Chris Ben

Best of luck, keep us posted on your adventure! Chris

Great haul there!!

These were the test results on the scan

Thanks Chris, it definitely looks like a copper mineral. I'll keep trying to figure out what it is.

Hi Jim, thanks for your reply. Your specimens look great. I did a streak test, and it was black. Maybe it was the silver sulfide coating? My PI ,or the GPZ did pick it up from over a foot, so not sure. Also is there anything I should do the the specimen? To clean? Thank you Chris

The more you find. The better you get!! Congratulations Chris

Went out detecting with my buddy Dave today, looking for a new spot. He killed it with 7 grams of gold. I did get a signal on a slope. 2 or 3 inches down to bedrock. The signal improved, but a I chipped away the bedrock it got stronger and stronger. Finally over a foot deep I break out a piece of quartz with copper mineral. It is screaming on my GPZ and on Dave's GB 2 also on a pin pointer. We go back to the truck I smash it open and find a silvery metal inside. It is also heavy for its size. About the size of a small plum. I didn't think Galena was very reactive on a detector? Any ideas ? Chris

So I was able to make it out for a half day yesterday of detecting. The plan was to start at an old wash I had found a few nuggets. Hit really low and slow, jamming the coil under all the bushes. I must have done a good job before...no luck. I did see a new wash I never hit before and thought I'd give it a try. Hit a 1 g nugget right of the bat and figured I was on a new patch. NOPE lol. My super power seems to be finding lone random nuggets, not patches. I had an hour and half left before I had to go, so I decided to hit an area that has trash, and most people assume has been pounded. Its below an area of scraping and full of drywasher piles. I tried to look at the area from a different perspective and not automatically go to the washes. The plan worked. I picked the 2 small species back to back and then had to work a little harder to find the last nugget of the year. 2.8g. It was a foot down and not a solid signal to start with. 2018 was a tough year, because 2017 I picked all the low lying fruit with my new then GPZ 7000. Now I have to work a little harder, think more, and explore more. But I figure this is what makes us better prospectors. My buddy Dave and I have tried to explore and expand new areas with very limited success lol. But we will keep trying. 2019 will be a tough year as well because I have a couple of surgeries scheduled, but I'm sure I'll make the most of it. Happy New Year everyone!! Chris

Are they biting flies? Or just irritating?

Wow, great big speci!! Find any other nuggets, or just the big one? Chris

Thanks. I really feel it was a natural formation. It was attached to one of those 4 nuggets, and came free only after a soak in CLR. Plus this was in an area with no signs of man made structures with the exception of a few drywash piles and excavation pits. Chris

Stay on it !! You are just building up Karma for a big score. There were many days Dave was killing it and offering me a "mercy " nugget lol. The BB was natural somehow it was attached to other nugget. Chris

Hi guys, Dave and I had time for a short hunt Sunday. Dave had scoped out a new area that when we got there looked promising. Unfortunately no luck at all. One of these days we will find a new area. I then suggested we head back to a spot that had a bunch of trash, but a lit of mining done in the past. I got lucky and found a couple small pieces in some old drywash tailings. Another piece on a slope, and a 1.2 g nugget in an old hole. Dave went of in a different direction and had no luck...he really needs to pick up his game, he's been slacking lol I've been on the no luck side many times when he has scored. Hunting with Dave is great because if one of us happens on a patch, we'll radio each other to join in on the fun. It all even out in the end. Good karma lol. When I got home I soaked the 4 nuggets in some CLR, and when I took them out there were 5. One was a perfectly formed BB of gold... weird!! I posted before about a quartz specimen I found detecting, decided it wasn't worth keeping as a specimen so I crushed it up, and panned it. It was better than I thought. 7.7 grams. Cheers, Chris

Congratulations on a great day prospecting!

Those are not the pieces, I just soaked in clr for a bit. This big quartz is the one I'm soaking in Whink. There are many spots of gold in the quartz, mostly small, But I think there is not enough gold to keep as a specimen. I may just crush it. Thank you for advice.