New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

The forum has moved to community.paydirt.co.nz, see you there!

This forum is now an archive to preserve the knowledge and finds posted here.

Mountain Creeks

overdog		Posted : Thursday, 1 March 2012 4:49:24 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 2/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 418 Location: nelson Thanks: 69 times Was thanked: 82 time(s) in 68 post(s)		OK heres my question. Mountain creek,fast flow even in summer,blocks the size of campervans everywhere,logs, the works.Literally hundreds of places the gold could have dropped out of the flow but sample panning shows very few specks. Looking at it the bedrock is a long way down,all the overburden seems to have collected at the usual choke points and is metres thick in places. Do I just pick a spot and start excavating a bloody big hole to get to bedrock or is there an easier way I've missed somewhere? Heres a pic of what I mean. Edited by user Thursday, 1 March 2012 4:51:29 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified File Attachment(s): Agigawa_mountain_stream_03.jpg

Lammerlaw		Posted : Thursday, 1 March 2012 5:20:16 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		Looking at your photo I would say that unless you have the biggest digger in the country then the best bet is to stay at home in bed...however you can see a very large crack going up into the cliff on the right hand side of the photo - if it has not been cleaned out by the old timers and if its in gold country then it will have been then that is your best bet by a long shot - get right down into it. In an area like that in Central high above the water level in cracks I got a little over so ounces once above the river where the river was in gorge country and totally impossible to get to the bottom with anything except the largest of machinery. In country like that the logistics are sort of extreme - your best bet by far is head of down the river - or up it - and find some flatter stretch where there is bedrock close to the surface and calmer water.

crushit		Posted : Thursday, 1 March 2012 5:55:30 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 24/11/2011(UTC) Posts: 31 Location: westport Thanks: 24 times Was thanked: 16 time(s) in 12 post(s)		Would have to agree with lammerlaw on his opinion. Those large boulders all look like granite and would be a huge obstacle to shift.I would go up or down the creek and look for some exposed bedrock or side crevices.It looks very similar to brittania creek near waimangaroa in the recreation panning area.Parts of that creek have the odd bit of exposed bedrock among the boulders and can produce some nice colours if you persist with cleaning any cavities out.
		WWW

bittenbythebug		Posted : Thursday, 1 March 2012 6:02:18 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 27/11/2011(UTC) Posts: 56 Location: Wellington Thanks: 22 times Was thanked: 20 time(s) in 12 post(s)		I had/have the same problem. Know of a place which is not know for gold (no history of old timers finding it there) but shows course gold in the moss on the banks of the creek but man you would need some serious equipment to get down to the bedrock. I did what Lammerlaw suggested, gave up cold, wet and went home to bed! One day I'll go back there and make a better go of it in the headwaters where there may not be so much overburden to move or try and find its source.

overdog		Posted : Thursday, 1 March 2012 6:40:52 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 2/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 418 Location: nelson Thanks: 69 times Was thanked: 82 time(s) in 68 post(s)		That is just a sample pic I found on the net-the boulders where I was are twice as big lol! Think the creek bed is a non starter-like you all say too much work involved.I will try the crevices-area has been worked in the past so I know theres gold there just a matter of finding it. Nice part of the world to be in and the sandflies arent too bad!

mineforgold.co.nz		Posted : Thursday, 1 March 2012 9:29:51 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 14/11/2011(UTC) Posts: 299 Location: Nelson Thanks: 58 times Was thanked: 38 time(s) in 35 post(s)		If the sandflies have left there is probably no gold there!
		Own: Lobo SuperTraq, Garrett ATPro, Minelab Excalibur
		WWW BLOG

simon		Posted : Thursday, 1 March 2012 10:36:40 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 7/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 789 Location: Central Otago Thanks: 33 times Was thanked: 239 time(s) in 150 post(s)		whoa, that's a lot of boulders. personally i would think it's worth a poke. i'm always up for a challenge when i head out. i know the miners worked the easiest stuff so my motto is look for the hardest place and go for it. i find that each boulders has gotten caught up in it's location on something solid. this is most often the bedrock in the case of such huge boulders. i would try digging around the boulders, up and downstream. the trick is not having the boulders move on you or you are in big shit. it does pay to get a feel for the area though before committing too many resources. ask your self such questions as is the are known historically for gold, and how much gold have i found in this are before. and talk to others you meet in the area. they may pass on some useful info. good luck.
		WWW

