Remote Prospecting?

[Geowizard]

Definition of "No Gold";

When I refer to "NO GOLD" it means within the limits of what I can see, there is no visible GOLD. There are ways to see or measure GOLD that is too small for human vision, there's a limit to human vision.

We know GOLD occurs in small particles and is called micron GOLD and Nano GOLD. There are mines like the Carlin Mine in Nevada where millions of ounces of GOLD are produced and no body has ever seen GOLD there.

Prospectors know that samples need to be taken to an Assay Lab to be tested for GOLD or any other precious metal.

Free GOLD that can be recovered by panning or sluicing remains to be the foremost objective for myself and others.

Stay tuned...

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

Prospecting on TWO fronts;

Yes, there is Buried Treasure and Yes, there is freshly exposed bedrock that's talking!

The buried treasure remains as a prospect. It is buried, hidden and may or may not come to fruition. The freshly exposed bedrock which is a measurable, tangible quantity is possibly more important! Prospecting in an already been discovered and already been mined GOLD mine provides an opportunity like no other. Mining over the past 100 years proves there was GOLD. Where GOLD was mined, there is a probability that GOLD remains. The GOLD that remains is most probably in VEINS or disseminated form. Each day, I expose more of those veins.

Stick around, there's more!

- Geowizard

[Jim_Alaska]

This is exactly why I enjoy poking around places that have been worked before, especially in the old days. The old timers equipment was so inefficient that they lost a lot and there were places that they just plain missed. You don't get rich prospecting and crevicing the old diggins', but there is always the chance you will happen upon sweet spot.

Then there is the newly exposed bedrock you mentioned. Right now I can see a place like this where what was once covered with gravel that has now been washed away, exposing a bedrock dike that crosses the wholle river. This place has been dredged and produced good gold in the recent past before dredging was banned. So this newly exposed dike has extremely good potential to produce.

Why am I not on it like a turkey on a Junebug? Simple, mechanized mining banned in California. Legs that don't work any more making walking on uneven ground treacherous.

The water in this place is shallow enough that I could possibly just set up a hand sluice and shovel to it. But as you know shoveling in running water is not very efficient and definitely frustrating. That, plus the leg problem and it is a longer walk to get to this place than these old legs can manage, make this a place I can only drool over for the time being. What is even more frustrating is that I can see it from the road every time I go somewhere.

[Geowizard]

Jim,

Yes, you have stated the situation very well from a prospecting point of view.

Fortunately, I am able to climb into a Bobcat and wrap a hydraulic exoskeleton around me! Every time I load up a bucket with 1000 pounds of freshly dug gravel, dirt, and assorted debris, I appreciate all of those moving parts of such a wonderful digging machine.

Each day, I dig deeper. I dig further into NEW ground where nobody has ever been. I am exposing Gouge that never reached the surface, has never seen the light of day! I am surrounded by tailing piles that are enormous in size probably on the order of 100 thousand cubic yards in all directions. A LOT of GOLD had to come from somewhere!

The Gouge zone runs right through the middle. There is NO GOLD in the Gouge zone!

Stick around, the GOLD is running out of places to hide!

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

What is in the Gouge?

When I was in Anchorage, I stopped by Alaska Scientific for a few chemical supplies.

There are two important chemicals known to those in the business of prospecting. One chemical will distinguish Calcite from Quartz. I used it in dilute form for determination of the white crystalline masses in the Gouge. Just place a few drops on the sample and observe the reaction. The reaction was positive for Calcite.

The second chemical is used for digestion of metals. A sample of black Gouge is placed in a beaker containing a diluted form of the solution used to digest metals. There was a positive reaction (bubbles). The test for Silver is to use a dilute form of the first chemical added to the second solution. A positive test for silver is a white or cloudy precipitate. The test for silver was negative.

Because there WAS a reaction to the second chemical, there is a reactive metal in the Gouge. I plan to take a sample of the Gouge out for ICP analysis at the end of the season.

ICP analysis;

Prospectors should be aware of Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) analysis. ICP can be used to quantitatively analyze on the order of 32 elements in a sample. In today's world, there are many important metals that prospectors might come across. Doing an ICP analysis at a reputable Assay Lab may reveal an important discovery!

The search continues. Stay tuned!

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

Is it Rhodium?

Spot price for Rhodium is $8250 per troy ounce. That's roughly a quarter of a million dollars per kilogram.

Early GOLD prospectors weren't looking for Rhodium.

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

Drilling for GOLD;

Yesterday, I declared war on the nuggets and got out the heavy artillery!

I took the bucket off the Bobcat and put on the 9 inch diameter, 6 foot long Auger attachment. I went to work...

Took less than a hour to Auger 20 holes six feet deep and six feet apart east to west in the Gouge zone and... 12 more holes six feet apart north to south. Then I got down to business PANNING SAMPLES from all of those holes!

You know what I was looking for? Well, I didn't find any!

Today, I pulled out my trusty Whites GMT and dusted it off... You wanna know why?

I even brought along my one ounce nugget vial to put the nuggets in!

I went around to each hole looking for WHAT? No, I didn't find any!

NO GOLD East of the North-South, Yellow Monzonite vein. This eliminates a bunch of ground. All of the high ground to the east has NO GOLD and the ground East of the Yellow Monzonite has NO GOLD.

This brings prospecting to a NEW Chapter!

Stay tuned!

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

I wasn't alone;

Did I mention the mosquitoes?

When you bend over with your green scoop, exposing a little white meat...

Did I mention it was raining? Muddy?

I need to also mention, I dug up FIVE hits! Two 22 shells and 3 rusty pieces of a Spam can!

Stay tuned!

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

Brass nuggets;

For the discriminating detector, 22 brass "looks" just like a nugget!

- Geowizard

[Jim_Alaska]

.22 brass is everywhere, just like .22 lead. One of my first huge nugget finds with a detector was not gold. It was in a creek so had to work at getting it out, only to find it was a huge aluminum nugget. Probably from aluminum can being melted in a campfire. Aluminum will fool you when detecting, sounds just like gold.

Going back to your other thread about Rhodium, I used Rhodium in the dye mixture for dye lasers when I was working in Alaska. Didn't know it was so expensive because it wasn't my money buying it.