GotAU?

Good advice, it was in the clay between the slate plates where I found small bits of gold when I was up north prospecting in a Sierra foothills creek.

There was a creek I was crevicing in Northern California the had slate bedded with a vertical orientation running at a right angle to the current. It made the perfect riffles to catch gold but we had to pry the plates apart to get to it. Depending on the orientation of what you described, could there be individual pieces of gold mixed in with the slate?

Maybe glue the hole shut and go for it with just wireless, but too bad the base is cracked- what is up with that? 😞

Jim McCulloch is also a dealer in Landers, CA. I recently bought mine from him and it came with personal training from him as well.

But it’s no fun when your water bottles freeze solid and you have to sleep with them to get a drink! Nice finds!

I don’t think most people think about that, or even realize that if they file a quit claim, they’re still liable for the restoration and any other issues that may happen due to their worked claim. So instead of backfilling holes and leveling their excavations and piles, those who've walked away may still get a letter or bill from BLM or even from a lawyer later down the line. One of the mine closure projects I worked on had an issue like that, it was in town and ATVs were jumping the tailings pile before looking what was on the other side. A couple quad drivers went down the shaft behind the pile and fell about 30 feet. Their lawyers went after and won settlements against BLM and the company that had the claim.

Steven, thanks for a very informative post. Your understanding of mining law and practice, and your opinions and knowledge of working conflicts out with diplomacy undoubtedly made you a very likable and respected professional in your field. You made some very good recommendations regarding mine safety classes people who want to work or prospect around mines should take. There are many qualified instructors and even online courses out there where one can get MSHA Part 46 (above ground) and 48 (below ground) certified training. I had to complete Part 48 for an abandoned mine survey and mapping project I worked on, and even though it was several years ago that I took the class, it was very educational and is still useful for me today. The one thing that would make me really shy away from staking a recreational claim though are the financial responsibilities and liabilities for it, especially for having to do reclamation if closing it down. Selling it and passing on that responsibility to an accepting buyer is one thing, but it would be financially risky to take on a previously worked claim, especially with abandoned underground, without a good understanding of the cost of having to restore and close it as one can’t simply abandon a mine and walk away from it as in days past. Definitely something to think about before applying for a claim…

It sounds like pre-dating claims earlier than others’ discovery dates, especially if they were made well before the 90-day grace period expired is another “claim jumper” scheme that is still used.

That’s what I thought too, and reading some of the old stories and such people who mined someone else’s claim were highgraders, a label used as a noun. A lot of people use “claim jumpers” though, it’s gonna be hard to correct them all!

Question: Is it Claim Jumpers or High Graders, and what’s the difference? Seems like the terms have been reversed from what they historically used to be.

Thats a cool find though! Curious, how much was the analysis for you?

Nice to see some chunky little nuggets, good hunting!

Based on it’s roughness and lack of a fusion crust, I think it’s a meteorwrong. To help your ID of it, do a streak test by rubbing it on raw porcelain like the back of your toilet tank lid. If it is Hematite, it’ll streak a reddish color, and if its magnetite, it’ll leave a black streak.

“Black Hills Gold” jewelry makes jewelry with a mix like that. People don’t realize they’re buying a gold alloy with it.

It may be expensive though, see if there’s a Prospecting club in your area that has members who know what they’re doing, they might be able to help out.

Looks intriguing! Is there a scrap metal or goldsmith/gemology lab in your area that can use a XRF gun to analyze it?

It was a good thought to try to enlarge the writing but it’s all in English on both sides.

I saw that Chuck, that one has a nice discount too. In my case and with my amount of use, I’m just was not sure if it’s worth the upgrade from the 11” to make it worth it, so I was still weighing in on that. The 11” and 6” have been good for me, in fact I have a 5x10 Coiltek I hardly use as well!

Nice find, those are interesting scratches. Do you usually use those same settings with your other coils? Been on the fence for upgrading from my 11” to a 15”, mainly for coin and relicts. How much difference performance wise, (not sweep area or weight), have you noticed? Well, we now know who doesn’t normally wear the pants in their house! 😆

Yes, that’s the one. I also just found a right- angle adapter that will work better with it and posted the link for it above too.

Update: I just field tested my $30 Giveet Bluetooth transmitter (link posted above) with my Avantree Torus wireless Bluetooth collar headphone for 2 days now and it worked really well for prospecting. Pairing audio from the 24k to the headphones was easy and fast, and the audio responds quick with no discernible lag time between swings over a target and when you hear it, the sound quality is very good, and the charge is lasting more than 10 hours now. It also works well with my GP 3500 - no interference.

Good luck with the sale, your book is awesome! I’ll definitely try to make it out there, if for anything to see your rig!

Oh that’s it! Thanks for the references, I didn’t know they were in Cornwall. Well that would be pretty nerve-racking place to dig like that, definitely not a place to daylight a winze!

I am so glad April 1st is on a school day! My students in my technology class are going to get this. Quiz on Friday!😁

A buddy from the UK told me of a place in England where they mined tin by hand under the ocean. The adits were dry in solid bedrock and extended under the coastline below the waterline and he said you could hear the vibration of waves on the ceiling as they hit the cliffs above them.