonoran Dave Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 Forgot the adit pics from the Pack rat mine. That fluffy stuff? Solid ball of cholla thorns. Check out the thickness of that gossan above the adit. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPEDAVE Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Good outing in the buggy Dave,you got out and got a few dinksters. I hope to get out real soon, and already know that I,m really out of shape from having back issues. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DolanDave Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Great finds ... congrats... love that old compass. Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailertrash Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Nice nuggets, and yeah, that compass is cool. Any identifying marks on it? It looks pretty old to me. Bet that cost a day's pay, back when it was lost. Regards, Kyle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Dave, really nice going. Gotta be more around there. Bet you can't wait to get back and try again. Old Tom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 I tried to find Dinkville Road in my Atlas, and it does not exist Dave The compass is really cool , and nice job on the hardrock gold ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonoran Dave Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 7 hours ago, Trailertrash said: Nice nuggets, and yeah, that compass is cool. Any identifying marks on it? It looks pretty old to me. Bet that cost a day's pay, back when it was lost. Regards, Kyle No markings on the case at all. "Germany" is printed on the paper dial back. I'm guessing it's from the 50's? 4 hours ago, Old Tom said: Dave, really nice going. Gotta be more around there. Bet you can't wait to get back and try again. Old Tom You're right...I will probably hike back in there one day! 53 minutes ago, adam said: I tried to find Dinkville Road in my Atlas, and it does not exist Dave The compass is really cool , and nice job on the hardrock gold ! Only the the Mule deer and the occasional cow travel on Dinkville rd nowadays. That handstacking in the second pic is what remains of it. Thanks Adam. It was a great day to get out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwaysdirty Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Yeah! Some hard rock gold! Wtg Dave. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisski Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Awesome finds with the gold, and hard work to get it. I thought the pic with the back of the compass was a pocket watch at first. I always wonder what causes the packrats to choose some of those tunnels, but ignore others. First seeing those, I used to think the wind blew the chollas in a tunnel kind of like a riffle on a sluice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulder dash Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 What an epic adventure Dave. Nice bit of gold from only 1 rock. Time to sample more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomH Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Very cool day out Dave! Found some cool items and GOLD! WTG. Tom H. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatup Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Great finds on a great day out 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonoran Dave Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 1 hour ago, TomH said: Very cool day out Dave! Found some cool items and GOLD! WTG. Tom H. The compass is sitting here next to that silver pocket watch I dug out of your wash. I'm building up a nice junk collection 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampstomper Al Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 On 1/9/2019 at 8:41 PM, ArcticDave said: Check out the thickness of that gossan above the adit. That photo reminds me of the bull quartz vein wall at the Leviathan out on Stanton Rd.. You can probably find more Au at the adit entrance than in the entire wall though.. Swamp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonoran Dave Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 4 hours ago, Swampstomper Al said: That photo reminds me of the bull quartz vein wall at the Leviathan out on Stanton Rd.. You can probably find more Au at the adit entrance than in the entire wall though.. Swamp Indeed. Most SiO2 veins out there don't contain anything worth fooling with. Unless you have a use for quartz... That shattered layer above the adit in my pic has a small amount of color. The footwall is different stuff than either of the two layers above it and seems to have been their target. It's hard to see because its hidden by the pack rat nest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampstomper Al Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 3 hours ago, ArcticDave said: That shattered layer above the adit in my pic has a small amount of color. The footwall is different stuff than either of the two layers above it and seems to have been their target. It's hard to see because its hidden by the pack rat nest. I was wondering what (else) is/was back there..? Are you thinking like I am the entire adit was yet a third mineral / conglomerate either outcropping or faced level with the rest of that cut /weathering..? I doubt they just dug into that layer.. Had to be some sort of indicator, wouldn't you think..? Swamp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonoran Dave Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 Sure there were indicators. They had a large pile of dark quartz with malachite and other copper minerals off to the side. They probably found a stringer that was auriferous and cleaned it out. The piece I found that had gold was just quartz and oxidized hematite, but it was immediately adjacent to a copper enriched deposit. It was found across the valley from this little adit. Could have been a similar occurrence at this mine... a small and shallow pocket of oxidized ore. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nugget Shooter Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Just a darn good hunt that was..... Compass was wayyyyyyy cool 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonoran Dave Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 12 hours ago, Nugget Shooter said: Just a darn good hunt that was..... Compass was wayyyyyyy cool Thanks Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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