# Abandoned mine diving



## methods

More for sport than profit - the wife enjoys it - and it gets us out doors.
YES - I get that it is dangerous :mrgreen: 

We picked up some samples to test.












Like many things - it was more about the journey than the destination - so perhaps I will just put off the testing and let my imagination enjoy the possibilities.

-methods


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## Anonymous

Awesome pics and awesome looking specimen.Would you mind telling me what state this was in(not the location,just the state).We used to do a lot of this at copper mine just north of dahlonega,however it has since been closed and fenced off,making it impossible to reach.I remember sniping in dahlonega right next to KFC and couldn't believe we got a couple of little flakes.But of course the gold found doesn't justify the money spent,you really have to enjoy doing it,to spend a couple hundred dollars for $20 worth of gold.


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## methods

This sample may help to show location - the mountains around the California / Nevada border



This big one is my wife's - she is guarding it with her feet - (not sure exactly what she has planned for it)



-methods


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## HAuCl4

Very little to test!. Those are about the richest samples one can ever hope to find!. More than 20 OZ per Ton!. Looks dangerous inside there. :shock:


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## Anonymous

That is awsome Methods.We planned on going over last year with my minelab but of course unexpected things always happen.Maybe next year we can make it,because there is nothing that rich,that is accessible to the public in georgia or south carolina.


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## darshevo

Excellent pictures! Look forward to seeing more

-Lance


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## methods

Well - that kind of ore is littering the ground in the National Forest around here... if you do a little research before heading out. My wife usually spends a few weeks superimposing old mining claims on the topo map and then we head out. We take Electric Bicycles to cover ground quickly (and quietly) then if we find anything worth chasing we use the bikes to mule out rocks.


Those batteries are Lithium Polymer 100V 15Ah. 
They give the bike a 50mph top speed or a 50 mile range (notice I said OR, not AND).
Suspension is 7" front and back - so we can get just about anywhere a dirt-bike can but without the noise.
As a benefit - we can also take "Mountain Bike Only trails" or even hiking trails and nobody is ever the wiser.




Some times you get all the way out to a site only to find that it has been plugged up. They fill in the mine opening with expanding foam and rocks.... you could get in if you wanted to but it is not really worth the work.




My wife found this interesting piece in the pile below it. She was drawn to the square shape but it turned out to have more interesting features.






-methods


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## HAuCl4

Nice Glock!. :shock:


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## HAuCl4

You need a bicycle portable crusher and leacher!. 

FYI: 6 people got killed about 10 days ago near El Callao, Venezuela doing exactly what you are doing when the roof collapsed in one of those abandoned mines.


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## methods

HAuCl4 said:


> FYI: 6 people got killed about 10 days ago near El Callao, Venezuela doing exactly what you are doing when the roof collapsed in one of those abandoned mines.



Quote:
"It collapsed while the miners were digging a tunnel. There is one man injured in hospital and another injured person who left the hospital," Garcia told Reuters, adding that heavy machinery was working at the site to look for more casualties."

Source: Venezuela Gold Mine Collapse kills 6

Not to be argumentative or defensive - but there is a big difference between tip-toeing around in an abandoned mine that has been stable for over 150 years and actively digging in a new mine. We keep our intrusion to a minimum... mitigate our risk. These guys who are actively digging in new mines..... face an entirely different set of circumstances.

-methods


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## HAuCl4

I agree, and the rocks look lovely!. Still, quite a risk.


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## Richard36

methods said:


> This sample may help to show location - the mountains around the California / Nevada border
> View attachment 1
> 
> 
> This big one is my wife's - she is guarding it with her feet - (not sure exactly what she has planned for it)
> 
> 
> -methods



These two photos are classic.
Both are a mix of Quartz, Albite, and Kaolin, especially the bottom photo.
The top photo shows rust stains which is tell tale evidence of it's Sulfide content.

The bottom photo is very similar to the grade of ore that is so common around here.
Rock outcrops of that type of material should be heavily investigated.
I know that I do when I find them.

As for the the general Geology/Petrology of the region,
it is of Granitic origin for sure, with the strewn field being Quartz originating as a "Magmatic Differentiation Product" of "Alkaline Feldspar Granite".

The Kaolin is produced by "Hydrothermal Decomposition of Feldspar" 
by the "Enriched Meteoric Waters" produced by the intruding magma at depth.

The same water that decomposed the Feldspar is the same Hydrothermal Fluid that created the Sulfides, and deposited the Gold present within that Ore.

Good luck with your search, be careful in those Old Mines, and Happy Prospecting.

Sincerely; Rick."The Rock Man".


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## methods

Thanks for the analysis Rick, I read it to my wife and she got a big sappy grin on her face. Very cool. 
The large rock (bottom) landed in our front yard and there it sits for now.

The smaller rust covered rock (top) was left on site. I decided that it would be fun for the next guy to find it so I replaced it near where I found it in the bushes. Maybe it will take a year - maybe 100 years - but I bet the next guy that finds it will be just as excited as I was  

-methods


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## Richard36

methods said:


> Thanks for the analysis Rick, I read it to my wife and she got a big sappy grin on her face. Very cool.
> The large rock (bottom) landed in our front yard and there it sits for now.
> 
> The smaller rust covered rock (top) was left on site. I decided that it would be fun for the next guy to find it so I replaced it near where I found it in the bushes. Maybe it will take a year - maybe 100 years - but I bet the next guy that finds it will be just as excited as I was
> 
> -methods



Thanks for the reply.
Here are a few photos of similar Ore from around here. (Just for fun, and visual example)
All three photos are of the same chunk of material.

The gray material is very fine Sulfides scattered all through it.

You're quite welcome for the analysis.
If you find anything else of interest, post a photo of it, 
and I'll tell you what I can decipher from looking at it.

I enjoy looking at photos of everyone's interesting finds, 
and answering questions about them.

View attachment 2


View attachment 3


View attachment 4


As an afterthought, 
I decided to post a couple photos of these samples as well.

They are from a different deposit, and contain substantially far more Kaolin,
So much so that much of it can be molded like "Potters Clay".







Keep your eyes open for deposits of similar material.
I hope that these photos have been helpful.

Sincerely; Rick."The Rock Man".


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## Anonymous

2 things,
First, the real treasure is a wife that will go crawling around places that might have "spiders" with you.

2nd, did you build that bike? is the motor in the rear wheel hub? if so where did you get the motor?

thanks
jim


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## dtectr

james122964 said:
 

> 2 things,
> First, the real treasure is a wife that will go crawling around places that might have "spiders" with you.
> 
> 2nd, did you build that bike? is the motor in the rear wheel hub? if so where did you get the motor?
> 
> thanks
> jim


 you beat me to the question, jim! i was wondering the same thing. Any pics of your bike design, please?
thanks


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## methods

I dont want to derail the Gold Refining Forum into ebike talk - but here is a little info:

The motor is a Brushless DC hub motor, 23 pole, with a 6x10 wind.
There is an entire world of these ebikes....

The hub motors are widely available. This is an example of a very reputable Canadian dealer. 
http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_motors.php

You can buy a "kit" -> but it wont perform anything like the bikes I put together. Kits are good for about 20mph and just enough torque to get you moving.
http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_ezee.php

If you want to get serious - it mostly revolves around modifying the motor controllers for higher power handling and managing large batteries.
Here is a 2WD bike I build that can do dual-burnouts. In this video I crash - classic video
20kw 2WD burnout then shame
It is 35Mb - so please download, dont stream.

That comes from this thread - where I was troubleshooting some odd interaction between the dual controllers
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12356&hilit=20kw+dual
Obviously I am "methods" on that forum too.


Genrally there are only 4 major parts to an ebike

1) hub motor (available in many shapes and sizes)
2) controller (and throttle - just like a motorcycle throttle)
3) batteries (Lithium are the only way to go)
4) Instrumentation

If anyone wants to talk ebikes just PM me or we can start up a thread in the General section.

-methods


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## methods

Richard36 said:


> Here are a few photos of similar Ore from around here. (Just for fun, and visual example)
> All three photos are of the same chunk of material.



I will post up some different angles of that larger rock I have later in the day.

-methods


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## Richard36

methods said:


> Richard36 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Here are a few photos of similar Ore from around here. (Just for fun, and visual example)
> All three photos are of the same chunk of material.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I will post up some different angles of that larger rock I have later in the day.
> 
> -methods
Click to expand...


Cool, I look forward to seeing them.

Cool bike too. 
Glad to see another "Gearhead" here as well.

Ever tried bumping up the voltage through a DC to AC converter for more power?
Maybe even then running the AC through a transducer from a florescent light fixture?

I can bump up 12 DC to 600v AC by doing that.
Quite fun to do that to a Golf Cart, Lol! (Some details left out.)

I studied "Electrical Engineering" for awhile as well.

Sincerely; Rick."The Rock Man".


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## methods

Here are those rock shots.
Mostly the big one - then some others from the same general area.










-methods


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## methods

If it is not already obvious - all I have is a cell phone for a camera - and those I crush down to 600x900 so they will display on the computer.








-methods


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## Richard36

Definitely contains Quartz and Kaolin. 
I do not see Albite admixed into it in these photos.

Still, it is prime material to be looking in.

Areas with this type of rock are prime ground to be searching for deposits of Gold,
whether it is native element, or bound up in solid solution within Sulfides such as Iron Pyrite, or Oxides of other metals, such as oxides of Manganese.

Copper and Manganese minerals almost always contain some percentage of Gold/Silver,
and therefore are the indicator minerals that I look for when I'm out prospecting.

