Back yard Prospecting
- Thread starter Southfork
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Most assayers, and anybody who uses a furnace regularly, fills any cracks with refractory cement, and puts a 1/4" of bone ash on the floor of the furnace. It is easier to catch a spill or boil over, if this is done. Make a rake so you will have a nice, even floor in the furnace. Keep up the good work.
I need to get a bucket of bone ash powder. I tuned up a smelter a couple of years ago and it has clearly had some spills/boil-overs. After another season of use, I'll be re-laying the refractory. The old liner will be fed to the jaw crusher and ball mill to see how much gold escaped.
Southfork
Well-known member
The inside of my furnace is ceramic fiber / wool not refractory brick / cement that's why I place the cupel / melting dish inside of a crucible just in case.
Pardon me if I take this off course with a question.
When I re-line the refractory, I'll mill it and use gravity separation to collect the lost cons for smelting and cupelling.
How would one recover the lost cons that had spilled on ceramic/kaowool material?
When I re-line the refractory, I'll mill it and use gravity separation to collect the lost cons for smelting and cupelling.
How would one recover the lost cons that had spilled on ceramic/kaowool material?
Southfork
Well-known member
I just waited for the furnace to cool and reached in and picked the gold up it didn't stick. My melting dish is inside of a crucible most of the time I save all the cupels and regrind. The crucibles are cleaned with flux and washed beach sand when they need it to recover any PMs. I just pour the molten charge into water and get nice clean gold.
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kurtak
Well-known member
I have never actually used kaowool but I would think that being ceramic you could just leach it
Kurt
Southfork
Well-known member
It was suggested that I read CM Hoke and I've been skimming through there's a tremendous amount of information. But this passage suggests that maybe it's not for me. Happy Mining This book does not cover the refining of virgin ore or crude metal, nor any phase of mining engineering. It does not cover assaying—which is the analysis of a small weighed sample, made to learn its ingredients and their proportions. It concerns itself only with secondary refining—that is, the refining of precious metals that have already been in use and are now waiting to be returned to further employment in art, science, or industry.
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There are a variety of persons on this forum, with more than refining only experience. If you have a question about a certain process involved in the actual mining of ores, perhaps the admin of this forum can say if they wish to expand it to accommodate the other questions, which are more mining related, than refining only.
There are several sections for prospecting, ores and such in here, including this thread.
And quite a few knowledgeable members in the field.
Me not included
.So if someone sees a need to reorganize, let us know and we will discuss and see if it can or should be implemented.
Big difference between actual prospecting and metal detecting for gold.There are several sections for prospecting, ores and such in here, including this thread.
And quite a few knowledgeable members in the field.
Me not included
So if someone sees a need to reorganize, let us know and we will discuss and see if it can or should be implemented.
There's already a forum for metal detecting, and we have a very good geologist that is able to identify an ore sample of an out crop from an image.
For ore identification search threads by these members.
Richard36
Rick & Carrie
Reno Chris
Precious metals show up were least expected,
A ready mix concrete plant in British Colombia long ago could abtain a permit from environment and fishery's to remove gravel from the bars on the Fraser River.
The operator of the wash plant on the bar would install a carpet on the tailings being discarded to collect any fine gold.
After fisheries decided not to issue permits for gravel removal any longer the owner of the ready mix plant purchased some land in the nearby mountains.
The land purchased has a large glacial deposit of gravel, it is now the main source of material use for ready mix.
The gravel is hauled from the pit into the plant, then washed before further processing.
The wash plant consists of four pits, heavy's settle out in the first with smaller fractions into the second and sludge into the third and water into a fourth from which is recycled through the wash plant.
British Colombia is well known for her gold, every prospector in the town has dipped their pan into the wash plant pits in the hopes of seeing some color.
They all walked away saying there's no gold to be had, they were 100% correct. Not a spec of gold.
What they failed to see was the accumulation of other metals revealed by a quick and dirty xrf shot of the material being discarded in the wash plant.
Granted XRF's can give false readings, this particular Niton is owned by C-con who use it to assay catalytic comb which has been milled into powder. The machine is calibrated every two weeks for accuracy.
Below is the report from their XTF, this is what the prospectors missed in the wash plant pits.
The sludge from the pits is removed every week, there's piles of this waiting to be processed for its platinum.
A ready mix concrete plant in British Colombia long ago could abtain a permit from environment and fishery's to remove gravel from the bars on the Fraser River.
The operator of the wash plant on the bar would install a carpet on the tailings being discarded to collect any fine gold.
After fisheries decided not to issue permits for gravel removal any longer the owner of the ready mix plant purchased some land in the nearby mountains.
The land purchased has a large glacial deposit of gravel, it is now the main source of material use for ready mix.
The gravel is hauled from the pit into the plant, then washed before further processing.
