Working Old Dig Sites
Their are literally thousands of old dig sites. I have found that prospecting in these areas can be very rewarding.
The early miners left us clues as to where the gold is located. Some are very subtle and some are unbelievable. Learning how to interpret these signs can enhance your success in finding gold. Here are a few of the most common types of mining sites and how to locate them.
Pick and shovel
This was done early on. The first miners had very little equipment and resources. They work the riches gravel bars in the river. After the rivers were worked out, they moved up to the bank. This is where you can find evidence of there work. Most commonly you'll find a depression in the ground with a mound of rocks next to it.
Long Tom and fluming
After a couple of years all the easy gold was gone. This forced the miners to form partnerships, and develop methods to work the gravels that weren't as rich. Most of the long toms required three or more miners. These areas are a easier to spot. Normally they will cover a larger area. You can spot these areas by the cuts made in the bedrock or the hillside to run this sluice box through. Another good indication is the rock piles that looked like walls. These are the rocks that were removed from the sluice box and stacked alongside it. A lot of times you can locate the evidence of old flumes above the sites.
Drywashing
In desert areas, drywashing was the most common way to prospect. You can spot old working by the depressions in the ground with a pile of gravel next to it. Spreading these piles and going over them with a metal detector has produced some nice finds.
Hydraulic Gold Mining
This by far was the most destructive form of mining, as a result it is the easiest to locate. There are literally hundreds of sites. From very small, less than an acre to sites that covered over 3000 acres. With the development of the modern metal detector, old hydraulic pits are once again are producing gold.
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Once you've located an old dig site that you would like to check out. There are few things you need to do to increase your odds of success.
#1 Who owns it?
Is it a clamed or is it private land? Is it a historical site?
These are questions that have to be answered before you can go on the site. It doesn't make a lot of sense spending hours researching area you can't prospect.
Private land
See if the owner is open to you doing a little prospecting. Be honest with a landowner about the methods you intend to use. If they are a little reluctant, offer a percentage of the gold you find. If they agree to you using their land, it is very important that you leave it in better condition than you found it. You will find that if you are respectful to landowners property the word will get around and you'll be able to explore more areas.
Mining Claim
If the area is claimed, you will need to contact the claims owner. Most claim owners want to know the type of prospecting and how much you plan to do. I have found that if you want to do a little panning that most claim owners are very agreeable. If you want to take in a 6 inch dredge you will most likely get a different response. In reality all you can do is be honest with them and try to work out some type of agreement is beneficial to both of you.
Historical sites
Most states allow no mining at all in a historical areas. There are some parks where they will allow you to pan. If the area is a historical site or some type of park you will need to contact the appropriate agency to find out what regulations they have. The experiences I've had with government agencies has not been the best. I think my mom must have drop me when I was a baby, because I can't understand a thing when it comes to government regulations.
Open land
If the areas open. I like to take a quick trip to the area. If it looks good, then I'll start my research
#2 Research
The next question you need to answer is; what size was the gold and how much did they find.
You don't want to waste your time detecting a area, if the gold in that area is too small for a detector to pick up. If you're planning to do some high banking or sluicing the amount of gold they found will give you a rough estimate of how much you can expect to find. As an example; if they hydrauliced the area and the yield was 11¢ per cubic yard of fine gold. You would not expect to find much if you could only process a yard a day. On the other hand if the yield was $9.00 per cubic yard of coarse gold, you would expect to do much better. There are all kinds of old mining reports that will give you this information. A lot of it can be found online.
#3 How much has it been worked
If the area is easily accessible, the odds are, it's been worked a lot. There are exceptions thou; if it's private property or a patented claim, it may have not been worked as much. Check old maps to see how close the roads came to the area. When the road was put in will also make a difference. If the road shows up on an 1880 map you can be sure the area has been worked a lot. The trash you find in the area is also a good indication of how much it's been worked. If you find old square nails and new round nails in the site, it was probably work in the 1800s and then in the 1930s. If you find both those and Bud Light cans, you may want to move on. A very good rule of thumb - the harder it is to get to, the more gold you will find.
#4 A Good Map
Get a topo map of the area. A lot of times before I go into an area, I will print out a satellite picture of that area. When you find something - anything, but a mark on the map where you found it and a note on the back telling what you found. This will help you zero in on the richest areas.
# 5 Be a Respectful Miner
If people come by and they're curious to what you are doing, take the time to talk to them. Be friendly and show them how we're cleaning the environment and not destroying the woods. With more people on our side it will make it harder to pass more regulations. Fill in all your holes and take out any trash you find. Let the next miner have the enjoyment of thinking he's the first guy there in a long time. If you come across something that is truly historic, don't disturb it. Let the next guy enjoy it to.