It doesn't matter to me if I can't see Native Gold in the Ore Minerals,
an assay will show it to contain some percentage of Gold/Silver.

Sometimes the values are low, but usually they are reasonably high.
Manganese and Copper acts like a collector for the Gold and Silver within the Hydrothermal Solutions, so if any Gold and/or Silver was present within the solutions forming the Vein system, the minerals of those metals will contain some percentage of Gold and/or Silver. 

Valuable knowledge for "The Hardrock Prospector".

Sincerely; Rick."The Rock Man".


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## Oz

Richard36 said:



> Copper and Manganese minerals almost always contain some percentage of Gold/Silver


Roughly 70% of all silver produced the world over on an annual basis is as a waste/byproduct of copper, lead, and zinc mining. With how critical silver is to so many industrial uses, imagine if we have a reduced need for lead or zinc.


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## Richard36

Oz said:


> Richard36 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Copper and Manganese minerals almost always contain some percentage of Gold/Silver
> 
> 
> 
> Roughly 70% of all silver produced the world over on an annual basis is as a waste/byproduct of copper, lead, and zinc mining. With how critical silver is to so many industrial uses, imagine if we have a reduced need for lead or zinc.
Click to expand...


Yup.
If Lead and Zinc mines became a thing of the past, it would cause Silver to increase in value substantially, as well as the cost of all electronic equipment that uses solder with some percentage of Silver.

Automotive batteries would jump in price as well.
Most use Lead plates.

There are the gel cell variety.
Not sure how they are made though.
They are expensive already, $135 or more each.

Neither would Galvanized Steel be possible without zinc.

Anyway, I get the point. 
Silver is a necessary metal in the world of electronics, as well as other uses.

Sincerely; Rick."The Rock Man".


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## DarkspARCS

Richard36 said:


> methods said:
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for the analysis Rick, I read it to my wife and she got a big sappy grin on her face. Very cool.
> The large rock (bottom) landed in our front yard and there it sits for now.
> 
> The smaller rust covered rock (top) was left on site. I decided that it would be fun for the next guy to find it so I replaced it near where I found it in the bushes. Maybe it will take a year - maybe 100 years - but I bet the next guy that finds it will be just as excited as I was
> 
> -methods
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for the reply.
> Here are a few photos of similar Ore from around here. (Just for fun, and visual example)
> All three photos are of the same chunk of material.
> 
> The gray material is very fine Sulfides scattered all through it.
> 
> You're quite welcome for the analysis.
> If you find anything else of interest, post a photo of it,
> and I'll tell you what I can decipher from looking at it.
> 
> I enjoy looking at photos of everyone's interesting finds,
> and answering questions about them.
> 
> View attachment 7
> 
> 
> View attachment 8
> 
> 
> View attachment 9
> 
> 
> As an afterthought,
> I decided to post a couple photos of these samples as well.
> 
> They are from a different deposit, and contain substantially far more Kaolin,
> So much so that much of it can be molded like "Potters Clay".
> 
> View attachment 6
> 
> 
> View attachment 5
> 
> 
> Keep your eyes open for deposits of similar material.
> I hope that these photos have been helpful.
> 
> Sincerely; Rick."The Rock Man".
Click to expand...


Hey Rick...

Your samples look alot like mine :twisted:







These lil nugget wannabes were embeded inside the ore - which I extracted when I soaked the ore in water and turned it into mud:







Here's what the water looked like after 24 hrs.




:mrgreen:


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## DarkspARCS

Here's some pics of one of the mines I frequent:













I pull this material from it:


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## Richard36

Hello DarkspARCS,

The ore that you are working is obviously mid-grade or better copper ore.
I do have a market contact that will buy this ore in tonnage, if you're interested.

The possibilities of this ore containing gold and silver is high.
Yes, it does look like several of my samples, that's because it's the same type of material.
It's good material, and well worth investigating the possibilities of re-opening that mine, 
if for nothing more than it's copper content.

The Kaolin, quartz, and feldspar matrix material 
is reasonably marketable to the ceramics industry as well.

Nice find.
Thanks for the photos.

Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man".


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## eeTHr

DarkspARCS---

Your samples look like turquoise to me.

But I'm not an expert.


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## DarkspARCS

eeTHr said:


> DarkspARCS---
> 
> Your samples look like turquoise to me.
> 
> But I'm not an expert.



Lol, I suspect that they do... and undoubtedly there is turquoise in large quantity not only within this same mine but several adjacent mines as well, as well as several world class turquoise mines that operate within the region. However the material that you are looking at is not only turquose, but also azurite, malachite, aurichalcite, chrysoprase, and druzi quartz. If you take the pictures of the mines and zoom in to look at the walls and roof you'll see it abudantly. This material is the primary ore of copper, with solid amounts of gold, silver, and PALADIUM combined within the ore.

 Hi Rich...



> The ore that you are working is obviously mid-grade or better copper ore.
> I do have a market contact that will buy this ore in tonnage, if you're interested.



Yep, the mine I'm extrating this material from was a blockbuster producer durring it's operations in the late 1800's. The ore is known as a pollymetallic replacement deposite and is literally busting at the seams with three obviously identifiable metallic elements by virtue of the metallic colors they reveal. here's some pictures of the other material that is accompanying the kaolinite I posted earlier:
















I'll post additional images of it in the next post. The minerals on record for this mine's PMRD are lead, zinc, gold, silver, copper and PALLADIUM.

The kaolinite that forms with these beauties contains chalcopyrites and very thin veins of a very shiney, chrome-like substace that forms in the more decomposed portions of the ore. I have to literally place my bucket underneath the ore of that type when beginning to work it because the rock will literally shatter on touch, losing any trace of the very pretty chrome-like metal once broke apart.

It's my belief that this shiney metal is indeed the PALLADIUM the record indicates.

I just recently made this discovery, as the mine's trailings alone gave me the red flag indcators telling me that I needed to go inside and investigate futher. The indicators were right on the money, as one 45 degree angled shaft leading down came to life under my light as soon as I stepped off of the well preserved wooden ladders, exposing a drying passage literally dripping with layers of this stuff that s beginning to peal away from the walls in large, curling deposites. there are 4 veins of material here running through a huge deposite of lower grade kaolinite.

One of these veins, through and through, is identifiable as possessing blue green patches of "hairs" that form on it, making it look like mold was growing on it lol.

Of interest to note is that my ( conservative ) estimate of available material this mine offers is around 4 tons of easily accessible ore. From there is when the cieling, walls, and passage terminate all need additional working to extract the embeded materials, which may add an additional ton or two to my guesstimate.

If you know someone interested in this package I'm all ears. 

I haven't done any assaying on any of this yet... lol, as I've just started studying this stuff to do the extracting myself, since I understand the phenminal rate of exchange these metals currently are fetching at market.

Please contact me privately to discuss this new prospect Rich!... and thanks for your interest.


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## DarkspARCS

Additional imges:

This is a sample of the ore containing the blue-green crystals:







This is the display case it's being displayed in:






:twisted:


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## DarkspARCS

More Ore:













I'm currently sitting on approx. 400 (-/+) lbs. of ore. Just finished roasting around 2 lbs. of fine high grade material, next step is wash with CA or weak muriatic to eliminate(??) iron and leftover organics. Then I'll need to figure out which hydrometallurgic formula(s) will be needed for a full leech of separate values.

Working with ore this rich and this diverse needs a production line just to attempt making an efficient economic value from it a reality. lol, then to top it off get the clay marketable! Something an established mining entity would most likley already have in place.

By the way... would they also be interested in the azurite and other copper ore located within the other location? I could pull around a ton or two from there.




I'm Looking forward to hearing from you Rich...

P.S.: I almost forgot!

The chalcopyrite and iron pyrite 'nodules' I shared the images of above are composed mainly of sphalerite... which obviously is where the lead within the PMRD List of contained minerals comes from. The mine also hosts a cinnabar deposite... which I found (I suspect) but steer well away from it due to it's properties (Mercry ore)

I would however recover that ore as well if I found a buyer *hint* lol >8D

After all I do possess a half face respirator that utilizes particulate cartridges and goggles.


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## DarkspARCS

Here's some additional images lol:

These are samples of some of my better azurite finds:







Here are samples of the cinnabar deposite:




Finally, these are shots of the decomposed kaolinite containing the bright, shiney chrome colored metallic veins and flakes that I speculate is palladium, along with solid metal nodules taken from the darker green material:




These images really don't do justice to the quality of these ores. there's ALOT more glitteing on them in real life lol...


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## Barren Realms 007

Oh man I love the colors of those top 3 pictures in that last post. looks a lot like the coral I use to see diving in South America.


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## DarkspARCS

lol....You'll probably love these colors then too!


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## Ocean

beautiful!

What is the mineral on that last pic?


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## Barren Realms 007

Yes very beautiful. I have never been into rocks that much. But those I would love to have on display in my house.


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## DarkspARCS

These are the #1 copper bearing ores known as malachite, azurite, chrysocola, turquoise, and chrysophrase.

When encountered in stable depoites they are carefully extracted and best samples worked into beautiful jewels, objects de art, and decorative show pieces.

High grade gemstones such as these usually aren't destroyed for their copper / pm / pgm content but instead sold for a very high price...

Take a look at these babies!:

All American Lapidary: Azurite

*Chatoyant Azurite Malachite * has the deep blue textures enhanced by green colored crystaline aurimalachite spar... and is very rare. However most GEM QUALITY Azurite Malachites are rare to begin with... of which you are seeing some fine specimens sitting in raw format in my images.

