A Pickle Shortage Results In A Golden Serendipitous Event

 Please check out my latest article about gold. I chose to share an experience my wife and I had because of the present day interest in synchronicity. Though I don't particularly have any belief in fate, I do find it curious how at rare moments the stars seem to align. Such an alignment occurred when I forgot hamburger chips on my wife's sandwich. The sandwich was to be her lunch at a gold claim; lack of pickles did not make for a golden moment. Or did it?

https://discover.hubpages.com/education/Remarkable-Hamburger-Pickles-Lead-to-Flood-Gold

The Incredible Breadth of the Gold Mining Experience

 The hard rock mines of Nevada County, CA, probably the most gold over all came from hard rock   mines in Nevada County Ca. These mines were pretty much started after the '49ers.

 If you have a lot of money, you can get gold by mining. The use of digging machines, drilling   machines, and loading machines costs. Then there is the cost of claims, employees, lawyers, permits, etc which preclude the lightly financed. Hard rock mining is pretty well left to those who are well-healed.

One can prospect in hopes of finding an outcropping of gold and quartz, but again, it's pretty much the rare bird who comes across such a thing. If you do, start buying an occasional lottery ticket. It is surmised by most academics that the entire west (California, Nevada, Arizona, and Oregon) has been scanned by prospectors over the course of the last couple hundred years. 

The aspect of prospecting that gets the most attention these days is the effort put out by placer prospectors. Yes, big companies prospect, but placer prospecting has become a great hobby for outdoor enthusiast looking for a pastime that can offer some exercise and the possibility of fortune. In the 1980's there was a boom in amateur prospecting for color when the price of gold shot up, and with Covid-19 in 2020, the boom continues.

Whereas in 1849 a prospector could walk a stream and on a sunny day get a flash from a gold nugget, it isn't quite that easy today. Oh, there may be a nugget like that found (however unlikely), but most people are searching for smaller flakes.

Though geologists have learned what type of rock formations typically produce the most gold. Amateurs for the most part search waterways (or old waterways no longer carrying water) looking for black sand. Black sands are used by miners and prospectors to indicate the presence of a placer formation. Placer mining activities produce a concentrate that is composed mostly of black sand. Black sand concentrates often contain additional valuables, other than precious metals (read to mean gemstones).

Profitable mining areas are very rare. But metal can be found in almost all waterways - but it appears as such small particulates that it is of little value. However, small gold particulates are of interest to the amateur prospector with gold nearing $2000 an ounce.

After taking many core samples, a mining company may decide to break ground. If the gold is near the surface, an open pit mining operation may be started. One more issue related to open pit mining involves the extraction of precious metals from copper mines. Gold, silver, and platinum are almost always associated with copper veins. Though copper is the goal of the open-pit operation, the gold and silver separated from the ground ore is frequently enough to pay for the operation. Gives you pause for thought, right?

Lode mining involves cracking rock and digging tunnels along the veins. There is usually a main tunnel and then side tunnels breaking off as more veins are discovered. Mercury fulminate, lead azide or PETN (or penthrite, or more properly Penta Erythritol Tetra Nitrate ) are good examples of primary explosives used in the mining industry. They can be found in blasting caps and detonators. Both open pit and lode mining utilize explosives.

Placer deposits are panned. Panning involves agitating water and material, we hope, with gold flake in it. Usually when there is nothing left in the pan but black sand, the prospector can see the yellow of gold. At that step he gently washes over the black sand until gold is revealed. 

Panning is back breaking work - one can appreciate the difficulty in making a living during the 19th century by panning. That scruffy old prospector with a mule or burro was a tough hombre.

I hope this overview of types of mining gives you a good feel for the opportunity that can exist from mining. Here is a metaphor that I think is appropriate. When in New York City, a person can appreciate the busyness of the place by walking down Broadway, but peering from the Empire State Building is a whole different vision. 

 References:

1. How Gold Works, by William Harri

2. Wikipedia

3. The Explosives Used in Mining, by Phillipe Dozolme

                                                Unsplash.com - Open pit operation

Announcing My Favorite Arizona Gold Placer Location

 I have prospected in three locations in the Bradshaw Mountains, and of all the club claims, this area seems the one where I find the most placer.This area in Yavapai county is famous for gold mining, both hard rock and placer.

 Many a 49er on his way back east after the gold rush in California topped there and wound up mining the area. The Bradshaws were first scoured in 1863. Lynx Creek was very rich in certain areas, and successful prospectors recovered an ounce or more per day; word spread and additional miners came to work the area.

Whether you find gold nuggets is a matter of some luck, but I panned a couple small nuggets. Most of what I find is placer flake. But where as I can get skunked in Arizona at some claims, I have always been able to bring home a bit of small gold from the arroyos that drain the high elevations.

Groom Creek is south of Prescott near the town of Groom Creek. It flows southwesterly until it intercepts the Hassayampa River. Since it appears Groom Creek as named starts west of Groom Creek, it is 6 miles by vehicle to Prescott. It is said that the area is good for placer. All manner of amenities are available there. There is also camping.

Five miles south of Prescott the creek joins the Hassayampa. The gold districts within the Bradshaw range are among the most productive placers in the state. Gold districts in this area include Lynx Creek, Big Bug  Creek (majority of historical mining), upper Hassayampa River, Groom Creek, Black Canyon, Poland Creek, Blind Indian, Milk and others. There are many gulches running off the Hassayampa and many have placer. The key area for finding gold is bounded by McCabe, Humboldt and Mayer, however there are lots of gulches without name.

I have prospected south of Crown King Mine off of Castle Hot Springs Road. In addition to having placers, the area is one of the prettiest in Arizona. It's lush and green with wild burros frequently seen. You will find the creeks running after the rains, but that ends fairly soon with puddles remaining. After the puddles have stood for awhile, the insects can get pretty thick so bring some bug spray. But having said that, puddles don't last long in Arizona. Many gold prospecting websites claim this is the place to go in Arizona for the amateur prospector. I would agree. I enjoy a couple other areas, but since this note is to focus on the "best" place to go, I would say that the Bradshaw Mountains in Yavapai County, Arizona is the spot you want to try. 

For a great history of the Bradshaw Mountain Area, check this site out - http://bradshawmountains.com/history.htm

For mine locations, see http://hhengineering.com/ARIZONAGOLD.htm

Photo from Wikipedia attributed to I, Murderbike -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradshaw_Mountains#/media/File:Bradshaw_Mts..JPG

Gold Prospecting Is a Hobby Fit for Covid Times

 You can bet that during times of duress, people will think of how to make a significant amount of money in a short time. As far fetched as that may seem, especially to experienced gold prospectors, when times are tough and families are pressed, it is a thought that can come flooding into one's mind.

It happened from '29 to '33, prior to Roosevelt confiscating gold and making it illegal to own. It happened 170 years ago when a mass migration of wannabe and experienced prospectors headed for the California gold fields.

Well, it isn't exactly the same today. What we have now is a lot of folks wanting a safe activity outdoors to avoid COVID-19. In addition, you can enjoy the outdoors while trying to find some loot with your family. The skills taught to kids can last a life time.

Besides tracking out yourself, you can actually make arrangements to learn the sport of gold prospecting and have a place to stay while you explore the beautiful outdoors.

Try reading this USA Today article - informing, interesting, and exciting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana#/media/File:Montana_Relief_1.jpg

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/09/28/socially-distanced-hobbies-gold-prospecting-finds-new-fans/3529822001/

Aluminum, Platinum Articles May Be of Interest

 https://goldprospectingarticles.blogspot.com/

Introducing "Gold Prospecting in the United States," an Article by Harold Kirkemo

Here is an article with a ton of information about gold prospecting. Did you know groundwater collected from wells, springs, and drill holes may provide clues to the presence of subsurface gold deposits? As groundwater flows through the deposit, minute amounts of gold are leached from the rocks. These can sometimes be detected in groundwater samples collected from wells located down gradient from the deposit. USGS image.

Learn about where gold has been prospected, the best productive areas, twice-worked areas, challenges in prospecting for color, and wealth of information from the USGS. Check it out. 

Copy and paste this link. 

https://geology.com/usgs/gold-prospecting/

Silver Mines Throughout History

For your information. This is my latest article. I love Arizona and I love reading about its history. I think it is a good read.  https://hubpages.com/education/A-Brief-History-of-Arizona-Silver-Mining

The faces of Gold Ore - FYI Calaverite

 this is my latest article on gold ore. There are a few true ores of gold that yield some gold, but most gold is still native. Checkout where 3 popular ores are found.

https://hubpages.com/education/Identifying-Gold-Ore-What-To-Look-For

Gold, and Too Much Excitement

Here is a tale about a guy who got a bit too excited on finding a tiny nugget of gold.

I was prospecting a club claim near Rye, Arizona. I had dug about 12 inches down and came into some heavy black sand. While panning down to the heaviest sand I saw a small pebble-sized piece of quartz. It was very translucent. Picking it out of the pan and looking at it, the sun just hit it at the right angle and I got a terrible flash to the eye. Then I saw a tiny pin point bit of gold in a bit of a crack in the quartz.

On further examination it became clear that there might be more gold in that crack. I waved over it with my metal detector and by golly it went off registering gold. This was the first gold I had ever found in quartz.

I went back to the camp ground to show my wife. After she acknowledged that she could see that tiny speck of gold, I decided to sit down and pass the time at camp. But then I realized something.

If I had found a quartz chip with gold at only 6 inches, I should go back and pan that area. Strange how excitement can interfere with your thought processes.

After panning down to 2 feet and a bit of the adjacent area, I wound up finding some small placer.

So here is the moral of the story, if you find a small chip, don't abandon ship!

"Don't you long for something different to happen, something so exciting and new it carries you along with it like a great tide" - Juliet Marillier, Son of the Shadows

Deep Sea Mining. Is It Another 49er Gold Rush?

For decades the scientific community has known about undersea commodities. The demand recently from China and other advanced economies has brought new interest in under ocean deposits. Zinc, gold, and copper are just some of the metals waiting to be excavated. A handful of companies are ready to begin mining sometime in one to five years.

As the minerals come out of thermal vents, the sea water cools the gas and dust resulting in the precious metals being deposited on the ocean floor. Robotic skimmers are being developed that will scoop off the material and send it back to shore or another ship for processing.

Read this fascinating story of sunken treasure!

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/2/130201-underwater-mining-gold-precious-metals-oceans-environment/#close