Remote Prospecting?

[Geowizard]

Jim,

Yes, I understand... Thank you!

I always say... "Go BIG or GO Home!"... most of the time I just... go home...

- Geowizard

[Micropedes1]

" Just fiddling around", I have found gold in many locations in Alaska. Most of them are in locations that make them not economically viable for mining, for one reason or another. That does not mean that I do not occasionally visit one of them for further evaluation. It also has to do with the current price of gold.

The biggest problem in Alaska is ACCESS. I have heavy equipment, snow cats, jet boats, and even a plane. For some reason, it is never enough. My knees are giving out; I'm trying to justify the expense of a helicopter to my wife. Not much luck so far though.

[Jim_Alaska]

Yes Glen, I can identify with that problem. We can deal with a lot of limitations, but when it comes to the legs and feet those limitations make doing much impossible.

I have Neuropathy from my knees to and including my feet. Needless to say this makes walking and balance very difficult. But there are other things that this condition affects too, conditions most people would not think of.

For instance, just trying to stand in one place without my cane or some support is impossible. My feet feel like I am standing on water bags, so I look like a drunk trying to keep my balance.

One other thing that happens is when standing and trying to use two hands to do anything is not possible without leaning against something for support.

Perhaps in your case knee replacement may be a solution. I have heard very good results from friends that have had knees replaced and even hips replaced. This may just be something that can get you back to functioning properly.

In my case it is a condition where the nerves are actually degenerating, no surgery can fix it. I do have an implant that stimulates the nerves and is supposed to help. It did help at first, but then the condition reversed itself. They found that the implant had moved from its original position. So now I had to have it surgically re-positioned. Now we will see if it helps.

[Micropedes1]

I am starting to feel a bit fragile. Instead of jumping from boulder to boulder with the sure-footedness of a young buck, I find myself sliding down to more stable footing and climbing back up the other side. Much more strenuous, which means I cover less ground before tiring out and calling it a day. One knee has been twisted recently and not fully healed. It seems to take longer these days to get over the bruises and injuries. Balancing on one foot for my last flight physical was interesting

I used to chide "grandpaw" about his slow movements, his cane, bifocals, and hearing aid. Suddenly, I am there, with all the hardware and complaints. But it ain't stopped me from mining...yet. I slipped recently climbing the icy track of a high-track D9. Bounced off the trunion on the way down. That hurt!!!

Getting old really sucks!
(I really need that helicopter)

[Jim_Alaska]

Glen, I just got over a severe problem with my knee from a fall. Didn't break anything, but it just would not get better. Ask your doctor about some professional therapy. I did it and it fixed it completely. Ligaments and tendons get knotted and twisted and that takes therapy to remedy.

[ProspectingAK]

If the river is aprox. 10 ft deep instead of diving in the chilly water how about making a 12 foot long suction nozzle?
Then you could dredge from the Ice under shelter with out risking life and limb to hypothermia or other misfortunes.
From a 3 foot hole you could reach a large area underwater. Set a platform on top of the hole to stand on. Mount a camera on the nozzle connected to a 40 inch screen. Is this a pipe dream?

[Geowizard]

ProspectingAK,

Welcome to the Forum!

I suggested that early in this thread... Their operation is planned for the summer.

Geowizard

[Jim_Alaska]

Welcome to the forum ProspectingAK, nice to have you with us.

There can be some serious disadvantages trying to dredge from topside. The first is trying to deal with cobbles that are too big to go up the nozzle. There are many of these in any dredging operation, they all have to be hand moved and thrown aside. This is difficult to impossible without being at the nozzle.

If you can't move them our of the hole they will be sucked onto the opening of your nozzle, making further dredging impossible until the cobble is removed.

Then you have nozzle and hose plug ups. These are difficult to deal with when you are in the water. But if you are topside the whole hose and nozzle must be pulled. It is much more difficult to clear a plug up out of the water than it is when both you and the hose are in the water.

Then there is the possibility of fast water; a suction hose is difficult enough to maneuver in fast water when you are at the nozzle, but to try to maneuver it with a ten foot length and fast water would be a real challenge, not to mention extremely tiring.

All of these things will come into play and take their toll on both physical endurance as well as lost production time.

[Geowizard]

Remote prospecting with a suction dredge;

Lemmee see here... What's missing? OHHH the GOLD!

Prospecting for GOLD is the process of looking for GOLD... Then after discovery, a smart prospector will locate a mining claim to cover said discovery... and then...

A rational forward process of mining to develop a mine or play ground...

The numbers;

From the 1969 report (ofr69-236, page 27), the Kougarok gravels had GOLD ranging from 5 cents to 15 cents per cubic yard and thickness of the gravel ranges from 3 feet to 200 feet. The Kougarok River was dredged with a bucket-line dredge which is the only profitable method of mining low grade placer GOLD in water.

The grade at 15 cents ($35 GOLD price) is .004 troy ounces per cubic yard = $5.20 per cubic yard in 2019.

But... remember... we're just prospecting...

- Geowizard

[Jim_Alaska]

That really puts it in perspective Chuck. But, they may have missed some gold at or below the 200' mark. The only problem is I don't have a hose that long.

I doubt that dredging a deposit that yields $5.20 per yard would interest me, even if there were little to no overburden.