As you can see these gemstones can fetch $25.00 to $50.00 dollars per karat. As you can also see is that I've stumbled onto a large deposite, having already allocated approximately 100 lbs of quality material.


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## Oz

Well at 5 carats to the gram your $25-$50 a carat becomes $125-$250 a gram. That leaves very little reason to go after any precious metal content regardless what it is.

Congratulations on such a nice find!


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## DarkspARCS

Thanx Oz!




We've started to work the stones into useable materials. This stone is a deep blue - will come out probably weighing 5 -6 karats once complete.




This is in the process and will make a beautiful cab.




more to follow !


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## DarkspARCS

Finishing a third stone:




Up next!:


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## DarkspARCS

Ad Infinitum!


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## Ocean

Rock hound fingers!


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## DarkspARCS

Ocean said:


> Rock hound fingers!



 

Those fingers used to look that way because I was working. I haven't worked in over 8 months, so now they look that way because of my endeavor to locate and process pm/pgm metal ores and associated precious minerals to generate an income to feed my family.

With the help this forum provides I am suceeding with those plans! My thanks to the many people like Richard, Irons, and those whos valuable insight have been graciously posted on this forum and other websites related to this one that has made a difference in my understanding of things.

One of those understandings opened up new possibilities:
















This, my frends, is what life will give you when you lose your fear in it and choose to take control of it...

EUREKA !!!


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## depperl001

DarkspARCS said:


> These are the #1 copper bearing ores known as malachite, azurite, chrysocola, turquoise, and chrysophrase.
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I am sorry to tell you that chrysoprase is not a copper ore. The colour in chrysoprase comes from Nickle. It is a crypto cristaline quartz with traces of nickel.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Josef Vavryn


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## DarkspARCS

depperl001 said:


> DarkspARCS said:
> 
> 
> 
> These are the #1 copper bearing ores known as malachite, azurite, chrysocola, turquoise, and chrysophrase.
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I am sorry to tell you that chrysoprase is not a copper ore. The colour in chrysoprase comes from Nickle. It is a crypto cristaline quartz with traces of nickel.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Josef Vavryn
Click to expand...


Ahh, then perhaps I'm mistaken in identifying the mineral. being that chrysoprase has a characteristic deep blue-green color my assumption was based upon the color.




Thanks for the clarification, evidently this is all just different color variations of turquoise and chrysacolla...


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## Richard36

The Copper minerals that I'm seeing are Malachite, Azurite,Turquoise,and Chalcanthite, 
with sparse amounts of other copper minerals.

Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man"


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## eeTHr

DarkspARCS---

Are you aware that hard turquoise sometimes sells by the carat?

8)


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## DarkspARCS

eeTHr said:


> DarkspARCS---
> 
> Are you aware that hard turquoise sometimes sells by the carat?
> 
> 8)



8) I'll have to look into that lol. As it is I'm going to contact several online markets with proposals to sell. If that doesnt work I'll have to dress the minerals personally, get on my suit and tie, and head for the closest mineral show :twisted:


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## DarkspARCS

I've posted my first Auction on mindat regarding these Azurite Malachite specimens today

w00t  

http://www.mindat.org/item-2325.html

Lets see what happens! lol, if nothing else at least the Gold Refiner's forum should get alot of hits, maybe even a few new members!


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## nickvc

Well I wish you luck and hope you get a good result for all your hard work.
I'm a complete dweeb with rocks and ores but a thought passed through my mind...why don't all you rock collectors form a co operative and set up a website between you and sell the specimens direct to the collectors as I'm sure there's a market for them especially if you can offer a good range of materials which between you all I'm sure you could, the other idea might be to set up a rock collectors forum where members could post pictures of items for sale.


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## eeTHr

DarkspARCS---

what is the hardness of the turquoise, on the mohs scale?


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## DarkspARCS

eeTHr said:


> DarkspARCS---
> 
> what is the hardness of the turquoise, on the mohs scale?



It's a solid 5, as good in lapidary quality as the azurite. the turquoise in the area tends to follow recent flow patterns, meaning most of what's found is surface coatings over limestone conglomerate, with the thin turquoise materials congealing within the cracks. every now and again a thick concentration will show up, providing the pieces shown.

You could literally find a 3' slab completely coated with the turquoise flowstone but it will most likely only be an eighth of an inch thick over a limestone rock lol.

One location nearby has an entire outcropping of kaolinite absolutely saturated with this stuff, turning it powder blue:




On an unusual note however, research into turquoise that I've done over at Mindat revealed that I've been collecting a rare type of crystalized turquoise as well:







The small spots of turquoise colored material is actually a crystalline variety of turquoise! It's around a 2 on moh's so... lol, great care is needed from harvest to display. transporting this was a real stickler!

Hope that answers your question lol :lol:


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## Richard36

Hello DarkspARCS,

Every bit of this stuff that isn't lapidary grade is still a High Grade Copper ore, 
and I do have market contacts that would be interested in buying it on a tonnage basis.
Check out my marketing and consulting page of my website.

Thanks for the private message invite to come open this thing with you, 
but finances won't allow me to do so at the moment.

Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man".


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## DarkspARCS

Richard36 said:


> Hello DarkspARCS,
> 
> Every bit of this stuff that isn't lapidary grade is still a High Grade Copper ore,
> and I do have market contacts that would be interested in buying it on a tonnage basis.
> Check out my marketing and consulting page of my website.
> 
> Thanks for the private message invite to come open this thing with you,
> but finances won't allow me to do so at the moment.
> 
> Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man".



Well in reading your profile Rich, like I said I read your post on the claim you intended on initiating, which your assays seemed to somehow reveal a low grade deposite.

I felt your excitement, And sat and thought about your joy in response to participating in something as rich as this promises to be. I also noted your desire to scout out a location all your own and work it... the mining district I'm located in is about to literally explode - with two of the World's LARGEST mining outfits both purchasing tens of thousands of acers on all sides of this lone series of abandoned mines I'm pondering for strip mining in the pollymetallic richness of the indigenous geology.

I'm privy to one company's subsurface radar readouts that reveals several smaller skarn / polymetallic replacement deposites that appears untouched, and unclaimed, were they have no intention to drill. That too, outside the area I'm working, could be the goal you've set for yourself.

......* Reality Check!....*

The economy as it stands is shot - mining is the key to survival, once the fiat monetary system of the American Dollar bows to the already negotiated and agreed upon as standard Chinese yaun as the world's new default standard... and the IMF institutes it's new Global currency system that will further unite the have nots in the soon to follow FEMA work programs, or more likely, Unicor Federal Prisoner work program - already advertising to private sector industries as the answer to outsourcing..."If the Pisoner works, so does the system" - nice motto, eh?

In order to bypass both Federal Enslavement Programs... I choose to become self reliant, but like you I NEED HELP lol...

Thus my offer of a Written Agreement in respect a Joint Venture and Incorporated Partnership investing in a mining venture HIDDEN in between two giants doing the same thing...

Back in 1867, men lived in makeshift huts and canvass tents to create a better future for themselves and thier families. Many succeeded, as a nearby Iron Cross located near this mine reveals:

"To have met him was to like him, To have known him was to love him." - said about the previous owner evidently.

Anyway, I'm in the same boat you are Rich... but I know that if this were in your back yard like it is in mine, you would not be telling me how bad finances are... Oregon is right next to Nevada. What, a 6 - 8 hour drive? 

Would you be any more broke down here than you are there? 

No, actually I'm quite assured that in your very first week here - working together you and I will both already possess thousands of dollars from the first few ounces of Gold, Silver, Palladium, Platium, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Iron, and Mercury we produce.

Food for thought. Oh and about your contacts Rich - I've visually inspected the three massive mine dumps at this mine and others nearby. I've found fully formed pyrite cubes, gem quality turquoise, azurite, malachite, chrysocolla, and cinnabar within these dumps, as well as several specimens that contain micro fine gold within them. That means these dumps were not processed...

I believe it's called a "mine tailings dump retreatment operation" -or-

um, that's roughly 30,000 +/- tons of high grade ore ready to go!!!

We need large movers, large transports, and a train ticket to L.A....

Are your contacts paying for some of these expenses? Sample shipment and assay paperwork needs $, I'm struggling here... I've got half a ton crushed, I need to roast it to condense the ore, prepare it for leaching, etc. I CANT FIND SODIUM HYDOXIDE OR SODIUM METABISULPHATE/ SODIUM BISULPHITE. I'M NOT FINDING SULPHURIC ACID, AND FORGET ABOUT IODINE OR NITRIC ACID. I ALSO FOUND 100% CYANURIC ACID - 

WHOA NELLIE! DO I GOTTA GO THERE?

It s tough, I'm not a chemist. I can only afford a heavy trash bag for a rubber apron. On and on and on.

First, we need some gold though, agreed?

Let me know!


----------



## Richard36

Well DarkspARKS, 

send me a few photos of the material from the mine dump, and a couple pounds of the material from it. I will send it to my market contact in Quebec, and see what all we can get started as far selling that stuff, and get some cash flow going. My other buyer listed on my website may be interested as well. 

Let's find out. I'm game.

Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man".


----------



## Lou

I've been following this thread with quite some interest (I'm a rock collector of the most amateur sort, but I still like it!).


DarkspARKS,

Some advice: go to Legend Mining in Reno. They'll have nitric acid and all the things you need. Bring some samples of what you've got so they know you're not some yahoo. I'd be setting up for fire assay and acquiring some of the really great books here on the forum that deal with fire assaying such intractable things as ores!

