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Offline DalTopic starter
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« on: March 25, 2011, 11:16:27 am »
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Most of the mines around here are just pits dug into the side of the mountain. There are usually several tailings piles for these mines and they're usually 10-15 feet high. So, how do ya know where to search for the good stuff? I have searched for info on how they worked the mines, to understand and not found much. Is there a descriptive example of a typical mine anywhere?
Thanks again folks.

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Offline Ridge Runner
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« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2011, 11:58:52 am »
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Dal we have some very wise people here when it comes to mining and i'm sure they will be along shortly
to help you out,

AU

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« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2011, 02:08:39 pm »
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You read them the same way the people that dug the holes did. LOL!

You have to know what minerals and mineral formations to look for.

Do you have any Idea what type of mines they were?

Were they mines or just Prospects.

If there just relatively shallow holes , they may just be dead end Prospects.

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Offline DalTopic starter
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« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2011, 08:26:47 pm »
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I should have included more information. Typically they're big, covering quarter acre to several acres. Hydrauliced (sp?) and are almost always of red dirt with small quartz pieces in it sometimes infested with so much quartz, it glitters. Often they have created several ravines from the earth that they washed out but usually just a big bowl shape. The red dirt here is basically red-orange, sometimes yellow, but the mines are of the darker red. It drains water very well and is kinda grainy. It doesn't feel too much like clay to me, but everyone around here calls it "the red clay" It grows fir trees very well for what that's worth. So what should I look for here? tiny grains of free gold, or did the original miners grab the quartz in this soil and crush it? Would I be better off setting up the sluice or the metal detector?

The other kind of mine here seems to be serpentine. The mines look the same, but in the serpentine, they obviously used picks and shovels instead of a water hose.

Sorry, I don't have a camera, that'd tell you guys all you need to know, I'm certain.

I will try to get to the local library next week to see if they have any local mining history, unfortunately they have limited hours. Additionally, the creek at one location I'm curious about will dry up in short order if the rain stops so I feel like I'm on a time crunch.


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« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2011, 12:54:16 am »
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The earth you are describing sounds like decomposed bedrock. If I were you I would either just classify dirt and run it through a sluice, if no water opt for a drywasher, or run a metal detector. What part of the country?

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« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2011, 01:38:08 am »
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Dal,

You could build yourself a recirculating sluice system where you supply the water so if the creek dries up it's no big deal.  The biggest problem with these systems is keeping the water clear enough that it doesn't ruin your pump.  My thought is to put a drain up near the top of a lagre tub, put about 10 gals. of water in your tub to mark the position of drain, and have it drain into a smaller tub.  make a partitioning frame for the large tub and cover it with some old tee shirt material and put this about 3 inches from the drain.  Put the battery operated 12V sump pump in the small tub and pipe the water up to a spray bar at the mouth of the sluice, adjust flow and start shoveling those tailings.

Y'all be careful out there,
Gramps

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« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2011, 07:41:19 am »
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This is in SW Oregon.
I appreciate the tub and pump idea. I'll consider that for sure if anything much turns up. Guess tomorrow I'll set up the sluice and see.
Thanks.

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« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2011, 07:51:23 am »
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Does any of the ground look like what is shown in this video?

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Cheers

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« Reply #8 on: March 26, 2011, 10:42:45 am »
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The serpentine tailings are most likely dredge tailings following a creek bed. They simply dug up the bed of the creek and fed it into a big classifier. The tailings were deposited using a boom arm belt feed which could swing to allow clearance for the pile. Hence the serpentine effect.

Gemstones, crystals, and much fine gold went on through to the tailings. The deposits are random so a detector is your best bet for searching these for gold. Of course gemstones are eyeball only.



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« Reply #9 on: March 26, 2011, 10:51:33 am »
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"Gemstones, crystals, and much fine gold went on through to the tailings. The deposits are random so a detector is your best bet for searching these for gold. Of course gemstones are eyeball only."

A good Black Light at night Fluoresce Gem stones!   Worth a try for sure.




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