New prospect

[Slatco]

Hell ya! Chickenminer store will be back to full inventory in short order lol!

[chickenminer]

Well, it has been a slow start to the season. Very cool May was not beneficial to thawing ground! Finally getting some summertime weather so things are looking up . It will still be awhile before I can actually start washing some rocks though.
Have had the usual equipment issues, part of mining. The seal on the swing drive of my Hitachi 200 decided it no longer wanted to hold oil ! So had to pull that and replace the seal.


Out it comes ...


Not a terribly hard job just takes time when you work alone.


All back together and running smooth once again.
Hope the season is going well for you guys out there !

[DanAK]

That looks familiar Dick, I just did the same job on my newly acquired 200-3 yours looks much easier with the help of a second excavator, I used a makeshift engine hoist in the back of my pickup, I had heard horror stories about the bolts holding the swing drive assembly in place, others back east took several days to get the job done with helpers, I was glad once I got started on mine to have the swing drive removed in 45 minutes, it took longer to clean up the parts than the removal and install. The old seal was not present, missing in action I suppose it got chomped up in the big drive gear, a shop vac was the tool I used to suck the water and oil out of the gear case, iPhone photos once that cavity was empty to look for the old seal or fragments..
Once that job was complete I had to take a link out of one track to compensate for wear.. after all that a couple of top rollers were replaced and it was ready for the 25 mile walk back to the claims, I did have to wait for the snow to melt off first, a couple of flights over the trail to check the snow melt first…
Saturday I started the trip in to the mine, 11-1/2 hours later I arrived, no troubles on the way in all went well !
On a side note I was working alone also, the only hiccup I had during the re-seal job was according to the Hitachi service manual and tools required, the manual said a 27mm socket for the big bolts on the swing gearbox, as it turned out the bolts were 30mm which had me driving 200 miles to go fetch the right size socket !

[chickenminer]

Dan,
Ya it wasn't too bad of a job. Years ago I had to pull the swing drive on a Hitachi UH083 machine. I had a devil of a time trying to get those bolts broke loose !! Finally a guy said "get you one of those heavy duty battery operated impact wrenches" ! I was skeptical but bought a Milwaukee 1/2" drive M18 impact .... man that has to be one of the best tools I ever bought !! Could reach right down on the bolt and with a little hammering they all spun out.
So I was ready for this job! It took me a lot longer to get the seal from CMI than pulling the drive !!

Yes .... a lot easier when you have another excavator handy

Good luck this season and don't be a stranger.

[DanAK]

Good luck to you, Be safe out there !

[Slatco]

I just got back from my first trip out and dealt with the usual mech issues. Best fix was a metal hydraulic line on my dipper cylinder rubbed through and I was able to weld it up with tiny 1/16" 6013 rods although it took me a couple of tries. Also helped a neighbor change a turbo on a backhoe.

[chickenminer]

Well long overdue for an update. Really interesting bench I've been prospecting! The old timers hit it pretty hard and at times I could see what kept them going. It was hit and miss for me trying to piece together what they had done in the early 1900's and just what kind of a paystreak they were chasing.

Here is the first little test cut I put in. You can see it is shallow ground and the pay streak had no depth to it.


The test plant set up.


First test cut was about 800 cu/yds through the plant.

[chickenminer]

Here is the 2nd small test cut. Again about 800 cu/yds through the wash plant.


This is the typical gold I was getting. Mostly all +14 mesh. Very little of my
typical -20 mesh gold in the cleanups!

[Slatco]

Wow, chonky stuff!!

[Slatco]

Going back a few posts to the swing motor replacement - you replaced it as it was leaking oil into the case or into the rotec? What was the exchange cost? FYI- I put about 30 hrs on my new to me 290 and was very pleased as it ran flawlessly. One never know with auction purchases....