Sunday Funday

[Bishop]

got out today.
weather is getting cooler here, 87 degrees and was able to get out for a 6 hour hunt.
this was a prospecting hunt in a new wash/area so was very happy when the first
8 grain bit came in within 30 minutes. after that we slowed down knowing there was
gold in the wash. about 2 hours later my friend was calling to me he had got this
nice 31 grain nugget. fun watching him all excitedly carrying it one hand griped over the other
like it might get away.
the area is remote. a hard, steep  hike to the wash and the wash is loaded with black sand, so much so that
the 6k was really struggling on its lowest settings.
targets were being masked by the black sand.
would a beeper with discrimination help with this. we were using the neo mags to clean up the black
sand off the bedrock and the non ferrous targets were much crisper after a sweep with them.
my friend wants to file a claim on it. i don't know. it is really hard to get to and
i don't really know if i want to bring attention to the the area with a new claim.
it is going to take a lot of trips/time to placer this wash out. we barely made a dent in what needs to be checked out.
 im sure someone will come along and see our work and figure out that there is nuggets there. catch 22 i guess.
also i cant see bringing a dry washer in as it would be too difficult, so probably just going
to scrape it down beep it and keep moving on.
anyway, always a good day with new ground to hit.

[GB_Amateur]

1 hour ago, Bishop said:

it is going to take a lot of trips/time to placer this wash out. we barely made a dent in what needs to be checked out.
 im sure someone will come along and see our work and figure out that there is nuggets there. catch 22 i guess.

If it's tough for you to access, won't that be the case for them, even if they find it?  You're apparently one (and a half) step(s) ahead of them already.

[geof_junk]

Better to keep your mouth shut than take a claim. I took a claim out on a spot where I got 26+ ounces from first. All it did was bring it to everyone else's attention. By being careful I have had two spot that the wife and I got over 1 kilo from one and more than 2 kilo from another with out being followed by others and leaving no trace of working it for others to see.

Using the Neo Magnet did you have it covered with a cloth to help moving the black sand from it.

[Bishop]

GB_Amateur earlier this year i went to a few incredibly hard to get to washes trying
to find some fresh ground. 2 of the places had unfilled dig holes that were a few weeks
old. still found a nice 1 gram nugget in one of them. another spot i found 2 guys getting ready
to detect the wash.
these are places miles from any trail access.
there is a lot of hardcore nugget hunters here in AZ.
the nice thing with the new wash is i have not seen any evidence of detectors having been there.
even the little bit of old timer miner trash 1930? maybe older, is still there in the gut of the small wash.

geof_junk, no cloth. i just pull it off the magnet. i did have gloves on, so not to bad. my mining partner is thinking
about getting a bigger magnet, like the kind they use for magnet fishing. too heavy to lug around i think.
im going to talk to my partner again about not claiming it.
silence is golden.

[Jim_Alaska]

"silence is golden."

Until someone comes along, finds gold and claims it out from under you. I had this happen in a remote location when I lived in Alaska.