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NATIVE GOLD + OXIDIZED QUARTZ from the MOTHER LODE
Ruler is 1/4" wide (6 mm). U.S. 10 cent coin is 17 mm in diameter. Specimen weight: 2.5 Gram - 38.7 Grains
Sizes: 8 up to 15 mm long (each piece) Siliceous quartz is one of the most-common minerals found in the mantle of the earth. All six of these small, angular chunks contain visible gold. If you think that's normal, it's not. Go into the goldfields and scour every piece of quartz you can lay your hands on. Tell me when you find a speck of VG (visible gold). It's been known to happen. I've even seen folks do it on TV. These featured rocks all came from California's Mother Lode where, seemingly, no limit exists to the diversity of ores discovered in this famously-rich cordillera. This is the Sierra Nevada Mtns. Here, you've entered into the mystical, metallurgical realm of GOLD, so anything is possible. Amongst countless mineral associations occurring in nature, gold quartz, in my book, remains the most exciting discipline of all. No, You won't get your money's worth because these contain only a minute amount of gold, but it's there, naturally-occurring gold. All my rocks show visible gold and are authentic.
I don't sell low grade gold ores. I sell naturally-occurring gold quartz ores with visible gold. Most are from the U.S. These high-grade beauties are expensive to obtain and even harder to find. Prices aren't based upon the amount of gold contained, but on the authenticity, rarity and collectability of specimens. S & H Discounted for combined shipments.
U.S. BUYERS & INTNL.
PAYMENTS Payment must be made within 7 days from close of auction. We ship as soon as funds clear. If you have questions, please ask them before bidding.
REFUNDS
We leave no stones unturned insuring our customers get what they bargained for. If you're not satisfied with this item, contact me. Then, if the problem can't be fixed, return product within 30 days in 'as purchased' condition for a full refund
OPENING UP A
HOLE Too much overburden is one of a gold dredger's biggest obstacles. Dryland miners, likewise, are no strangers to this over-sedimentation. It's a common-enough alluvial condition. If you can't reach bedrock to test it, resources spent making the attempt are pretty much wasted. A lot about successful placer mining depends on an area's mining history, past production, and/or how much gold the old timer's left behind. 'Chance favors the prepared mind'. This means do your homework. Research everything available describing the mineral properties of a region. Then, be prepared to dig like a gopher. The miner with no quit in him; the one who believes, based on calculations and/or prudent testing, that rich ground lies ahead. We're talking, of course, about the miner who's prepared to punch hole after hole until he finds what he's after. That's the miner who ultimately meets with success. Just ask 'Chile Joe', 'Big Al' Bigelow, or Don Leigh. They'll tell you about toughness, grit, determination, going the extra mile.. When there's countless feet of gravel to penetrate, one has to believe they're in the right spot before
committing to a marathon dig. Bedrock is waiting. Maybe there's some gold down there too. Confronted with twenty feet of
overburden means terracing off that first layer of
sediment. If you're working underwater, once a layer is removed, the nozzle-man proceeds down to the next layer and so on and so forth. Once bedrock is exposed, start expanding your hole. If no gold shows up, keep cutting across the drainage. It's easy to miss a paystreak entirely even when one resides in the area. Punching your nozzle into gravel and immediately heading towards bottom reveals, in short order, the pitfalls of such ill-advised techniques. Just watch the Gold Rush dredgers who repeatedly demonstrate exactly what I mean. How many times have we seen them break the cardinal rule of 'safety first' in developing a hole? You'd think they might have learned something by now. Of course, there's "a million dollars worth of gold down there" so everybody's in a fever to see what's on bedrock. I figure, by throwing caution to the wind, the producers think they've created lots of suspense and high drama. I say lets try sending those producers down there into a mudstorm maelstrom or regulator-pulling, mind-numbingly cold, river-currents from hell and see how they fare. It's dumb and dangerous, plain and simple. 'Stupid is as stupid does." By the way, ten, fifteen, or twenty ounces of gold comes out to being somewhat shy of a million dollars worth. Count on overburden
to hold minimal gold, but you've really no choice but to pump through it. Even with a hole developed by terracing, there's no guarantee
a paystreak's waiting on bedrock. If you know what's good for you, don't work below boulders. That's a careless recipe for disaster. A personal friend had his leg broken when a boulder plummeted down from behind. Boulders usually are encountered at or near bedrock, but they can be anywhere, really. Boulders are either a miner's worst nemesis or his best ally. In narrow creeks, you're likely to encounter boulders from top to bottom throughout the sedimentary strata. They often hang suspended from embankments waiting for something to jar them free from loose sand and tangled root-systems lining the bank. Boulders come in all sizes, shapes, weights, and compositions. Many times, good-paying ground awaits in their proximity. When they're suspended above, you're constantly reminded of just how dangerous gold dredging can be. But this is gold mining. Historically, miners are known to tackle just about any kind of adversity or obstacle to get at the gold. Many big rocks concentrated on bedrock can be nudged out of the way with a pry bar. Many can't. Using a come-a-long
or powered winch, you generally need to open up space around bigger rocks so a choker cable can be secured. Nowadays, I see they've designed super-claws which clamp onto boulders which are then high-lined or winched away. Pretty cool concept, really. Did I mention how dangerous boulders high in the overburden or suspended above you are? I thought so. If you have a powered winch, yank them out of the hole and try to drag them some distance from your excavation. Whatever you do, always stay on top of the boulders, not the other way
around. If you're in good gold, it's definitely advisable to keep your hole and
working face clear of larger rocks. With many miners, the discovery of gold sets off an instinctual shark-feeding-frenzy. It's advisable to keep one's emotions in check and proceed cautiously, safely. Conditions are rarely the
same from one dredge site to the next, from one drainage to
another. Be careful, mates. Dredging is dangerous work. Welcome to the wild world of gold
mining!
Thanks for checking out our digs. Gold of Eldorado 1-14-13
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