Best of luck to you! This stuff you're doing is my idea of a good solid vacation!


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## DarkspARCS

Ok... let me get tailing samples - then I'll add them to ore samples. I believe all the pictures you need are right here in this thread Richard...

I'll image the mine dumps and post those tonight when I return. I'll also get pictures of that solid turquoise saturated kaolinite outcropping to match ore pictures and samples.




This is a solid wall to wall, floor to cieling white kaolinite deposit containing several plumbojarosite veins, cerrusite, and a cinnabar vein.




These are the rocks dreams are made of. Excuse me, THOSE ARE ACTUALLY 200 - 300 LB. BOLDERS of the stuff dreams are made of...




Welcome to the CORRIDORS where dreams never end...




End of the line!... Wait a second, I bought my hammer drill and this don't look like any ending in sight to me! that silvery 'K' Vein formation looks like a great place to start... or maybe the cinnabar...

DECISIONS DECISIONS .... sheesh!.....

Awe shucks, I can't make my mind up. let me go topside and think about it while I harvest this:




 Got Cart?


----------



## DarkspARCS

What the?! What's this?!




Look at the glitter in those cubes! they're HUGE!




OMG! It actually made it into my bucket!




Damn right it did! ASSAY THIS !




Now featuring Plumbojarosite var. Turquoise spar...




Turquoise spar?

Yep... genuine crystalline Turquoise! :shock:


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## DarkspARCS

Wow man... all that good time glitter. I like some diversity, got color?

Sure, we got color! Need something blue?


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## Richard36

Hey DarkspARCS,

This is the ore from within that mine that has all that Silver and Palladium those papers were referring to. I would like to have a couple of chicken egg size samples of this material to look at.

This gray material is the grade of sulfide ore that I am familiar with.


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## Barren Realms 007

I tell you what if ya'll keep this up and I ever plan on a vacation I am going to ask one of you to take me on a trip to one of your area's this stuff is nice to look at and would be even better in person I feel.


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## Richard36

Barren Realms 007 said:


> I tell you what if ya'll keep this up and I ever plan on a vacation I am going to ask one of you to take me on a trip to one of your area's this stuff is nice to look at and would be even better in person I feel.



He, he, he, lol! I'll take my digital camera out with me this spring/summer so that I can take photos of all the outcrops that I know of, and really twist your chain.

There are quite a few old mines in my area with sulfides of various types within them as well.

I didn't take my camera up to the mine that Roy and I looked in last summer, but it was full of ore as well, not anywhere as pretty as what DarkspARCS has found, but none the less, the ore is there, and present in massive quantities 8 feet in. 

Truthfully though, the floor has around 18 inches of standing water in it, and the dirt berm at the entrance has to be dug away so that it will drain, but that is on our agenda.

I plan on posting photos of the manganese outcrop as soon as my cousin and I can get up to it. There's still snow in the way at the moment, so we have to wait for it to melt off. 

Anyway, if you like to look at photos of outcrops, I can provide you with plenty of eye candy.

Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man".

P.S.

Just for kicks, here are a few outcrop photos from my photo collection, 
none of which I found though.




View attachment 3


View attachment 2


View attachment 1


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## Barren Realms 007

I'v always ejoyed the beauty of this stuff just have never had the time to persue it as a hobby. I use to trapes around the jungles of Panama and find some interesting stuff, just never took pictures of any of it. I'l have to take a couple of pictures of the crystals I dug in an area in North West Arkansas and see what your idea is of them some nice structure to them. But no where near as nice as some of the stuff that has been posted here.


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## DarkspARCS

8) MEESA BACK !! :twisted:


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## DarkspARCS

Mine dump #5:




Mine dump content:


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## DarkspARCS

mine dump content:


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## DarkspARCS

When I got to the mine today I noticed that the dirt road in had so much traffic drive on it that it was smooth. I discovered that the B.L.M./ DEPT of the Interior had payed it a visit and attempted to seal the mine entrace. I don't think so....lol, mine's open once again. :twisted: 

As the images clearly show the dumps are loaded with azurite, turquoise, malachite, cinnabar, pyrites, and other highly desired content. around 30,000 tons... sound right?

I've also got 8 powdered assay samples of different documented ore locations ready to ship, along with samples from these dumps. I'll also include azurite and turquoise samples, with one azurite sample powdered and ready fo assay as well.

I'll need to draft a letter of Working Agreement, Solicitation of Partnership, and notice of intent of Joint Venture FYI for you to review and revise accordingly. Meanwhile I've secured another half ton ofthe Arsenopyrite bearing plumbojarosite and silver laden kaolinite ores, with almost one ton of cushed kaolinite, plumbojarosite, and calaverite ores ready for roasting...

Got Bonfire? 

here are some images of a new ore type just found today!:
















Continued...


----------



## DarkspARCS

Finally... here are images of the turquoise var. spar., nevadaite bearing plumbojarosite:













(breath) ....

I'll inform you of when the total samples packge ships Rich.

Out!...


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## Richard36

Hello DarkspARCS,

Sounds good, and I'll be looking forward to receiving it.

You know, I may just copy the photos from this thread, 
and use them for a post in my blog titled "Mine Diving In Nevada".

Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man".


----------



## DarkspARCS

I have some questions for your Canadian contact Rich. I was gonna ask you via PM but thought about it and decided perhaps others may benefit from this too. It may actually make the difference for small scale operators getting thier product to market more expediantly and his ability to acquire high quality ores from new sources more available!

Your Canadian contact stated they would pay for shipping. Many buyers do, which I find pretty damn nice of them. One issue you mentioned on your blog site that mine start ups and small scale operators face is getting the needed equipment for loading and transport of thier mined product to the shipping yards. In our case that would mean allocation of a skip loader, and shipping container truck (via local rental merchant), loading shipping containers transferrable from truck to railcar, to be then sent to the designated Canadian reception yard.

SOLUTION:

Ask your contact if he'd be willing to set up an account with one of the local equipment leasing companies here (Ahern Rentals), listing you and me as account holders, so that we can utilize the equipment (skip loader and container truck) to get the ore to the shipping yard, which is only 7 miles away (I'm sure we'll need to get that info too so as to have the shipping arrangements pre negotiated to prevent delays and/ or storage costs).If cost becomes an issue we could then offer reimbursement terms after payment is made or even allow them to deduct those costs from the payment itself.

If the contact however is offering shipping costs, the equipment rental cost could be argued as being part of the total cost to ship, which it in truth is. We otherwise would offer reimbursement terms to keep this contact available or our next shipment... 

Let me know what they say.



I look forward to reviewing your next blog... lol, however don't forget that unless things are literaly nailed down then they have a history of 'walking'. I'd perfer getting the hammer and nails before any locations or individuals become public knowledge.

Title your blog as "Abandoned Mining Lands in Nevada Reopening With New Claims"...lol, sounds better than mine diving at any rate. If you choose to use the word 'diving', I swear I'll go into that mine with a pair of swimming trunks on, snorkle, goggles and diving fins and make the diving pose in front of the secondary sink shaft - I swear, I will too!...


----------



## Richard36

DarkspARCS said:


> I look forward to reviewing your next blog... lol, however don't forget that unless things are literaly nailed down then they have a history of 'walking'. I'd perfer getting the hammer and nails before any locations or individuals become public knowledge.



I understand clearly.
My uncle lost a good mine up in Montana to Golden Sunlight Mines by taking a piece of good ore to their geologist to have it identified, rather than sending it to me. 



DarkspARCS said:


> Title your blog as "Abandoned Mining Lands in Nevada Reopening With New Claims"...lol, sounds better than mine diving at any rate. If you choose to use the word 'diving', I swear I'll go into that mine with a pair of swimming trunks on, snorkle, goggles and diving fins and make the diving pose in front of the secondary sink shaft - I swear, I will too!...



Lol, you're funny!



DarkspARCS said:


> As the images clearly show the dumps are loaded with azurite, turquoise, malachite, cinnabar, pyrites, and other highly desired content. around 30,000 tons... sound right?



The mine dumps look they have a higher clay soil content than they do ore mineral content,
and do not really think he would be interested in doing any testing on it out of his own pocket.

If you were to pay for a spectro- analysis, 
and show what the percentages are of the various metals within it, 
then he would be far more interested.

What do you have tonnage wise ready to ship as far as the actual mineralized rock?
That is the material that he would be able to market to his his buyers, 
and that is the material to contact him with photos, and samples of.

I await your reply.

Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man".


----------



## DarkspARCS

Read my pm for more info and the tailing images.

I recorded 2/3 of the mine but my battery died before I could finish. Upon reviewing the videos both cut off at the halfway mark, so I'm completely recharging the battery and formatting the 2g memory card and reviewing the recording settings.

I'll need to remedy the lighting too, lol.


----------



## demons26

Well best get ready then Rick cause if I can't get a job by summer I'll be investing all I can in our mining adventure. will take a bit but should have a nice amount saved up by then. won't have much in the way up bills anymore since can only afford my car insurance.


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## DarkspARCS

hey demon, hadn't seen you around - do you live in Oregon as well?

I think everyone's in the same financial boat using a paper paddle to traverse the white water vortex the U.S. economy is turning into.

Seems one of the only solutions left is mining...


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## Richard36

Yes, demons lives about 35 to 40 miles from me.
We have plans to start doing something with the deposit we found together last summer.
If not that deposit, then one of the others that I have found.

I'm all for putting the whack attack to some outcrop, and making BLM nervous, lol.
(Mineral Piracy Issues) An inside joke for those who know what mineral piracy is.

Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man".


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## DarkspARCS

:twisted: Whack Attack sounds good enough for me lol... Hey Demon, come on down to Vegas, we'll give em' the whack attack they deserve lmao..


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## demons26

hahahahahaha well if things go good with our site and I can get money saved up you'll see me a rick there at some point this summer hopefully.


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## rusty

Carolin Mine, after the buildings were wiped out by an avalanche the mine never reopened. The mineral tittle is still active.

Under the ball mills large piles of discarded mill balls combined with milled ore containing gold values.

Had the scariest ride in my life coming down from the mine site, the Siwash Creek Rd, was so rough I was bouncing off the drivers seat and could not keep my foot steadily applied and over applied heating the brakes beyond usefulness.

Siwash is a very steep switch back, lucky no one was heading up or they would have been toast. With that thought in mind had I met another vehicle would have taken to the weeds. It's a rough choice to make when human preservation is our strongest will.

No hero, what I did do is disengage the clutch and rev the engine as high as the governor would let her rip, taking my foot completely off the brake for a second or two then periodically applying as much brake pressure I could for only a second, giving the brake shoes and drums a moment to cool.

I managed to get the truck stopped just as we approached the Coquihalla Hwy below, we chalked the wheels leaving the truck running while the brakes cooled down, I have never before this seen brake drums as hot. By chalking the wheels I was able to leave the shoes disengaged from the drums away from the heat, I'm sure the truck would have caught fire otherwise.


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## Richard36

Hello rusty,

Now that's my grade of adventure, :shock: :lol: 
I've had a few wild rides out in the woods with other people behind the wheel.

Not fun at the moment,
but those experiences are fun to look back at and say, "Yeah, That was exciting".
Or, "That was to much Adventure".

The night that I got my Cousin stuck in a mud pit up in the woods about 2 miles from where I live in order to keep him from taking off and getting in a wreck somewhere was a little bit much on the extreme side of being fun.

Byron wanted to go Muddin' so I told him about a Huge mud pit that our Grandpa had told me about many a time, and that I knew where was, but had never been there.

We took off, me in the bed of his rig inside the canopy, my cousin behind the wheel drunk as all hell, a friend of his, and a couple women they had along with them that night, crowded into the cab.

I'm squatted in the bed talking to them through the sliding glass window being navigator to this huge mud pit out the woods in the middle of the night. I had heard much about this mud pit from our grandpa, but Byron and I had never been there. That mud pit was (It has since been filled with rock) a seriously bad hole to try to run, and getting stuck is what would happen if it was attempted.

As we turned off on the mountain road and got at around 200 yards in, someone else turned in behind us, Byron thought it was a Cop, he fire-walled his truck, and we took off slingin' rocks and mud up a slight grade, around a corner and across a flat where Byron picked up a lot of speed. We made a turn to the left and started going down hill toward where the mud pit was outrunning what Byron thought was a Cop. (We had a better rig than whoever was behind us, Cop or not, they couldn't make it up the grade).

A short ways down the slope Byron hit some sort of bump in the road at close to 60 mph and launched our *** in the air, big time. There were Bam and Alder trees alongside each side of the road, they were around 15 to 25 ft tall, and we were looking over tree tops while we were at the highest point of our rise. Freakin' Holywood stuntman grade **** for real.

Remember, I'm squatted, somewhat standing, in the bed of this truck inside a canopy while all this is going on, with nothing to hold on to. This was a ride.

I don't know how far we traveled, but it was a good 2 1/2 second flight.
Where we landed was square in the middle of the mud pit, 
which the road had been built through.

It became seriously apparent in just a few moments that this mud pit was closer to being a swamp than a mud hole because it was immediately necessary to "Abandon Ship". 
He had huge tires on his truck and it was an easy 40 inches to the floor board, water and mud came up to mid door in just a couple of seconds.

I scramble out the back out on top of the canopy, Byron and everyone else crawls out widows as fast as they could on top with me, and we jumped to hard ground off to the side of the road. We were all fortunate that solid ground was close enough by to have jumped, this pit was more mud than water, and it was deep.

We made it though, and had a long walk out on a dark moonless, overcast night without even any stars available for light, as we didn't have a flashlight, to much anxiety from being in a sinking vehicle to grab one as we made our escape.

It took him a couple of days to find enough people to chain trucks together so that they could chain up to it and pull it out. I would have liked to of been there to see how they managed to attach a chain to his rig, it being so buried.

I have had other wild rides coming down off mountain roads with a steep bank off to the side, the engine stall, and the vacuum assist brakes fail as a result, with the truck having an automatic transmission so that we couldn't even use the engine to slow down.
Way to much adventure.

In many ways I can relate to your adventure through that particular ride.

Wild rides.

Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man".


----------



## rusty

Richard36 said:


> Hello rusty,
> 
> Now that's my grade of adventure, :shock: :lol:
> 
> In many ways I can relate to your adventure through that particular ride.
> 
> Wild rides.
> 
> Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man".



Way Way back in time, I purchased a 56 Willies Wagoner with no engine like the one shown below, acquired a transmission adaptor for the ford small block 289 that was going into the engine bay.

Some engine transplants I have done, Chevy 350 into 66 Ford F-150, Chevy 350 into 56 International 3 ton, Toyota diesel into Thomas Skid Steer, Ford 289 into Willies.

After installing the small block took the Willies up Mt Cheam for a test run, the brakes not working yet but thinking hey put the sucker into low gear low range who needs brakes. 

Coming down in second gear low range was perfect, until the transmission jumped out of gear now the 4x4 is free wheeling and gaining speed fast, If you have ever driven a vehicle with and un synchronised gear box you would see the dilemma I had on my hands.

If it were that the old flat head engine were still sitting under the hood I would never have achieved the RPM's necessary to re-engage the transmission, this time with my foot pushing against the stick shift holding it securely in gear.

Getting the dust out of ones system is a hard thing to do, I have owned numerous 4x4's over the years with this 91 Grey Market Mitsubishi Pajero a right hand drive, with turbo diesel as my fun machine. Think bio diesel.

Just after moving to Manitoba found this 76 Toyota FJ 45 that I purchase for $1200.00 - drove it home. Sold it on ebay then bought the Pajero which I intend to keep, maybe even have it buried with me when I go.

The weirdest 4x4 I ever owned, was a 54 ford cab and box mounted on Military Dodge Power wagon chassis, cant say that I miss it.

The worse 4x4 a 93 Dodge club with Cummings diesel, I do not have a bad word against the engine they installed in the truck plenty of power with good mileage but there is not enough room to write all bad crap with the rest of the truck purchased brand new in 93 for $38,000.00 cash. Total JUNK.

Regards
Gill


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## DarkspARCS

lol.... meanwhile, back at the ranch.



I'm updating this thread with some new info about those mine dumps found in my mine area, which consists of 4 verticle and 2 horizontal mines.

Yesterday I spent the day investigating the two verticle mines located 100 feet southwest of the orginal mine I've been reporting on. Obviously, in order to access these mines I'll have to either rigg up a ladder system or rope and pulley system...







What I'm updating is rather exciting, because it's apparent that whoever was mining these deposites were either in too much of a rush to know what they were throwing away or didn't care about it because they got something better, which is what I suspect is really the case, from discovering what I did in the horizontal mine only 100 feet away!




From the looks of these mine dumps one would believe them to be some form of worthless colored dirt. Even the Rock Man himself suggested that, until I reminded him that IT WAS THE MINE DUMP WHERE I FOUND ALL OF THAT BEAUTIFUL BLUE AZURITE AND TURQUOISE!...

These particular dumps however appear to be directly accessing the sulphide level of a pollymetallic ore deposite, that's been metamorphed, embedding the metals into a hard rock base and conglomerating them into large chunks of Arsenopyrite, Hemetite, Galena, Chalcopyrite, and Iron Pyrite! How can I determine all of that, from a pile of colored dirt you ask...




I'll answer that question in my next post... Just consider this, the science behind the reason:

Most metals are DYNAMIC when it comes to physical and chemical interactions caused by weathering... Rich... pay close attention to this one my friend, Canada will want to take a closer look if they don't want to miss out!! :twisted:


----------



## DarkspARCS

EEEEUUUURRRRREEEKKKAAAAAAAAAA!!!!




Huh?..... :? *scratches head*

I guess you've by now determined that there's something good in the bucket.... lol...

Where'd all these rocks come from? Not from that pile of colored dirt you showed us! Yep... they sure did. That colored dirt used to be rocks that contained a high polymetallic ore! These are ore samples that were found underneath the weathered top layer, protected from the elements! These rocks are LOADED with large pieces of pyritic metals, if not entirely pyritic themselves! The color variations in the pyrites suggest inclusions of alternative base metals mixed with the iron, forming Arsenopyrites, Chalcopyrites, Galena Pyrites, Hematites, and basic Iron Pyrite. I suspect free gold and pgm inclusions as well, because the luster eminating from some of these metals is untarnished!













These images - once again - do these samples a complete injustice! So I'll break down some of the highlites of these images...

Iron Pyrites have a reddish tinge to them, obviously because iron oxidizes red. Chalcopyrites have a bluish/ green tint to them, because obviously copper oxidizes into those colors. Dark colored specimens are your Galena/ Molybdenum/ Hematite/ Silver metals. The corroded whitish looking metals consist of zinc, silver, and aluminum (mixed). Finally, believe it or not, there are bright, shiney silver colored metals and bright, shiney gold colored metals... :shock: Yep!... UNWEATHERED, BRIGHT, SHINEY METALS!!...

