New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

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Can someone help me with a question please....

Goldie		Posted : Monday, 15 April 2013 6:01:12 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 14/04/2013(UTC) Posts: 3 Location: Oamaru Thanks: 24 times Was thanked: 6 time(s) in 3 post(s)		Hi everyone. New member here. I thought after lurking in the shadows for the last three years that it was finally time to sign up and make myself known lol. Over the last three or so years i have seen plenty of comedy and drama on this forum. As well as a hell of a lot of useful gold minning information. The knowledge of some of the people on here is truely mind blowing. Over the last 12 months visiting several different locations i have managed to pull out a whooping 4.4 grams of the good stuff lol. I dare not try and work out an hourly rate for all my toil for fear of bringing myself to tears haha. But starting from scratch that 4.4 grams has taught me a lot about where to look and how to process the pay dirt correctly and i wouldn't change that education for anything. Now to my question... I was recently digging in a creek behind some big boulders and getting some nice flakes from near the surface. But after about the first foot of gravels the gold just kept on drying up completly. Only the odd spec here and there. In one location i dug through two or three feet of gravels for no colour at all before i finally gave up on that location. So my question is.... did i make the right decisiion to give up and look else where or should you always dig to bedrock if it's within reach? Is it reasonable to think if your not getting colour on your way down that there won't be anything on bedrock either? or have i given up to early?? Thanks Dwayne.

gingerbreadman		Posted : Monday, 15 April 2013 10:16:09 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 19/07/2010(UTC) Posts: 473 Location: south of the black stump Thanks: 34 times Was thanked: 96 time(s) in 74 post(s)		hi Goldie i ask myself that question most days im out dredging and i think iv come to a bit of a conclusion for my areas anyway....basically most of the payable gold i find is usually in a layer like sitting on clay or hardpac or most of the time simply sitting amongst big rocks which often are in a layer of there own you try and go under them and your into pea gravle or silt iv spend days dredging holes you could park 2 or 3 4wd,s in and would have got more gold just working the first foot ! having said that my best days iv had have been on the bottum but those are in areas like a gorge or swift water were the bedrock has only been a meter or so down i think if the area your going to has floods that can really move the gravles all the way to bedrock then theres a good chance of better gold on the bottum.... your question is something youl have to find out a bit for your self as really you should try going deeper to at least see what is there. 1 thing to keep in mind is keep an eye out for gold sign:) i always do for me its big rocks and lots of iron stone and a dash of clay type stuff all mixed into a nice wash if you can see those the gold is usually not far away and that layer of wash is not always on the bottum...cheers GBM.

Goldie		Posted : Monday, 15 April 2013 10:45:45 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 14/04/2013(UTC) Posts: 3 Location: Oamaru Thanks: 24 times Was thanked: 6 time(s) in 3 post(s)		Thanks heaps GBM. i'm sure that will come in very handy. Time to get digging.

goldfinger		Posted : Monday, 22 April 2013 5:05:43 PM(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 would consider the job unfinished by not getting to bottom. If the boulders were on the outside of the bend i would move on.There are many factors to consider.My best finds have been behind boulders on shallow ground on an inside bend. Edited by user Monday, 22 April 2013 5:12:53 PM(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified