Hard Prospector

Know the area well,   volcanics are intense  and drive  detectors insane.  Lots of old timer tramp trash too.  Always have done best running my drywasher here,  lots of grams of gold.  Sometimes you just have to move dirt.

Been going down to Baja for over 40 years,  fishing , diving, exploring and in recently  prospecting.  There is a lot of gold in  Baja,  especially the central peninsula region.  Big nuggets  too  as much of the geology is made up of mineralized quartz reefs and schist.  I've seen a specimen the size of a  basketball,  huge chunk of quartz marbled through with over a dozen ounces of gold.   It was found by a prospector friend of mine who lives down there part time and has been very successful over the years. There are a  handful of American prospectors  in Baja swinging detectors and finding lots of gold. Part of their success is knowing how to stay off the radar and blend in........so to speak

This type of prospecting isn't for most, as the dangers in Baja are many and I'm not just talking about desert survival.  Violent crime and high value theft,  once rare in Mexico,  is becoming much more common.  Never bring anything down you can't afford to loose.  Speaking the language helps a lot especially if in a tricky situation. Having a Mexican prospecting partner or being married to a Mexican national is the best form of insurance to keep one out of trouble.  

This is a land of isolation, danger, adventure and raw natural beauty. And for that special breed of rugged intrepid prospector..........high risk stakes for the very real chance to find large  gold nuggets

Careful with the SL  in the marine environment. That  control box is nothing more than a un sealed "patio cover" over the sensitive electronics.

Too many arrogant aloof people living in the comfort of first world nations,  quick to pass judgement on those around the globe just trying to feed themselves day to day. 

Practical cost effective solutions (like sluice boxes of different sizes, elevations and flow rates for final clean up......Thanks Steve H) are the  realistic way for those to get ahead while lessening impact

What a country; fantastic fishing, hunting, gold prospecting and just drop dead beautiful scenery.  New Zealand is paradise on Earth. Too bad they disarmed their citizenry though.

Wonder if there is a "lay away" program for payment?

Gold seems to be more than welcome as tender in (failing) Venezuela.   Guess some things never go out of style. I don't recommend eating, drinking or smoking it though

 

😉Just sayin, it would've been wrong to read about someone being suggested to go somewhere with them not knowing they could get a ticket and lose their prospecting equipment for it.  It's his choice and at least he's free to make a knowledgeable one about it now.  You are right too, the hobo miners there don't care and don't have much to give up for it.

And yup, the Dale is a good area. it's where I detected my first pickers. - that's one of my favorite places to go also.  Lots of drywashing there and if you look at it on Google Earth, it's amazing how much organized testing has been done across the hillsides - you can see grids across some of them.  Lots of claims there too, so one has to check the maps.

Back in the 90's,  the Dale gave up POUNDS of gold to the first guys smart enough to swing through there. Know of one guy who took out several pounds from one area, where the nuggets bled off an out crop,  down slope with his Goldmaster.  My first time in there was in 2010 and I did OK with my White's

If I just had a time machine........ 

Virginia Dale is a straight shot east on  I 10.  Your about 20 years too late for most places but this one still kicks em out occasionally.  Look for recently left drywash tailing piles,  spread them out and swing over.  Hard to believe some people STILL don't detect over their own piles before taking off.

7 minutes ago, GotAU? said:

A lot of gold has been recovered from the East Fork of the San Gabriel, but unfortunately, much of it has been removed from mineral recovery and it’s now closed to Prospecting- if going there,  along with Lytle Creek and other formerly open gold prospecting areas on the Angeles National Forest, one should check the forest website for information.

Sure doesn't seem to have stopped the hobo miners as they little regard for government over reach.  When you've got nothing.......there's nothing to loose.  

A  telephone spotted on one of the desks looks to be of the 1980's (electric multi push button directory)

Careful flashing those gold teeth!

"Underwater archaeological site"  means nothing more than a place where a ship met its untimely end and  hence forth to be "dissolved" by the corrosive effects of an incessant salt water bath. Better to be salvaged, relocated to a museum and enjoyed by humanity.

A real chunk of treasure from Mother Earth,  just love those speci's!

SDC2300;  simple to use, excellent small gold detector and actually a pretty good beach machine for gold jewelry.

That rogue wave might as well have been an "acid bath" to any un protected electronics.....never to be the same again.

  Pick up a good used one and start over.

Not fair!  The Anzac prospectors don't deserve to be gauged by excessive import duties, taxes and BS exchange rates.

Equinox 800 gets all the vlf glory these days but the Gold Bug Pro (19 kHz) with the 11" DD has been my best gold detector in iron infested trashy mining sites .........still to this day.  Just love the simplicity, depth, ergonomics and very effective discrimination.   

Not so fast!  Many of these same climate experts were saying back in the 1970's we're headed into the next ice age..........don't toss out that snow shovel just yet

Just say'n it never hurts to have a  "Plan B"

Was in Fairbanks and Dawson a few summers back,  Packed mostly heavy jackets, pants, caps nit caps and gloves.......freezing cold Alaska right?    Not exactly.  As an after thought I threw in a pair of cargo shorts and few t shirts and glad I did. The week I was there it was in the mid to high 80's and it was actually cooler  back where I live in San Diego!   Locals said: " Oh yah, we can get several weeks of hot weather every July / August."

Boy did I feel like a  greenhorn California knuckle head

Another consideration to make a living gold mining would be to work for  an  existing gold mine operation  currently in production.  With the price of gold being what it is, there's plenty of opportunity out there. I know of a kid right out of high school who's working for a small "mom n' pop"  placer mining operation and gets paid a percentage of the take plus board. He is compensated very well (beyond the contract amount) as he's a hard worker and they want him to stay.

Might want to consider watching;  "Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue"  for extra perspective here.

Glad you and the jeep came through,  no gold but the adventure and a tight scrape put one hell of a memory in the polk

Couldn't figure out what in the Hell happened..........thought maybe an asteroid strike

Good to see everyone again!

That 8 gram'r would make a beautiful pendant for sure