goldfinger		Posted : Saturday, 3 March 2012 8:59:27 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 6/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 37 Location: Westland Thanks: 43 times Was thanked: 19 time(s) in 16 post(s)		I have found in situations like this that the big rocks will settle down unto bed rock , it looks daunting but the big rock on the left is on the bottom would be my guess. it also looks like the bigger rocks are water worn from being in a stationary position for a long time and have not been worn from tumbling , so they could have collected a lot of gold . places that would interest me would be inside bends or the down side of any big boils in the water flow and any exposed bed rock dropping into the river. This creek does not look like it has large volumes of water down it during floods, so would guess its not in Westland were rocks that size would be on the move polished and free of moss and lichen. On the right of the photo is some bedrock dipping into the creek could be a spot to follow into the water. Edited by user Saturday, 10 March 2012 7:28:58 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

Lammerlaw		Posted : Saturday, 3 March 2012 10:11:48 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 24/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 72 times Was thanked: 579 time(s) in 396 post(s)		Originally Posted by: goldfinger I have found in situations like this that the big rocks will settle down unto bed rock , it looks daunting but the big rock on the left is on the bottom would be my guess. it also looks like the rocks are water worn from being in a stationary position for a long time and have not been worn from tumbling , so they could have collected a lot of gold . places that would interest me would be inside bends or the down side of any big boils in the water flow . Interesting but to conclude that the large rocks sit on the bottom then one would need to see the bottom somewhere in the photograph so that they had a reference point to determine how far down the bottom was. I have seen situations similar to this in gorges where the bottom is many feet below the huge rocks on the surface - The largest rocks will become water worn and will move over eons, thousands of years - you and I have not got time on our side but nature has and over those thousand years the largest rocks imaginable will move a long way and the rocks in the photo are no exception. I think most people under estimate the power of the water - most of the old hands on this site who have spent a lifetime in the mountains will tell you that during high floods you can hear huge boulders shifting as the water scours gravel out in front of them, behind them, rolls them another foot or two. Only last year I had a spot I wanted to work - scoured out from the year before - upstream were large boulders, albeit not as big as the ones in the photo but large enough - when I went back this year the scoured out area was buried totally and upstream where the boulders had been there was nothing. Remember that places like the photograph have had thousands of years for the accumulation and in another ten thousand years you can go back and you wont recognize it - changed. Those boulders move and yes there could be twenty metres of more boulders and gravel below them - unless you have a bedrock reference point you cannot determine how deep the overburden really is. I am not saying that your guess is wrong and you did say 'guess' but it would be interesting to go there and have a look to see if the guess was correct - in many places it will be correct but in many others it will miss by a mile. As for that particular spot in thephotograph - you are more likely to get into Shitters Ditch pottering around there because if I am right this photo was taken in Gifu Prefecture in Japan so that its probably haunted by the souls of ten thousand Banzai warrior s- Knights of Bushido! Edited by user Sunday, 4 March 2012 10:38:10 AM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified

overdog		Posted : Saturday, 3 March 2012 12:43:12 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 2/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 418 Location: nelson Thanks: 69 times Was thanked: 82 time(s) in 68 post(s)		I think I'll give it a day with a bloody big crowbar and a shovel.Simons idea of working the hard areas makes some sense-like I said the area has been worked before and is very prone to big floods so it would make sense that at least some gold will be in among the rocks-the old guys didnt get it all. Now all I have to do is wait for the creek to go down-had some big rain here in the past few days. Wonder if I can get a bobcat up there? (",)

diggerjoe		Posted : Saturday, 3 March 2012 10:29:56 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 21/09/2011(UTC) Posts: 36 Thanks: 24 times Was thanked: 23 time(s) in 15 post(s)		Hi overdog, I would also have a look at the boulders to see if they have cracks and crevices in them and clean them out, found some good flakes doing that.Also try panning out the soil/clay under some of the plants that would be at high water or flood level mark as this is a good trap for fine and flat flakey gold.