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Golden Grams Of Goodness: Nugget Shooting Stories


Lanny

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17 hours ago, geof_junk said:

From an old news paper.

HOW TO RECOGNISE BEDROCK.

A very brief inspection of old workings will toon enable the "new-chum" to recognise the bedrock of a river when he reaches it in sinking a shaft. It Is usually soft and decomposed just where the alluvial deposits rest on it, and in that condition is often known as "pipeclay" on account of its whiteness. A few feet further down, however, the slaty structure become visible, the rock gets harder, and the colour changes to yellow, grey, and other darker tints.
Down to this bottom the prospector sinks and takes up the stuff immediately resting on it with a few inches of the bottom Itself, as gold often lodges down in the crevices. In very shallow ground open trenches in various directions, or a number of holes at short intervals, are sufficient to enable the ground to be tested, but in deeper ground it is necessary to open drives from the bottom of the prospecting hole so as to try the stuff along the bottom in any direction desired. The object is to test the gravel resting on bedrock, as that is the most likely to contain gold. In some ground not a foot should be passed over without panning it, as it is not at all uncommon for gold to occur in certain narrow "runs," while promising looking stuff on either side is valueless.
While the Importance of working the gravel on the river bottom is greatly stressed, It is always advisable to pan any layer of gravel passed through In sinking a hole.

Old, abandoned ground, If it has not been too often reworked, will frequently be found to afford a living, or an occasional patch or nugget, if again carefully worked.

The Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday 28 February 1931
http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/

Thanks for adding to the volume of knowledge about getting gold from bedrock as chasing the gold on and in bedrock is something I've done for a whole whack of years, and I've really enjoyed it.

One of the anomalies of gold deposition where I usually chase the gold is that glaciation sometimes messes up the general rule that gold is found on or in bedrock. Sometimes it's stratified in many layers well above bedrock, and the bedrock itself is barren!

Thanks again, and all the best,

Lanny

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Bedrock Tips, Part 2

If you’re lucky enough to detect truly virgin bedrock, you'll need to carefully analyze the suggested answers to your questions (Part 1), plus you'll need to pay close attention to what the detector is telling you about the temperature of the rock you're hunting as well as that of any accompanying hot rocks. For example, racing into a cut while swinging your coil like a madman, to quickly cover as much ground as possible, is a bad idea. Why? Virgin bedrock demands consideration and respect due to the exceptional possibility of hidden gold. Moreover, it demands a slow approach while listening to the ground minerals and scrubbing the surface to obtain every bit of depth while listening carefully to the tiniest alterations in the threshold.

Plus, paying close attention to the mineralization helps you learn which coils will work best, including which sizes (or shapes) to use. (A variety of sizes and types helps get the job done right, and in extreme ground, the wrong coil type, or size, will waste your time.) Paying attention to the mineralization will often give you visual clues in a variety of colors which also help identify zones of the heavies that run with gold.

While working bedrock, you might try a tiny detector like the Falcon to find streaks and runs of fine gold that will elude your bigger detector's coils. It's surprising how much fine gold can be left riding on bedrock or caught in cracks and crevices. Several summers ago, I had my eyes opened wide to just how much gold gets left behind and just how much fun it is to use a tiny detector to chase pockets and streaks of fine gold, which add up in a hurry! (And, any gold detector will see gold hidden in cemented crevices, a great plus.)

On a different note, I now always use a one-two punch of a dedicated VLF gold machine, in concert with a dedicated PI or equivalent (for depth and to counter extreme mineralization). Working a large excavation in the summer heat is taxing work, so the VLF is easy to swing all day, and the additional higher-end tech sniffs out the leftovers.

As for non-electronic sniping, it's very important to visually study the rock carefully. Often when working virgin bedrock, clay is ubiquitous (seems to be everywhere). And, that clay is a great hider, and, or, robber of gold. Moreover, look at what's riding on top of or within the clay. Are there little stones of various sorts? Is it just slick clay (no inclusions)? As well, be meticulous about examining the surface of the bedrock. Sometimes what looks like perfectly level bedrock with a solid surface may have cracks and crevices perfectly camouflaged by the minerals that are running with the clay and its surrounding material, minerals that match perfectly the color of the host bedrock. Use a variety of tools to scrape and scratch at the surface. I've been stunned while sniping non-electronically to uncover rich, small cracks and crevices in this manner.

All the best,

Lanny

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Bedrock Tips, Part 3

To add some last comments, if the bedrock is dry, get a good sledge hammer and hit the bedrock to see if any puffs of dust rise up in little fountains of fine particles. This signals a hidden crack or crevice somewhere in the bedrock. One of the wonders of bedrock is that a crack or crevice may be snapped shut tightly at the surface, but can widen below its mouth significantly. I remember the first time I found one of these: it had a pocket of small nuggets in it, and the nuggets were far too big to have found their way into the crevice opening left on the bedrock surface.

There are lots of theories as to how gold deposition in bedrock crevices and cracks happens, but the important thing to remember is that regardless of the specific process, it does happen.

Knowing some of the bedrock tips in the three parts of this write-up has helped me find sizeable nuggets when sniping without electronic backup as well.

What tools help with this process? For inexpensive alternatives, a blade screwdriver bent at a 90 degree angle; a wire brush; a stiff bristle brush; an awl; a pocket knife; a small metal gardening shovel; a variety of household spoons (teaspoon size to tablespoon--be sure to have sturdy ones that won't bend easily); a small sledge and a couple of cold chisels for widening cracks and crevices; if water is present, a suction gun of some kind; etc.

With virgin bedrock, you will have the chance of a lifetime to find gold in a place that no one else has ever looked, so take the time to do a thorough job, and the reward might be amazing.

To elaborate on the above comment, I've come behind others that have worked such places in a hurry and found some beautiful nuggets (larger than anything they found) because they tore across the bedrock in a mad rush to cover the entire area as quickly as possible. However, the sad truth is that if they'd have slowed down and paid that virgin bedrock the respect it deserved, they would have found the bigger gold they left for me.

All the best,

Lanny

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