Prospecting & Detecting
Who Jumped Whose Claim First?
February 2019 by Bryon Tolle
At this point, stress raised my blood pressure and I was figuring out escape routes through the brush, but thought it best to continue the conversation.
A New Prospecting Spot
Once indicators start showing up along or below a contact I start to get excited. When I have shale, and outcroppings of diorite with iron-red, gritty soil and some clay thrown in, I really get lightheaded. I may be a mile away from the nearest diggings but that’s okay. I just found a spot that could provide some nice nugget hunting.
Dry Washer, Wet System or Metal Detector?
I love to dry wash old nugget patches found by detector operators, and I have found my fair share of gold dry washing those areas. I have also found a few nuggets using a detector on the bedrock exposed by dry washing the patches.
Potential Gold at Old Hydraulic Sites
So why would a modern-day prospector want to learn about a method of mining that was banned by the courts more than a century ago?
Picking Our Way Through Bedrock
Once again the coil was put over the spot but the target was in the pile now. I pinpointed, grabbed a handful of dirt and began sprinkling it over the coil until I heard that mild thud.
The Perfect Summer
Within the first 3 hours he and I had found pocket after pocket of gold and couldn't wait to tell Levi of our treasure.
Get The Lead Out!
If you do the math, it equates to about $1,500 of heavy metal value per three-hour dive. This is good wages, and you are doing a service to the environment by removing this toxic metal.
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