Remote Prospecting?

[Geowizard]

Boots in the air?

Almost as good as boots on the ground is boots in the air.

Airborne geophysical surveys provide remote prospectors with the tools to prospect where boots cannot go!

During winter months, Alaska becomes an inhospitable, winter wonderland.

Having a warm indoor out of the weather computer workplace has many advantages! A prospector can go online. The prospector can, after a brief introduction, download a graphic display.

I find it very useful to have Google-Earth. For those that do not have Google Earth, it can be downloaded FREE.

The next useful tool is Microsoft Excel (tm). I make spreadsheets that condense down to smaller spreadsheet files that can be organized into individual file directories.

Flying around Alaska in the winter on Google Earth is lots of Fun. Finding NEW, possibly unexplored prospects buried under many feet of snow, in blizzard conditions while sitting at home with a fresh cup of coffee takes boots on the ground to a higher level (no pun intended).

Stick around!

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

B1246;

One very good reference to Metalliferous LODE deposits in Alaska is B1246.

Readers can download a free copy here:

https://dggs.alaska.gov/webpubs/usgs/b/text/b1246.pdf

Although the title makes reference is "lode" deposits, successful remote prospectors understand there is a relationship between lode deposits and placer deposits.

Knowing where GOLD has been found which is the dominating theme in the bulletin, guides us to areas where GOLD may remain hidden or buried.

Don't go away!

- Geowizard

[Jim_Alaska]

I am glad that this all worked out for you Chuck. Unfortunately my condition is degenerative and not curable. That means it just gets worse with time. I am going to try something as an experiment and see if it can be done.

Since the legs won't support walking without a cane and with a cane it's very unstable and dangerous, these might just be the answer to being able to get to the creek.



I had to use a set of these a couple of years ago when I fell and hurt my knee. I know they really work well at stabilizing me. So I thought since I really want to do some prospecting I would try these for better mobility in uneven terrain. My thought is; four points on the ground is better than two for stability.

Of course then I had to think of being able to carry stuff like tools and gold pan. Even now, with a cane it makes me essentially one handed, with these I would be "no handed". So, I do have a back pack frame with a shelf on it. I can strap a bucket on the frame and put my tools in it.
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I had no legs;

Almost makes you want to put boots on the ground in those places Chuck; but alas, the feet that go in the boots don't work any more, so just dreaming will have to do.

Three months ago, I developed a swollen right knee. The result of jumping out of airplanes when I was a puppy. I could not use my right leg. I hopped around on my good leg.

I couldn't leave home;

Thankfully (to myself), I had provisioned my home with food and supplies. Even with food and supplies, eventually, hopping on one leg... my good leg ran out of hops.

I had no legs;

I ordered the first crutches I have ever owned in my life on Amazon. They were delivered to my door.

I surrounded myself with food and water within reach. My bedroom became my office. I lived within a six foot circle for a month. I made an appointment to see a nurse at the local clinic. I was scheduled to get an x-ray two weeks later. I managed to drive 30 miles with difficulty to get the x-ray done. Then I was scheduled to see a doctor two weeks later.

The doctor gave me a shot in the knee. I picked up a few food items and more ibuprophen. Then, I returned home to wait and see if I would improve.

With my computer, I went online. I watched Youtube videos on the exercises required so I could do my own physical therapy. I spent many hours doing muscle extensions, rotations and otherwise resting my bones!

Two weeks later, I am happy to say, I am now mostly on my feet and ready to go out and get boots on the ground!

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

Jim,

Thanks for sharing those ideas.

There are many readers that may be in this condition or later become limited by problems of mobility.

I happened to grow up during a period when Polio was prevalent. I had a classmate that had leg supports (braces) to be able to walk. They worked reasonably well.

Of inspiration to us all is Douglas Bader; (hats off please)

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instan ... i-ace.html

You may now replace your hats.

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

Digging a hole;

Now that we have had a look at a few high probability places to dig a hole, let us proceed.

Most remote prospectors eventually find a location that invites diggin. The options begin with a strong helper to do the diggin. Another option is we dig it.

Another preference is diggin' alluvium (sand and gravel with small rocks). This is a good approach for getting a look at erosional products from a local lode GOLD deposit!

It takes energy;

An online reference says;

"One horsepower is a unit of power that equals the work done in lifting 550 pounds one foot in one second. One manpower = a unit of power based on the rate at which a man can work; approximately 75 watts, or about one tenth of a horsepower. In other words, it takes ten strong men to do the work of one horse."