The early miners left us clues as to where the gold is located. Some are very subtle and some are unbelievable. Learning how to interpret these signs can enhance your success in finding gold. Here are a few of the most common types of mining sites and how to locate them.
Pick and shovel
This was done early on. The first miners had very little equipment and resources. They work the riches gravel bars in the river. After the rivers were worked out, they moved up to the bank. This is where you can find evidence of there work. Most commonly you'll find a depression in the ground with a mound of rocks next to it.
Long Tom and fluming
After a couple of years all the easy gold was gone. This forced the miners to form partnerships, and develop methods to work the gravels that weren't as rich. Most of the long toms required three or more miners. These areas are a easier to spot. Normally they will cover a larger area. You can spot these areas by the cuts made in the bedrock or the hillside to run this sluice box through. Another good indication is the rock piles that looked like walls. These are the rocks that were removed from the sluice box and stacked alongside it. A lot of times you can locate the evidence of old flumes above the sites.
Drywashing
In desert areas, drywashing was the most common way to prospect. You can spot old working by the depressions in the ground with a pile of gravel next to it. Spreading these piles and going over them with a metal detector has produced some nice finds.
Hydraulic Gold Mining
This by far was the most destructive form of mining, as a result it is the easiest to locate. There are literally hundreds of sites. From very small, less than an acre to sites that covered over 3000 acres. With the development of the modern metal detector, old hydraulic pits are once again are producing gold.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Once you've located an old dig site that you would like to check out. There are few things you need to do to increase your odds of success.
#1 Who owns it?
Is it a clamed or is it private land? Is it a historical site?
These are questions that have to be answered before you can go on the site. It doesn't make a lot of sense spending hours researching area you can't prospect.
Private land
See if the owner is open to you doing a little prospecting. Be honest with a landowner about the methods you intend to use. If they are a little reluctant, offer a percentage of the gold you find. If they agree to you using their land, it is very important that you leave it in better condition than you found it. You will find that if you are respectful to landowners property the word will get around and you'll be able to explore more areas.
Mining Claim
If the area is claimed, you will need to contact the claims owner. Most claim owners want to know the type of prospecting and how much you plan to do. I have found that if you want to do a little panning that most claim owners are very agreeable. If you want to take in a 6 inch dredge you will most likely get a different response. In reality all you can do is be honest with them and try to work out some type of agreement is beneficial to both of you.
Historical sites
Most states allow no mining at all in a historical areas. There are some parks where they will allow you to pan. If the area is a historical site or some type of park you will need to contact the appropriate agency to find out what regulations they have. The experiences I've had with government agencies has not been the best. I think my mom must have drop me when I was a baby, because I can't understand a thing when it comes to government regulations.
Open land
If the areas open. I like to take a quick trip to the area. If it looks good, then I'll start my research
#2 Research
The next question you need to answer is; what size was the gold and how much did they find.
You don't want to waste your time detecting a area, if the gold in that area is too small for a detector to pick up. If you're planning to do some high banking or sluicing the amount of gold they found will give you a rough estimate of how much you can expect to find. As an example; if they hydrauliced the area and the yield was 11¢ per cubic yard of fine gold. You would not expect to find much if you could only process a yard a day. On the other hand if the yield was $9.00 per cubic yard of coarse gold, you would expect to do much better. There are all kinds of old mining reports that will give you this information. A lot of it can be found online.
#3 How much has it been worked
If the area is easily accessible, the odds are, it's been worked a lot. There are exceptions thou; if it's private property or a patented claim, it may have not been worked as much. Check old maps to see how close the roads came to the area. When the road was put in will also make a difference. If the road shows up on an 1880 map you can be sure the area has been worked a lot. The trash you find in the area is also a good indication of how much it's been worked. If you find old square nails and new round nails in the site, it was probably work in the 1800s and then in the 1930s. If you find both those and Bud Light cans, you may want to move on. A very good rule of thumb - the harder it is to get to, the more gold you will find.
#4 A Good Map
Get a topo map of the area. A lot of times before I go into an area, I will print out a satellite picture of that area. When you find something - anything, but a mark on the map where you found it and a note on the back telling what you found. This will help you zero in on the richest areas.
# 5 Be a Respectful Miner
If people come by and they're curious to what you are doing, take the time to talk to them. Be friendly and show them how we're cleaning the environment and not destroying the woods. With more people on our side it will make it harder to pass more regulations. Fill in all your holes and take out any trash you find. Let the next miner have the enjoyment of thinking he's the first guy there in a long time. If you come across something that is truly historic, don't disturb it. Let the next guy enjoy it to.
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