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- - I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets (http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=149505)

Reno Chris | 06-25-2007 01:36 PM
I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets This last Thursday I left for a few days of prospecting and camping. It was my first for 2007. Normally by June, I�d have already done several placer prospecting trips, but for the first half of this year I decided to devote my time to hard rock prospecting. Those hard rock trips were fun, but they were really about getting work done, claim stakes placed in the ground, and samples taken. This trip was focused on really having fun. Yah, I wanted to find some nuggets, but I also wanted to just relax and have some fun. The weather in the Sierra Nevada high country was just perfect � mid 80s in the day, high 40s at night. Sunny, but at the placer area there is loads of shade. I didn�t push as hard as I could have while prospecting, I spent some time sitting in my chair, and soaking in the beauty and forest sounds. This is high country with pines, streams, deer and plenty of SHADE. During 2006, I had not found as many nuggets at this location as I had expected, so last fall I had sat down and made some plans for things I wanted to try when prospecting for nuggets in 2007. I stuck to my plan and it worked well. One thing was to try a smaller coil and the sensitive setting, and I picked up several smaller nuggets in areas I had already found gold, several within only about 6 feet of those previous nuggets. I also found several new spots where I had not found nuggets previously, but these were near spots where I had found nuggets in the past - so I was pushing out the boundaries of that patch. I got in a half day prospecting on Thursday and Sunday and a whole day on Friday and Saturday. For the final tally, I got 9 nuggets with a total weight of 13 dwt, or almost 2/3 of an ounce. The largest one was 3.6 dwt. Nothing record breaking, but that�s good gold, and I was darned pleased to find it, and put it in my collection. Believe it or not, these nugggets have had a good bath and have been throughly scrubbed with a tooth brush to get them clean as possible without acids! The nuggets from this location come out of the ground looking like an old rusty chunk of iron. Many have to be closely examined to be sure they are gold when they are dirty. My daughter was with me and I showed them to her before cleaning - she is used to the gold out of my dredge and that gold is clean and river rolled. This stuff looked to her like little clods of dirt and rust. I have thought about using oxalic acid to remove some of the rust coating, but I am hesitant to do that and have just used a tooth brush to date. OH, I almost forgot to mention the BAD News..... I found this spot in 2005, although the old timers worked it more than 100 years ago. I have wandered over many acres here and I've seen only a handful of dig holes - less than a dozen. All were shallow and looked very old - more than 5 years I'd say. With one exception, they were in the worst and most trashy locations. I guessed an inexperienced operator with a VLF who did not return. So I was happy to have this place all to myself in secret, and I've been getting some nice gold. I had not seen any new digs other than my own, but this weekend changed that. About 2 feet from the spot where I dug my last nugget in October before winter set in, there was a foot deep crater. In this location, most of the deep targets are gold (unless the ground has been disturbed or piled up). About 50 feet away was a 2 foot deep shaft. That one was dug into a pile of dirt and the target is still in the hole - 99% chance for that one is a big chunk of iron trash like a tin can. The target booms at the bottom of the hole. So now I have company, and he's an idiot who leaves deep holes open to boot. So now its a race to see who can recover the gold first. Me or the open hole stranger. I'll keep an eye out for his crater hole calling cards. Chris In the next day or so, I'll post some pictures of the area and the gold nuggets as well.

____hoot____ | 06-25-2007 02:21 PM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets I'm turning green!

azxcvbnm321 | 06-25-2007 02:26 PM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets Good luck, and keep on having fun!

goldminer | 06-25-2007 05:35 PM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets We need to know where you're diggin!

electric-amish | 06-25-2007 08:01 PM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets Could you take some pictures and post them. I would love to see what your area and the Gold looks like. Thanks E-A

Goldhedge | 06-25-2007 08:06 PM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets Chris, what kind of rig you using?

