Heading out for Gold

It was quite the week down on the creek. Many other folks had the same idea of where to do a little mining during the cold weather, so by the weekend, there were 9 of us working the same area. It seems that a lot of people are getting "gold fever" from watching the lastest TV shows about it. Everybody was friendly, and there is a sense of connection through the group. The gold is fairly fine (very small flakes), but everyone found gold. (I will try to post some photos of the gold, camp and such once I get to use my computer to post instead of the smart phone)

Next trip is Saturday. Wanna go?

 

I have been watching some of the gold mining shows on TV, and noticed the miners in Africa using a V-board with carpet to wash gold from clay. This might be a really good skill for someone living low-budget/camping. On the last trip out I found a nice gold bearing clay deposit. A sluice box does not catch gold well from clay, so I just worked a couple of pans to check the contents.

The "gold board" as shown in Ghana is cheap and easy build. Just screw or nail two boards to form a "V" trough, and put some outdoor carpet in the trough. I'm going to put ribbed rubber matting in the bottom of mine with carpet on top (extra good gold catching). A complete set of tools to get gold this way costs less than $100.

Report after return in couple of weeks.

 

Out door carpet isn't thebest for the job. Get some miners moss instead.

 

Persons interested in learning to find a little gold while out in the woods can PM me for when and where to meet. For a first trip, we would be at a location where there are plenty of other miners around..... Even I am not crazy enough to take someone I only know from the internet to a remote location.

As to the use of miner's moss; it is rather expensive, and not something everyone can just go out and buy. The Ghana gold board needs to be super cheap and easy for anyone to build. I might make a little video on the making and use to post on youtube. It could be a good thing to know if you're broke.

 

Well, cut the trip a couple of days short. Got some gold, but the Ghana style board was not long enough to use at a reasonable pace. Ran my regular sluice, and did okay.

The problem was my little dog. She discoved how to open the camper door. I left her in the camper with heater on, and when she opened the door, the furnace ran full blast all day.... and used up all the propane. O'well, try again next week.

 

You're concerned with the cost of miner's moss. I suggest that you get some anyhow and also get some deep V ribbed rubber matting. I have experience with both and trust me when I say they're worth it. They are not *that* expensive, either.

 

This trip was a bit chilly. It was sunny and clear during the day which was nice, but the temp really dropped at night. It made me glad to have a heater in the camper.

The clay 'board' was too short to work with any speed ~ it would be faster to just pan. The question of miners moss is a non-issue. I have plenty of other equipment to work.

Still looking for others interested in finding gold, and learning to live in the wilderness.