A relatively low cost generator might be a 4000 watt generator. At 50 percent load = 2000 watts = 2000/750 = 2.7 horse power.

Don't go away!

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

Leading by example;

Trilogy Metals has an exploration project in the Ambler District. They recently completed a Feasibility report that covers the many details involved in the determination of the feasibility of moving forward with mining.

Trilogy Metals Inc.
NI 43-101 Technical Report
Date: September 2020

"Kennecott initiated an extensive helicopter-supported airborne magnetic survey covering the entire VMS belt in March 1998. The survey was conducted on 400 m line spacing with selective 200 m line spacing at the Arctic deposit and covered 2,509 total line kilometres. The Arctic deposit presented a strong signature.
Forty-six additional discrete anomalies were identified, of which, 17 were further evaluated in the field. Eight of the anomalies were coincident with anomalous geochemistry and prospective geology, and were considered to have significant mineralization potential."

Remote prospectors need a plan;

We have identified many anomalies in the Council Mining District. The plan going forward is to take the necessary steps to define a valuable mineral deposit!

A modest, low cost approach is to drill shallow exploration holes. The purpose of the holes is to collect samples of the streambed silt for analysis. Geochemical evaluation of the silt will confirm the presence of a deposit and give details on the nature of the metal content.

For that purpose, I bought a two man auger drive and auger bit with extensions.

Stick around, we are going to do some geochemical sampling!

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

A side bar;

It started with a Remote Prospector!

This prospector was nick-named "Rhiny".

https://www.alaskamininghalloffame.org/ ... s/berg.php

The discovery of the Ambler Copper deposit has developed into potentially the richest copper deposit in the World.

Stick around!

- Geowizard

[Jim_Alaska]

Great reading; what a wonderful biography and tribute.

[Geowizard]

Geochemistry;

The story about Rhiny offers a few important lessons for all remote prospectors. He related his experience at Kennecott and his experience with copper minerals. Copper minerals are easy to recognize in rocks.

Examples are;

Azurite - a blue colored mineral. Malachite is green. Chrysocolla is turquoise colored. Cuprite is an oxide of copper and it is red. Chalcopyrite is often confused with GOLD because it is often the same color. It is a copper - iron sulfide.

GOLD is frequently associated with copper in mineral deposits. Watching for the coloration of rocks and sediments can be a marker for GOLD.

The chemistry of rocks can be an interesting study. Prospectors need to have an interest in and a good understanding of the chemistry. Success in prospecting ultimately can be decided by using the power of observation with collection of samples and then moving forward to identify the valuable minerals and metals contained in the samples.

The assay;

Rock samples can be collected, bagged and tagged and sent to an assay lab. For many prospectors, that is the method used to find out how much GOLD is in the rocks.

A field assay can be done by panning to get a relative idea about the free GOLD in a sample. The obvious limitation of panning depends on the skill of the panner. As was related in the story about Rhiny, there are other heavy metals in the pan. Those other metals are indicators of the contents of the deposit.

Prospecting requires good detective work. Collecting the evidence and being able to identify the critical pieces of the puzzle are the critical components of success in prospecting.

Don't go away!

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

Look, I found a deposit!

A while back, I shared info on a deposit.

Finding an Anomaly is a good place to begin work! I made reference earlier that Trilogy Metals made a statement in their NI 43-101 report, about the significance of anomalies.

Where there are anomalies, good things can happen!

With evidence of a deposit, our prospecting can be narrowed down to a discrete location. I will skip the technicalities of getting there but that should not in anyway lower the importance of getting in and out of the location. Assume for the present time, we are there and able to collect samples.

The deposit is seen with the point of response along the line and the length of the response. This information gives us a view of the relative size of the deposit. The deposit is "open" vertically. We don't know how far down the deposit goes. Sampling will ultimately reveal the depth to the top of the deposit and possibly reveal the minerals/metals contained in the "weathered zone".

Our work at this stage is directed to reconnaissance. We can bore shallow test holes and collect samples. An auger may not be the ideal tool. It will allow us to collect samples within a short distance of the surface. More sampling at greater depth can be planned as needed. Buried mineralization may be hiding only a few feet from the surface. Early remote prospectors were many times at a disadvantage because they had to rely on physical effort to dig holes and do limited trenching.

We know where to dig;

The advantage at this point is having confidence in knowing where to dig.

Stay right there!

- Geowizard