Reno Chris | 06-25-2007 09:51 PM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets Here I am out detecting among the pines out in the forest: http://nevada-outback-gems.com/misc_...tecting_01.jpg Here is another shot - the small hole just to the right of my detector coil had just yielded up a 1/2 dwt nugget (thats one 40th of an ounce): http://nevada-outback-gems.com/misc_...tecting_02.jpg Here is the gold I found, cleaned, but still dirty with iron stains, etc. Total weight is 13 dwt, or about 0.65 ounces. http://nevada-outback-gems.com/misc_...wt_nuggets.jpg What equipment do I use? I use a Minelab GP Extreme Where am I prospecting? In the high country of the northern part of the Sierra Nevada Range, but I'm not going to be any more specific than that. If you want to see more of my prospecting adventures and some more of my gold, check out my web page at: Chris's Prospecting Adventures Thanks for your comments and I'm glad you enjoyed my posts. Chris

Wyldwil | 06-25-2007 09:59 PM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets Very cool!!! Thanks for sharing this with us!!

<SLV> | 09-29-2007 02:04 PM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets Quote:
Originally Posted by Reno Chris (Post 646689) Here I am out detecting among the pines out in the forest: Here is another shot - the small hole just to the right of my detector coil had just yielded up a 1/2 dwt nugget (thats one 40th of an ounce): Here is the gold I found, cleaned, but still dirty with iron stains, etc. Total weight is 13 dwt, or about 0.65 ounces. http://nevada-outback-gems.com/misc_...wt_nuggets.jpg What equipment do I use? I use a Minelab GP Extreme Where am I prospecting? In the high country of the northern part of the Sierra Nevada Range, but I'm not going to be any more specific than that. If you want to see more of my prospecting adventures and some more of my gold, check out my web page at: Chris's Prospecting Adventures Thanks for your comments and I'm glad you enjoyed my posts. Chris
Awesome! I can't wait to do the same in Colorado. I've read that a lot of people recommend the Minelabs over other metal detectors. Is that the "only" way to go? Why do you prefer the Minelabs?

Reno Chris | 10-01-2007 02:26 AM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets Actually I use the best detector for its own purposes. I own both an MXT by Whites and a Minelab. Sometimes I use the the minelab, sometimes the MXT. I have a whole set of pages on the MXT on my website: MXT metal detector by Whites I also have a page about selecting a metal detector for nugget hunting on my website: Selecting a metal detector for Nugget hunting Just remember that detecting for nuggets aint easy - see my post to you in your other thread about taking up prospecting. You can do it, I just want to point out that it its difficult. Trying panning first is a good idea. Chris

Silver Spoon | 10-01-2007 02:36 AM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets Quote:
Originally Posted by Reno Chris (Post 646689) If you want to see more of my prospecting adventures and some more of my gold, check out my web page at: Chris's Prospecting Adventures Chris
Bookmarked for future perusal. Thanks for sharing your experience with us :applause_

Bimetallist | 10-07-2007 04:01 PM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets This is just the kind of thing we love to hear about!

Reno Chris | 10-08-2007 01:54 AM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets Well, since this post I made a trip up there and got a half ounce nugget. I hope to have more news again, as I am heading back up there for a few days. Chris

<SLV> | 10-08-2007 08:08 AM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets Quote:
Originally Posted by Reno Chris (Post 767631) Well, since this post I made a trip up there and got a half ounce nugget. I hope to have more news again, as I am heading back up there for a few days. Chris
:applause_ I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOO jealous! Please post a picture when you can!

Reno Chris | 10-08-2007 10:00 PM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets 1 Attachment(s) OK, here it is. Its a great piece but kind of different. Its like an oreo cookie - quartz on the top, iron oxides on the bottom, and a thick slab of gold in the middle. I shot the picture to give kind of an edge on view so you could see the gold better. When I made that trip it was the only nugget I got, but it does weigh a bit more than half an ounce. Chris

<SLV> | 10-08-2007 10:28 PM
Re: I Dug 2/3 Ounce of Beautiful Gold Nuggets Quote:
Originally Posted by Reno Chris (Post 768915) OK, here it is. Its a great piece but kind of different. Its like an oreo cookie - quartz on the top, iron oxides on the bottom, and a thick slab of gold in the middle. I shot the picture to give kind of an edge on view so you could see the gold better. When I made that trip it was the only nugget I got, but it does weigh a bit more than half an ounce. Chris
A half ounce is a good one day outing... even if it takes all day! Congrats!

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