Tag Archives: mine

Mining in the Winter?

This post is to show all of you interested in the Pay dirt we are selling on ebay that it is not purchased from the Home Depot.  We had not figured it would be so popular and we were getting close to running out so the wife and I had to go back to the mine and chip at our mound of pay dirt.  We got six buckets and we are going back next weekend with the Dozer to break up even more so we can handle the popularity of our dirt.  Thank you all, those that purchased and those that are just browsing.  And remember it is not Home Depot dirt(sometimes i wish it was).

What is it, that dwells at the Quartz Creek Mine?

Lyra, tree, gold, mine, forrest

The gold mine is a magical place, it is full of wonder and amazement its a place that just draws people in. Is it the mystery and beauty of quartz creek that brings people here? We get a lot of visitors through out the summer months, even during thanksgiving weekend we had some visitors drive up. Usually not anyone we know, but normally very friendly.  So all visitors heed the following warning.  There are some elusive creatures that dwell in the the shadows of the trees up there at our quartz creek mine. Mischievous little creatures. You may find your full soda that you just set down is now half empty, or that shovel that you put next to the rock is now leaning against the tree. So keep a sharp eye out you may even catch a glimpse of one of the mystical beings, in fact I got a picture of one with my camera, it was peeking out from behind a tree and I am posting for all the world to see as proof that there is a reason that your coffee cup is not where you left it.(or maybe you just forgot where you put it.)

Layers, Its All About the Layers

Layers, gravel, gold, mine,

This is a photo from the first hole we started digging in at the gold mine. You can see the different layers in the gravel very well. The almost black layer seems to have a large quantity of gold in it. Other locations that has deposits of gold are found are in the clay layer and in the fractured slate(bedrock). This hole was dug completely by hand, we used a Keene High banker to process the dirt from this hole and we pulled 3/4 of an ounce out of here.

Everything Needs to be Cleaned.

gold, pan, concentrates, panning, mother, father

At the end of the day we do a clean up of the material we ran all day.  We take the concentrates from the big red and blue wash plant, then run that dirt through a small mini high-banker to concentrate the material even more, we call this the end of the day clean up.  After that about a gold pan of material is left to have to work, and that is what My mother and father in law are doing in this picture, they are also the ones that take care of most of the equipment construction, like the Wash plant, Trommel, High-Banker and Bunk House.  We would not be able to mine without them.

You Look Like Your Getting Weak!

gold, pan, mining, prospecting

This picture is a typical day of running pay dirt that is about a quarter ounce of gold if we run all day.  Lots of people ask me the question, “Does your Mine Pay for Itself?”  I always answer with,”Heck no no it does not pay for itself, but my family and me sure do enjoy being out there mining either rain or shine.”  I cant put my finger right on the exact reason we like it out there, maybe its working together, or running equipment, or playing save the puppy with my daughter(there always seems to be a puppy stuck in a tree).  I guess all of this can be summed up into to two words, Gold Fever, and we all have it.  People always use the term gold fever in a bad way, but that is not really what it is to us.  Everyone gets gold fever a different way, some cant get it at all.  My family and me are running a fever of 104.0 Degrees, and we don’t need any doctor to look at us.  A few more sunny days would be nice though.