:twisted: I only allow one guess at what those are.... if you need another guess you must first feel the business end of my pitch fork! *BOINK!*

MUHUHUWUHUWUAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA !!!!

More pictures to follow, accompanied with ANOTHER EUREKA discovery!... Something I call 'ore core' nodules.


----------



## DarkspARCS

So.... What exactly is it that I have come to label as an 'ore core'? In my ventures I've come across many different types of metallic ores, but every single deposite always showed fluctuations in deposite density. An 'ore core' is a shaped nodule found embeded within a deposite that contains a high concentration of ore body content compacted into a nodule that is usually mixed with a precipitating ingredient. 

In gold ore, precipitating ingredients are usually iron, lead, or a zinc/ aluminum mix. The highest concentrations of gold in gold ore however are mixed with cinnabar, a high grade ore of the elemental metal Mercury, the Amalgamator of Gold!




That dark red rock is an 'ore core'! *snatch* got it in my bucket! Here are more of the 'ore cores' I discovered littering these mine dumps:




Here are some 'ore cores' I found in the horizontal mine's lower level, pulled from within the plumbojarosite ore body, in the form of Galena Pyrite encrusted Sphalerite:




Aren't they pretty? 'Ore core' concentrates are easy to identify using either of or both of two methods, sight and feel. An 'ore core' will manifest an ore body's default colorations more richly, i.e.: a copper deposite 'ore core' will, dependant upon it's precipitator element, display a brilliant baby blue, blue green, royal blue, dark green, or black color. 

These 'ore cores' will usually be harder on the mohs scale by one to two points than it's host ore bed. 'Ore cores' will manifest paternal interaction shapes and designs showing the dynamic reaction with its preciptator. Some shapes are round nodules that reveal beautiful banded or ringed concentration concentrics, others are hardened crystaline structures, while others form into pure elemental nodules, free from thier original precipitator companions (usually from metamorphosis). 'Ore cores' are heavier than surrounding ore body rock, becase the metallic element(s) that make them are highly concentrated. 'Ore cores' make the ore grade a 'high grade' ore.

In gold, copper, silver, and pgm cases these are known as nuggets (unfortunately, the only nuggets I've found so far were in McDonalds, while investigating some concentrated chicken ore...




).




Yep... I found this baby on, YOU GUESSED IT! the mine dump! I haven't had this assayed yet, lol, because I just found it, and because I can't afford it... but most importantly, because this was the only piece of it's kind I found there. I HIGHLY suspect that this is a piece of the REAL ore they were after. Here's a macro view:




:shock: BOOOOIIIINNNNGGGGG!!! .. LOOK AT ALL THAT SHINEY, UNWEATHERED SILVERY METAL! No, it's not silver because silver oxidizes... I have a solid feeling this may assay out as pgm!... :twisted: 

We'll see one day, when I can afford the cost associated with an assay...


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## Harold_V

DarkspARCS said:


> In gold ore, precipitating ingredients are usually iron, lead, or a zinc/ aluminum mix. The highest concentrations of gold in gold ore however are mixed with cinnabar, a high grade ore of the elemental metal Mercury, the Amalgamator of Gold!


I'm not convinced you know what you're talking about. Speaking from the position of a guy that has processed gold ore that assayed greater than 300 ounces/ton, I know without a shadow of a doubt that there was no cinnabar involved. That's not to suggest that they might not be found as you suggested, just that, for lack of better words, if a brown dog bit you, you can't conclude that all brown dogs bite people. Some do-----some don't. 

I also think you should not be confusing amalgamation with precipitation. They aren't the same thing. 

Harold


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## AuMINIMayhem

<---- agree with Harold...

I, personally, would take a small sample with a dental pick or a scratch awl, and test with a couple drops of AR, then the stannous test if you cant afford an assay. It'd take less than a half hour to do and you could do it with minimal damage to your sample..

should you decide to do this, I think we'd all like to see some pics of the sample you use and the colors that show up on your Q-tips.  :mrgreen: 

Short of that or a mass spectral analisys, assay, XRF test, etc.. I'd remain skeptical at best and would chalk them up to very interesting and even "pretty" rocks.. 8)


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## AuMINIMayhem

P.s.

Do you have a tumbler?... I think some polishing in a tumbler coul make some very unique pieces... especially if they had gold in the matrix.. just a thought. I wouldn't do every piece I had, but a couple just to see what they look like, would be interesting. You'd be amazed how shockingly beautiful some "rocks" turn out when you throw them in a tumbler.. 8)


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## DarkspARCS

Your idea about the tumbler would definitely make several pieces I found really look awesome lol, I take it that you've experienced this kind of polymetallic pyrite before... I never thought to tumble them, as I don't use tumblers. My Grandfather used tumblers all the time lol, which made for a beautifull little rock garden.

Now that you mention it, a polishing may be in order, as the beauty several types of multi colored pyrites could display may make several of these specimens jewel grade cabochons. Thanks for the advice

Wow Harold... 300to/t? THATSALOTTACHEESE!  

I never 'confused' anything - I just simply called Mercury the amalgamator of gold, not precipitator of gold. I did however use precipitator's of pm in referrence to 'ore core' concentrates, which I used copper as the example. True, copper - technically in todays world - isn't classified as a pm, even though it groups with pm bearing minerals alot of times. 

In the old world copper classified as a minor precious metal as it was used for lower denomition coinages as well as had ornamental value. Copper still plays those roles today, with it's main value as a highly conductive electronic/ electrical componant underscores copper's importance in our critical infrastructural apparati.

Your inferrance towards suggesting I don't know what I'm talking about is funny, lol... you could turn what you said to me around, and say that just because your 300to/t ore assayed out without a trace of mercury present (most likey because you had a good precipitator manifest itself within a super saturated geothermal environment that formed into a deposite of great ore) doesn't mean that my claims aren't founded. 

World's filled with absolutes tend to cease to exist - usually very rapidly due to the rareity of absolutism. The same universal principle can be applied to any form of absolutism, including perception. I can concede that your high yield ore didn't contain mercury... Earth has only one absolute, which is centrifugal force. Anything is possible when you put a spin to it....


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## DarkspARCS

AuMINIMayhem said:


> <---- agree with Harold...
> 
> I, personally, would take a small sample with a dental pick or a scratch awl, and test with a couple drops of AR, then the stannous test if you cant afford an assay. It'd take less than a half hour to do and you could do it with minimal damage to your sample..
> 
> should you decide to do this, I think we'd all like to see some pics of the sample you use and the colors that show up on your Q-tips.  :mrgreen:
> 
> Short of that or a mass spectral analisys, assay, XRF test, etc.. I'd remain skeptical at best and would chalk them up to very interesting and even "pretty" rocks.. 8)



Too true, my friend... lol, it may turn out to be concentrated chromium for all I know! An assay is definitely in order. I don't have any nitric to make AR but I have a pm buyer friend who does, lol, I'm going to pay him a visit. He's studying Hoke right now as he has a vested interest in refining pm. I'll bring the camera and see if this ore specimen reveals anything rthy to record.

Meanwhile, I shot a macro on a metal saturated kaolinite specimen, here's what it looks like:







ooooo .... preeeeeeeetttyyyyy!..  

Here are more images of these pyrites, and other items of interest I imaged.... enjoy!

Mine dump:


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## DarkspARCS

Pyrites:













Interesting, partially exposed ore works:




I'll talk about this deposite next...


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## AuMINIMayhem

look up "poor man's AR".. it's wikked easy to make, much cheaper than buying nitric and would give you a pretty reliable color test... you get purple, there's gold in them thar rocks.. :mrgreen: 

great pics, btw.. what are you using camera-wise? 

(wondering if this thread should be in the gallery section)


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## DarkspARCS

Thanks for the tip, I'll look at it with interest.

The camera is an Olympus FE-330 8 mp digital with audio and video record features, 2 gb memory insert, nifty lighting, color, zoom, and macro features.

lol, you think this thread belongs in a gallery? Maybe... I've got way better mineral specimens than these I could spam a gallery with lmao... I say spam in that I've got - outside of the china cabinet filled with my most valuable mineral specimens and rare seashell collections boxes on top of boxes filled with semi precious minerals, interesting rocks, and mineral objects 'd art... not to mention the yard filled with rocks of all walks of ore and elemental interests. I even have a partially scorched petrified palm tree stump I fished out of Moose creek, Alaska... on the way to the Matanuska valley to do some 3" gold dredging (lol, they grow some mighty big cabbages up there...  ).

Sometimes I feel like Dolly Parton singing that song asking the Lord for that Mercedes-Benz. I need money lol, so I can really work this mine and this ore. I may not pay a 10 percent tythe to some church, but I promise to search the streets and find some worthy impoverished Americans I can give a job to ... the area is absolutely packed with metallic cracker jack boxes waiting to be blasted open to find the little toy suprises...  

Like that deposite of skarn I mentioned briefly:




Redder than red, and found within a carbonic host rock littered with this stuff...




Yep... Skarn is said to be a high grade ore of gold. This stuff is as hard as quartz, and an unusual apple green to dark green color can be found amongst several of the mineral specimens littering the area around te 5' x 5' hole dug to expose it...




I'll probably assay this too lol... oh yeah... I found another pretty azurite laying nearby...




I love this little mine... lol


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## Richard36

Thanks DarkspARCS,

You just gave me photos enough to play for a few minutes.

