The Work

 

What a week this has been!  We couldn’t have asked for better weather, 80+ degrees in Alaska means we have to watch each other for signs of heat exhaustion.

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First off, a little trommel maintenance, we had to replace a few casters and the motor that turns the barrel.

For sometime, we’ve been aware that we are not getting enough water in the trommel.  It’s frustrating to be in good dirt and have to load it a tiny bit at a time in order to not overload the sluice.  We did look into getting a bigger trommel, but this time in Alaska there are none for sale (at least that we can afford); so we had to look at a cheap way of working with what we had.

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One thing we do have a lot of is pumps.  We decided it was worth the extra gasoline to drop another pump in the settling pond to add more water to the trommel.  It may look a little silly to just bungee an extra hose into the hopper, but it worked like an absolute champ.  We’re now moving dirt like crazy! The loader operator can barely keep up.

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The digsite is looking good, we’re running into a lot of large boulders.  Those of you who do any prospecting know that the large rocks in a river are a great place to look for gold, it works the same in ancient stream beds.
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Though with the amount of dirt we’re moving now, its going to take a while to figure out the new “normal” so we know if we’re in the best ground or not.

 

 

We got a request from one of our fans to see more of the “work” involved in the mining process.  To our friend in Belgium, this one is for you.

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Let’s get some SCIENCE up in here!

Here’s hoping all of you had a great Independence Day or Canada Day!

Big stuff happening at the mine.  I may have mentioned that we were looking into getting a magnetometer survey done.  We just finished it up and are looking forward to the results.

Just in case you don’t know, basically a magnetometer survey will show us where there are concentrations of black sand, and where there’s black sand, there is usually…..GOLD.

We have 160 acres of claims, we realized that we could spend the next 30 years digging test holes and never find the best stuff.  Also because of the terrain and the Forest Service regulations we can’t have a drilling program.  The magnetometer was our best bet.  Now, to find someone to do it!

Turned out that most companies were not really interested in a small job like ours, they would either not answer me at all or set the price so high that it was unrealistic.  Then, I ran across an article about Pioneer Exploration out of Canada being the first outfit to do a Magnetometer Survey with a Drone system that they designed themselves.  I figured a place like that wouldn’t give me the time of day; but their founder, Micheal Burns, wrote me right back, and on a Sunday no-less. They gave us a reasonable quote, and we set a date.

It was decided that the best way to do the survey was on foot with a backpack magnetometer.

Michael Burns getting geared up

Michael Burns getting geared up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These guys walked a 20 meter spaced grid over the entire 160 acres through some of the of the most unforgiving terrain imaginable.   They got stung by hornets, had to repel across the creek, walked straight up and down in some places, and had no bear protection whatsoever.  They were supposed to take seven days to do it. They did it in four.

As you can tell, we are thrilled to have found these guys!  I can’t wait to see the data they come up with.

 

 

Chasing Bedrock

On what meteorologists where predicting as the hottest day of the year, we came across this bedrock ledge in out dig site.  Boy, were the right and in more ways than one!

 

 

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The most exciting part is that some of the gold is bigger and not flat like most of what we get here.  It’s more crystalline which means is didn’t travel far from the quartz it came from.

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I managed to get a video of the latest clean out.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the Saddle

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Things are heating up, and I don’t just mean the weather!  After the last week or so’s dismal returns, a little deductive reasoning and a little luck have put us back on the trail of the gold.

The color is getting better everyday, and we are elated.  Never know how long it will hold out, but I guess that’s why they call it prospecting right?

For now, I’ll enjoy the wins.

 

 

 

 

Here’s a few test pans, it’s starting to look good.

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In the meantime, we’re getting this stuff bagged up for you guys so you can try some of it for yourselves.  That’s all for now, I’ll update more later.

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Looking for the paystreak

Backhoe has been repaired, we’re back in action again.  At the digsite we ran into some nasty, sticky, black material.  We ran it through the trommel and we’re disappointed with the gold returns, so we’re back searching for the streak we were on at the end of last season.

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Its frustrating to dig a little, pan it out, dig some more, pan it out, but its part of mining I guess.

We have been running into these silver metallic nuggets, not sure what to make of them, I’m thinking of having them tested to make sure its not something valuable.

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Ok, so that’s depressing, how about some good news?  I’ve been searching for a company willing to do a magnetometer survey for us, and I think I have finally hit paydirt!  We’ve decided that we could spend a lifetime digging holes in this place and never find the big strike.  It’s time to be a little more scientific.  I’ll keep you posted, its pretty exciting.

In the meantime, back to digging holes…