The wash plant consists of four pits, heavy's settle out in the first with smaller fractions into the second and sludge into the third and water into a fourth from which is recycled through the wash plant.
British Colombia is well known for her gold, every prospector in the town has dipped their pan into the wash plant pits in the hopes of seeing some color.
They all walked away saying there's no gold to be had, they were 100% correct. Not a spec of gold.
What they failed to see was the accumulation of other metals revealed by a quick and dirty xrf shot of the material being discarded in the wash plant.
Granted XRF's can give false readings, this particular Niton is owned by C-con who use it to assay catalytic comb which has been milled into powder. The machine is calibrated every two weeks for accuracy.
Below is the report from their XTF, this is what the prospectors missed in the wash plant pits.
The sludge from the pits is removed every week, there's piles of this waiting to be processed for its platinum.
At the pit after years of removing gravel this outcrop reveled itself.
Since this outcrop was covered by overburden until its discovery I would not expect the surface to be weathered.
Weathered samples will have been oxidized with elements near the surface washed out.
A prospectors best friend is a rock hammer to chip through the oxide layer a loupe and a small bottle of nitric added to the kit.
Since this outcrop was covered by overburden until its discovery I would not expect the surface to be weathered.
Weathered samples will have been oxidized with elements near the surface washed out.
A prospectors best friend is a rock hammer to chip through the oxide layer a loupe and a small bottle of nitric added to the kit.
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I am referencing a thread more along the lines of drilling/blasting, ground support, scaling, slushing/mucking, tramming, ore sorting, milling, etc. An actual mine, not high grading already dug dumps, is something I have never seen on this forum, hence the question about if such topics should be accepted here, or stick to refining, as the site is named.
kurtak
Well-known member
Sorry but that's just not true - metal detectors are just ONE tool used FOR PROSPECTING
Parker (from Gold Rush) used metal detectors when PROSPECTING in Australia
Reno Chris (on this forum) has posted many times about using a metal detector FOR PROSPECTING
When I lived in Northern California my friends that were serious gold miners all used metal detectors FOR PROSPECTING
Here where I now live in Oregon everyone I know that has a metal detector uses then FOR PROSPECTING
PROSPECTING is ONE of the reasons metal detecting is included in THIS PART of the forum & not elsewhere in the forum
I have considered buying a metal detector so that when I go out PROSPECTING I could better my odds for where to DIG
Kurt
kurtak
Well-known member
What is it with you & stoneware --- I mean why do you guys seem to have a problem with &/or questioning what Southfork has been posting here
EVERYTHING that Southfork has posted here is IN FACT about recovery & at least some degree refining of gold AND he is posting about it in the proper part of the forum
The two of you seem to be intent on questioning if he even belongs on this forum &/or intent on chasing him away
It appears to me that he has a good handle on what he is doing & is being SUCCESSFUL in what he is doing
Are the two of you jealous of his success ???? --- or what ????
I for one am VERY GLAD that he has come to this forum & his posts & pictures of his success have been ABSOLUTELY refreshing - inspiring - & AWESOME
Southfork - I for one (& I am SURE others here) am VERY MUCH enjoying what you have been posting here & hope you will continue to post --- in other words -------------
THANK YOU FOR POSTING Southfork - & I HOPE we will see more from you !!!!!!!
Kurt
Yes, I am finding Southforks post very interesting and enjoyable as well. It is not often we see his kind of information being posted. Kudos to him for stepping up. I can only wish we had places to prospect like that where I live.
kurtak
Well-known member
golgshark - I would like you to explain to me how & why what Southfork is doing is not considered mining (& therefore questioning if there is a need for admin to create a new subforum to give Southfork a "proper" place to post)
As far as I can tell he IS MINING --- he is PROSPECTING ORE piles he is finding around old mines (that happen to be in his back yard) - in the process of his prospecting he is DIGGING for the HIGH GRADE he finds in those ORE piles - he is then MILLING that high grade ORE & as well cleaning up specimens that are specimen worthy - what he is milling he is then doing GRAVITY SEPARATION on &/or SMELTING
Prospecting - digging - high grading - milling - gravity separation - smelting - specimen clean up - are ALL parts of MINING
According to your logic goldshark (gold needs to be dug "direct" from vain to be considered "actual" mining & therefore the condition for discussion) would make placer mining NOT actual mining & therefore NOT considered for discussion
So please explain to me how what Southfork is doing is not actually mining & why we should need a NEW subforum to discuss what Southfork is doing
I do expect an answer
Kurt
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Southfork
Well-known member
Kurtak and members of this forum some of this ore that I have posted is coming right off the vein. We are using metal detectors to find pockets / mineralized zones that contain gold. Under ground and weathered /oxidized / zones on the surface that were placer mined in the early days. If you look closely at second photo from the left next to the orange plastic scoop there's a metal detector prospecting at its finest, I'm positive using a pick and shovel is also mining.
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