Here's a quote out of a book I have,

"The history of mining is riddled with stories of fabulous mineral finds that prospectors walked over for years because they did not recognize them and did not test for the right mineral. The Kelly Mine in Red Mountain, California is a case in point. The discovery point is on the path that existed between the tungsten mining town of Atolia and the bars and stores in Randsburg. The miners walked right over the outcrop for years and the ore was not discovered until someone looking for pigment for red paint had a piece assayed. The assay came back at 336 ounces of silver and 36 ounces of gold per ton".

So, we are looking for a metallic ore that was used as a pigment in red paint.
Metallic paints are Ochers, so we are looking for a mineral deposit where the mineral present can be used as an Ocher.

Let's have some fun, and compare a few photos, Shall we?

We have here a skarn deposit with a reddish looking metallic mineral.



The material on the rock below the samples is what has my interest in this photo.
It looks a lot like the material in the photo of the outcrop in Alaska.



This ore is from a mine in Alaska.
View attachment 2


This is the Ore that I've found, and came out of a Skarn deposit. 
It assayed slightly over 3 oz per ton Gold.



Here's the same Ore found by Brandt.
Which is Skarn enriched with this particular red mineral.


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## Richard36

Another photo of the same type of material posted by Brandt.



Here's a photo of the same ore type posted by talalstuvs.
It is the same red mineral within Skarn.



Here is a photo of an Ore posted by Drewbie showing the same red Ocher.



Lesson of the day, 

if it could have been used as pigment in paint, 
and is found in close association with Skarn, take a sample and get it assayed.

Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man".


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## AuMINIMayhem

Richard36 said:


> So, we are looking for a metallic ore that was used as a pigment in red paint.
> Metallic paints are Ochers, so we are looking for a mineral deposit where the mineral present can be used as an Ocher.



Don't forget.. red does not necesarilly mean "Red Ochre" which is comprised of Iron Oxide and Hematite.. 

Vermillion was another "red" pigment which was made from Cinnabar, ie: mercuric oxide.. 

(not so much for your benefit or for "the rock guy's"), but I always like to see disclaimers in here in the not-so-odd chance that a newb or guest or less than experienced person should happen upon some information like this. It could prove to be rather hazardous to have someone who doesn't know what they are handling crushing or classifying something like cinnabar or arsenic, etc., not just to them, but to the surrounding environment as well. 8) 

Please don't take this as a "scolding", I'm simply putting a disclaimer out there, because I feel it to be the responsible thing to do. Aside from the visible hazards of rock hounding and abandoned mine diving (falling rocks, cave-ins, etc.), there's less obvious hazards, in particular chemical which may not have immediate effects, but could have rather serious long term effects.


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## Drewbie

AuMINIMayhem said:


> <---- agree with Harold...
> 
> I, personally, would take a small sample with a dental pick or a scratch awl, and test with a couple drops of AR, then the stannous test if you cant afford an assay. It'd take less than a half hour to do and you could do it with minimal damage to your sample..



Slightly off topic, but do you need to neutralise the AR before doing a stannous test, or does that not matter.

I am correct that the stannous test will only detect ions, and thus won't work with elementals (which is the reason for needing the AR)?


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## DarkspARCS

Agreed AuMINIMayhem, Mercury AND Arsenic are two deadly toxins that can be ingested orally (as in through contaminated food and drink), through respiratory means (via mineral dusts and/ or vaporization due to elevated heat levels), and/ or through skin absorption (unprotected handling of saturated materials, accumulated rock dusts that settle upon exposed skin surfaces).

Skin absorption is a major issue for me while down in the mine. That's why I use heavy leather work gloves when mining and rubber gloves when handling these materials for procesing. I also wear ANSI rated z71 safety glasses. Even at a cool 56 degrees F. I'll sweat profusely while working, even begin emitting steam!! While high grade mercury deposites likely dripping with gold are present within this mine I pick up already dislodged specimens from the mine floor or check for loosened rocks within the deposite. The lower level plubojarosites possess arsenopyrites and traces of uranium... I carry a 3 gallon jugg of drinking water in my car which I will use to wash off any dusts after exiting the mine as the first thing I do. I also change into clean clothes when finished to prevent any additional exposure through skin absorption, as well as getting the crap all over the interior of my Chrysler 300.

I recommed these preventative measures to everyone involved in mining.


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## DarkspARCS

> The material on the rock below the samples is what has my interest in this photo.
> It looks a lot like the material in the photo of the outcrop in Alaska.


 :shock: :shock: :shock: 

Lmao, dang Rich, you're a sharp one... those two rock deposites do look identical !! Same reddish salts too ! What's the stats on the Alaskan deposite? Do you have that info? Post it....lol


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## Richard36

I'll look. 
If I can find those stats, I'll post them.


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## djui5

This thread is fun. We have a lot of abandoned mines here in AZ with dump piles (not to be confused with tailings) that contain all kinda goodies. I'll be adding some pics of my own soon.


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## Richard36

djui5 said:


> This thread is fun. We have a lot of abandoned mines here in AZ with dump piles (not to be confused with tailings) that contain all kinda goodies. I'll be adding some pics of my own soon.



Hello djui5,

Cool, I'll be looking forward to your photos.




Drewbie said:


> AuMINIMayhem said:
> 
> 
> 
> <---- agree with Harold...
> 
> I, personally, would take a small sample with a dental pick or a scratch awl, and test with a couple drops of AR, then the stannous test if you cant afford an assay. It'd take less than a half hour to do and you could do it with minimal damage to your sample..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Slightly off topic, but do you need to neutralise the AR before doing a stannous test, or does that not matter.
> 
> I am correct that the stannous test will only detect ions, and thus won't work with elementals (which is the reason for needing the AR)?
Click to expand...



Neutralizing the AR first wouldn't hurt.

I have tested AR for gold without neutralizing it first, 
and still got a reaction if the solution contained gold.

The stannous test will work fine for ores, provided the ore contains enough gold for the reaction to occur. If you get a positive reaction for gold with stannous on an ore, it's time to get real excited because the assay numbers will be way high.


Sincerely, Rick. "The Rock Man".


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## CAB

DarkspARCS said:


> Agreed AuMINIMayhem, Mercury AND Arsenic are two deadly toxins that can be ingested orally (as in through contaminated food and drink), through respiratory means (via mineral dusts and/ or vaporization due to elevated heat levels), and/ or through skin absorption (unprotected handling of saturated materials, accumulated rock dusts that settle upon exposed skin surfaces). Skin absorption is a major issue for me while down in the mine.



In addition to skin absorption, breathing mine dust is a problem:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/pubs/pdfs/shiim.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/topics/topicpage35.htm

I've heard that those who smoke are most easily effected as the cilia are damaged and don't clear stuff out as quickly.

I attended a school of mines and spent more than my share of time underground. Here are some hazards for doing this, no particular order:

(a) A lot of abandoned mines are private property. Entering them is trespassing. Taking things from them is stealing (used to be called high grading). You can be put in jail. One of my friends got shot at.
(b) The wood holding up the ceiling has rotted and even small vibrations can cause a collapse.
(c) Various wild animals use abandoned mines as lairs. Some of them can be dangerous.
(d) Snakes.
(e) Bats can be rabid.
(f) You can fall down holes so deep that you're dead before you reach the bottom.
(g) There is also a risk of drowning.
(h) I've found abandoned dynamite in an abandoned mine. The nitroglycerin migrates out and becomes very easy to set off.
(i) Abandoned blasting caps are also easily exploded and can remove a hand.
(j) Even things like falling down and hitting your head are more dangerous in a mine because of the difficulty getting out.
(k) I've never actually seen anyone hurt by contact with mine dust but I suppose it could happen. In addition to mineral dust, there can be bat feces dust.
(l) Certainly breathing mine dust is not a great idea.
(m) One of the oddest experiences I've had was having to clean the flame hole of a carbide lamp in pitch dark. (I carry two spare flashlights but my ill-prepared friends had borrowed both.)
 In larger mines, it is possible to get lost. Eventually you run out of light and then are in deep doo-doo. None of the mine dumps pictured here indicate this as a possibility; you really need a full size mining district to get lost. I have lost my way underground (for 20 minutes maybe) and vaguely recall the feeling. If this has never happened to you, you might consider the possibility and mitigate against it.
(o) Even though you're not bringing any explosives along, in larger mines it's possible that somebody else will be down there blasting and the first moment you'll realize it is when you feel the earth shake. This has happened to me.
(p) While you're underground, your vehicle is above ground. People can do stuff to it. Especially if they think you're trespassing / stealing minerals / or otherwise causing trouble. This once happened to the car of a friend when the three of us went down an old silver mine.
(q) Most mines are in hilly country. While you're underground, it can be especially exciting if a thunderstorm suddenly dumps a lot of rain on the area. You can be flooded either underground or above.
(r) Old mining districts tend to attract people who are quite crazy. In addition, a very large percentage of the residents, sane or otherwise, have weapons and use them a lot. I've seen my share of examples of this. It's not so much a "danger" but people who've lived their lives in the city and think that only the police carry around loaded weapons might think otherwise.
(s) Fences are there to keep livestock where they're supposed to be. So close gates in fences. Ranchers can get very irate.
(t) Just hiking in mountainous areas with mines can be dangerous. There was a hill with a prospecting shaft on it. From the top you couldn't see the shaft. While going down the hill I ended up sliding down the shaft. Fortunately it wasn't very deep, but if it had been a mine shaft I might never have been found.

I suppose there are more dangerous hobbies, but this should not be done lightly. Try to avoid bringing along friends who "are not the sharpest tools in the shed", and try to be serious and careful.


