[Montana]

I joined a couple of buddies from Montana at Rich Hill yesterday and Bud got two small nuggets and I barely beat the skunk just as we were about to pack it up with a small one also. Betsy and I headed out to the new patch and I managed to squeeze out 2 more nice nuggets, but they were coming slow. It's about done already I'm afraid. There weren't many hiding places and there weren't a lot of nuggets, but oh was it fun for 2 days. I still have a few spots to try to expand it a little, but it really isn't very rich country. I took a picture of the little one from Rich hill and the 2 I got today.---Bob

Attached File(s)

•  IMG_0001.JPG (68.07K)
  Number of downloads: 66

[Uncle Ron]

Cuties, Bob...You think there's some on the various horizons from that patch...??? Hope so...Cheers, Unc

[Chris Gholson]

Hi Montana,

Even though the patch has slowed up, it was still one heck of a find. Almost 4 ounces in two days is a good run...How many nuggets you figure you're up to now with the 4500?

[dave wiseman]

Have you tried running different coils and other beepers..with such a chunky spot..who knows?

[Montana]

Dave. The bulk of the gold was in a small tributary gully that was scoured to bedrock throughout. There is just no place where the overburden is over a foot deep and probably averages only a few inches deep. Depth is no factor so a different detector or coil would make no difference. A GB2 may turn up a few crumbs but it is too long a walk in there to chase crumbs.


Chris, Must be getting close to 1,000 nuggets with the 4500. Haven't counted them up . ----Bob

[Montana]

I got one more high up on the bank today. Now I think it really is done. I might try it next year after the monsoons to see if anything turns up but I'm done with it for now. It was a nice nugget, that weighs 3.8 grams. Nice finish for a fun patch with 4 of the nuggets over 2/3 ounce each.----Bob

Attached File(s)

•  IMG_0002.JPG (84.1K)
  Number of downloads: 15

[Beer Beeper]

Bob or anyone else, have you ever found the source of a patch or run of nuggets and hit a vein in bedrock with a detector and had to chisel it out of hardrock? I have, only once, pretty exciting, and it was over 11 ounces on the surface but locked in the bedrock, with rough loose gold up to the source and no more signal after I hand chiseled it out. The odd thing about it was I found the vein first, then found the rough gold and worn nuggets after. This is true and the opposite of how it usually works. I have never taken it down much deeper as I do not know blasting and I refuse to use a jackhammer that shakes me to bits is not healthy. I guess I am health conscious and I will not use mercury either. A friend of mine said I will never be satisfied unless I take it down 5 feet deeper to take a better look to see some day. Yeah, if there is no more gold there I can request to be buried there when I die, heheha.

[lotsa luck]

BB, if you want to do a little blasting on it you can get a hold of me for help in it a legal way. Nothing too hard about it and I can keep a secret.

[Montana]

Beer Beeper. I did the same thing once. There was 4 ounces still in place at 18" down and 6 ounces scattered down the hillside. I've also been told I should go down at least 6 feet to see if if picks up again, but I'm no hardrock miner. That's how most goldmines got started, but the old timers used a pan to locate the source. ----Bob

[Beer Beeper]

lotsa luck, got it, thanks for the offer.

Bob, very interesting, yes like the old timers our loaming gold pan is now our metal detector coil, think of our coils as a hot gold pan, loaming the gullies and slopes! Hardrock gold is a real mystery, either a big lode close by, a long way away, or nothing more at all. You really never know until you look. I also found about 6 ounces shed off of it down the hill. I would like to go back with a big Mono and a GPX some day to check the deeper ground down below as some nuggets were found at the limits of my 2200 with 14" DD at the bottom in deeper ground. There should be more there.