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## methods

*(a) A lot of abandoned mines are private property. Entering them is trespassing. Taking things from them is stealing (used to be called high grading). You can be put in jail. One of my friends got shot at.
*

Yes - check your maps and stay far from Private Property. I have found that even being close to private property (but on BLM land) results in conflict as the locals often feel some sort of common-law ownership over the surrounding areas even when they don't have ownership or a claim. I have been confronted with statements such as "YOU IN MY CREEK!". Note that the hillbilly did not say "YOU IS ON MY PRIVITE PROPERTIES" or "YOU IS ON MY CLAIMS". Hard to argue with irrational statements - and I never do. I just leave.


*(p) While you're underground, your vehicle is above ground. People can do stuff to it. Especially if they think you're trespassing / stealing minerals / or otherwise causing trouble. This once happened to the car of a friend when the three of us went down an old silver mine.*

Yes - situational awareness is important here. When we go out we try and park a few miles away and ride our electric bikes w/trailers in. Our car looks like the last thing on earth that a claim jumper would drive as well. We have "left early" on more than a few occasions after seeing "hillbilly patrols". I have no fear of personal harm (think squeal like a pig / gun fight) but the thought of them disabling the car is terrifying.


(*r) Old mining districts tend to attract people who are quite crazy. In addition, a very large percentage of the residents, sane or otherwise, have weapons and use them a lot. I've seen my share of examples of this. It's not so much a "danger" but people who've lived their lives in the city and think that only the police carry around loaded weapons might think otherwise.*

I wear a loaded .40 on my hip at all times when on BLM land. Though city folks may think that the presence of a loaded gun somehow escalates situations, in my experience it does the exact opposite. In every single hillbilly run-in I have had over the last few years 3 things have been true: 1) I have caught the hillbilly staring at my sidearm 2) Our conversations have been brief and to the point 3) I have never seen the same hillbilly twice. When one or both parties are armed (in my experience) this seems to de-escalate every situation. Like our forefathers, I believe that everyone should have a gun.... NOT just the cops/bad guys.


*(s) Fences are there to keep livestock where they're supposed to be. So close gates in fences. Ranchers can get very irate.*

I would never climb another mans fence or knowingly trespass on the property of another citizen. Admittedly I have done this in the past (for urban exploration of *LONG* abandoned buildings) but never for prospecting or mine diving. I own property and I understand that it is a violation of the most basic trust to do this.

Anyhow - I am glad to see you guys having fun. In a day where just about ever square foot of this country is owned, controlled, planned, safe, and predictable it warms my heart to see adventure so readily available. Dangerous? Sure it is dangerous but so is scuba diving, rock climbing, car racing, sport sex, hallucinagins, and just about anything else that is worth doing. *Knowing and mitigating the risks is everything.*

-methods


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## CAB

Re "disabling vehicle", in my buddy's case it wasn't so bad. They stole his license plate and turned it over to the police. The police called him up and gave it back to him. This gets back to the problem that BLM land is considered private property by the rancher (even though the lease does not include mineral rights and does not exclude others from prospecting for minerals). Such property is always fenced (otherwise the livestock escape); you can enter it without permission but ought to leave the gates in the state you found them.

Re:


> I would never climb another mans fence or knowingly trespass on the property of another citizen.


 Good, but leased BLM land is not the property of another citizen (even though it has another mans fence on it). For the law in Colorado (typical of western US), see:
http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/lsfo/programs/recreation/hunting/faqs.html#What_are_the_rights_and_privileges_of_lessees_and_permittees_on_federal_lands

But a guy who's been leasing that land for 50 years may feel that it's his private land. It would help to carry a copy of the law and maybe land ownership maps with you. Someone leasing BLM land is not some illiterate hillbilly. And by the way, having been a resident of this sort of area, my feeling on seeing a guy walking around in the hills without a gun is "what is this idiot doing out here with no weapon?"

Re:


> Admittedly I have done this in the past (for urban exploration of *LONG* abandoned buildings) but never for prospecting or mine diving.


 There was an "abandoned" brewery that I was involved with (we were selling brew tanks from it). They had to go to all kinds of expenses and inconveniences because of urban explorers. They tore up our gates and locks. How they could have imagined that the building was abandoned when it was regularly patrolled is beyond me. Eventually a guy was caught on the premises stealing copper for scrap. I assume he was prosecuted, and that anyone there just to look around would also be prosecuted.

But let's get back to rocks and old mine dumps.

A cool youtube on the (long abandoned) Kelly mining district:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYU47HkW8SA
Mine tour:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0vsPi_CVSo

The land around here may look like useless desert but a lot of it is leased BLM land with (very sparse) cattle on it.


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## methods

RE: Leased BLM Land

Oh... that explains a lot. The wife and I often find areas that are not shown as private property on the maps yet once we get there we find fences. I had no idea that represented leased cattle land and that we could cross those boundaries. One problem that we run into is that a lot of the property maps we use have not been updated since the 70's. This really takes the wind out of our sails when we consider a confrontation with locals over access rights. For all of the above reasons... I really much prefer finding mines WAY out in the middle of the National Forrest far from anywhere that could be claimed as private.

I am more scared of literate hillbillies than illiterate hillbillies btw  Being a literate hillbilly myself..... we are much more dangerous.

****

So I went back to the original mine 1 year later (see first post of this thread) and it does not appear that anyone has tried to enter since. I did not go back in again, but this weekend we are going to a mine up near the Nevada border. Buddy spotted it 2 hours down a dirt track a couple of weeks ago - I am trying to get the pictures from him now. He only went in 50 feet (only had 1 flashlight) but from the pictures I saw I am super excited. There is some kind of large door well into the mine that has been opened and beyond that I saw some serious adventure.

-methods


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## methods

Here are a few of those pictures...

We are going to do a proper exploration on Saturday. I will have my M1 Carbine so any banjo playing hillbillies please do not try and sneak up on us  At the first peep of "Squeeeeeal like a pig..." or "Them sure is some pretty lips.." I start shooting. 

-methods


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## darshevo

Looking forward to the weekend series of pictures. Looks like a great hole to explore


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## Richard36

darshevo said:


> Looking forward to the weekend series of pictures. Looks like a great hole to explore



I agree. I see lots of possibilities in the photos posted.
Get my rock-pick! lol!


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## Oz

Be careful, I see a lot of unstable rock.


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## methods

They don't call me "Captain Safety" for nuthin!

:mrgreen: 

I have no intention of getting squished. Having mush arm or pancake foot is for the birds :roll: 

-methods


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## DarkspARCS

Hi guys! I haven't been here for awhile, but read the new posts with all the safety and disclaimer posts..

THAT'S ALL A BUNCH OF HORSE PUCKEY! I suggest that people out and about in territory they're unfamiliar with just go gung ho, run everywhere as fast as you can and once you encounter vertical darkness... jump right on into it! :twisted: 

Oh, and about the posted signs: BAH! they want you to believe you're stealing, when in reality they're stealing too! Possession is 9/10ths of the law. If you take hold and possess what you will, possession of it mandates it's yours! Go ahead, settle matters the old west way... wait for the mine claimant, and shoot it out with them! Don't forget to wear your bandana over your face!

Hey... who said things had to be boring while investigating abandoned mining locations?! :mrgreen:


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## Genesis

This is a great thread. Thanks for starting it. Love all the pictures and feed back. The copper and azurite pics are great as well as the gold ore. I have specimens that my Grand Dad gave me that are very similar and he got them from a Pioche, Nv copper mine he used to work. Keep us updated on your ventures. Thganks


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## methods

I forgot to post after going out to the mines.
Ended up going out twice - once with a friend and once with the wife. I have complete movies of every single run with the wife. They were done on a cell phone so they are shaky - but they are still cool (and we had a GoPro... just did not think to use it). Ended up finding several mines and one of them was the biggest I have been in yet. Had all sorts of 2nd and 3rd work that went in, out, around, and over. Several cave-ins and reworks. Weird sulfur deposits, weird blue crystals... I really need to edit and post the videos.

We ended up stumbling on some GREAT garbage piles while we were up there too. Lots of old beer cans in perfect condition - the kind you actually had to poke a hole in with a can opener (pre pull-tab). Found a few camps that had burned down with all the old stuff around. More square nails, rail ties, and old glass than you can shake a stick at.

Shot some guns
Had some mountain sex
Dug through some garbage

So far we have about 0.001g of gold flake that we panned :mrgreen: 

-methods


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## DarkspARCS

Howdy folks! 

Just thought I'd update you on my mine exploits. The mine I've exclusively been featuring here has been bulldozed shut, by the demand of the BLM! :| 

BOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Well, at least I was able to feature some of this historical mine's great features here, on the GRF forums, before our wonderful government decided to close it's doors from public view. HOWEVER.... :twisted: this isn't stopping me from continuing to discover this location's hidden treasures!

Just discovered: Resting upon fresh trailings overturned by the bull dozer, Silver crystals in matrix on quartz!




yep... I'm the first one on record here in the great state of Nevada's southern mining region, to have made this discovery! (brag, brag!!) Folks simply just don't believe it lol... BUT WAIT... THERE"S MORE!!

Chalcopyrite, Iron pyrite, and Arsenopyrite, embedded in quartz!




And take a look at this shiny lil rock... hmmm... wonder what that is?




Had it scanned under an XRF spectrolosis... the assay came back like the bell ringing on top of the hammer lift at a carnival! :shock: 

well... got some rocks to go dig up... see ya all later :twisted:


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