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Prospector By Oliver2
Welcome!
GorpStew is a blog about dreams and making them come true.
My dream was to make a living prospecting for gold while living in the bush. I lived that dream and I write about it here at GorpStew.
Do you have a dream? Tell us about it…here.
Links to popular GorpStew content. (Find more in the right side-bar.)
Moving to the Yuba River to Snipe for Gold, Winter 1978-’79
My Winter on the Yuba River, 1978-’79…First Gold!
Jason! Behind You, in the Water–Rattlesnake!
My name’s Jason Quinten Kincade. I’m GorpStew’s Blogster. Whether you do or do not like what’s cookin’ here…I’m the guy to blame.
Since childhood, I have dreamed of living in the woods and earning my living as a prospector/miner. However, it didn’t seem like I would ever get the chance to pursue that vision. Finally though, In my early 30s, circumstances turned favorable, and I leaped at the chance to give it a go.
Consequently, since 1978, supported by my prospecting efforts, a substantial part of my life has been lived in the ‘bush’ of California, Nevada, and Alaska.
I’m chronicling those carefree days in what I have dubbed my ‘Gold Fever Diary’.
In recreating events, I do my best to describe camp life, characters I’ve met, wildlife encounters and prospecting and mining techniques, such as panning, sniping, sluicing, dredging, and metal detecting.
However, it has never been my intention to make this domain exclusively about me.
Do you have a dream? Are you living it now or hoping to someday? Tell us about it. Be the first to post to our new category "Dream Tales" and ‘break the ice’ for those that follow.
Whether it be a couple of sentences or a page or more in length, send your Dream Tale to us today using this form.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
JQK
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Jason-
I’m into prospecting too! its neat that you are writing about your experiences! I really liked your sniping for gold 101! Are you still sniping? Have you ever sniped the American River around Auburn? Thats where I’m going in a couple of weeks.
I’ll try and send you a report ti put in your story section!
Wish me luck and keep writting more articles on sniping! Maybe I’ll see ya on the river!
Thanks Brad,
The Sniping 101 “field Trip” was written with the beginner in mind–it sounds like you have at least some experience. But I’m glad you liked it. Yes, I still snipe when I get a chance, mostly with a detector, now days, and yes, I have sniped and dredged quite a bit in California’s Mother Lode district, a little of which was on the Middle Fork of the American. I spent a whole winter on the North Fork of the Middle Fork. It was lots of fun. There is some good gold left in that country too; you just need to hit the right spot.
Good luck on your sniping trip–hope you bring back lots of gnarly nuggets! Send me that report you mentioned and photos too–I’ll post your story and enter you in the contest!
JQK
Fantastic work!!! I love it.. Almost time to dredge!!!! Hit a pot o gold fellow prospectors it’s our year!! Keep the pans rattlin!! Oldrocker
Jason,
You have a great website. Your articles are wonderful. I hope one day to be able to contribute some stories (when I experience them). If you could give some advice I would really appreciate it. I am considering buying an unpatented claim in Siskiyou County in Northern CA. My plans are to dredge during the season and snipe and metal detect during other times. Can you give me any ideas how to find if the claim is mineralized and has hot rocks so I can determine what kind of detector to purchase? Thanks again for making your thoughts and experiences available.
Sincerely,
Biram
G Biram Chapman
Vidalia, GA
Biram,
I’m pleased to hear that you had a positive experience on my website; thanks for your kind words! And I definitely look forward to publishing accounts of your coming adventures in prospecting and mining.
Although I haven’t been writing much lately myself, I plan to get right back into it when the first snow flies. I have many years of accumulated experiences that I’m looking forward to re-living…on paper.
I worked for a hardrock mine, as well as did some prospecting with my metal detector (back in the ’90s) near Forks of the Salmon, in Siskiyou County. It’s a beautiful and rugged country, sparsely populated and offers excellent potential for both placer and hardrock gold.
I sense, from your writing, that you have already accumulated considerable knowledge and at least some experience in prospecting and mining gold. So you must already be aware that ‘hot rocks’ (in metal detecting parlance) are areas of heavily mineralized (in place) bedrock, as well as chunks, pieces and tiny bits broken off of such bedrock and commonly transported and deposited in gravels many miles from their original source.
As far has ‘hot rocks’ go, it is very unlikely that you will find a claim that doesn’t have them scattered about…sometimes in irritating abundance, especially in placer deposits.
Hot rocks contain mineralization (such as iron) that is higher in concentration than what is found in most of the rock in the area that the metal detectorist is working and consequently has “tuned’ his machine to. The highly sensitive machine ’sees’ the increased background mineralization as a possible target (some machines more so than others) and often ’sounds-off,’ (though usually weakly and in a fuzzy, distinct way that an expert can come to recognize).
Because (predominatingly) the mineralization in ‘hot rocks’ is diffuse as compared to say a nugget which is a dense mass, the detector’s coil, most commonly, must be in close proximity to the ‘hot rock’ in order to ‘hear’ it. Therefore most ‘hot rocks’ are encountered on or near the surface and often present themselves as just a whisper over the operator’s ear phones; in some cases though, the signal is strong and blaring and more closely mimics a valid target, in which case it may be interpreted by the operator as a bona fide target, especially in the early, learning stages of electronic prospecting.
Experience however, will teach you to recognize most ‘pretenders’ and quickly kick them out of the way as you continue on in your search for gold.
Some machines are better at ignoring hot rocks than others (Minelab, for one, is excellent) and therefore easier for the beginner to get the hang of. However, all modern top of the line gold detectors can be mastered by the determined prospector, and ‘hot rocks’ become relatively easy to spot and therefore ignore.
So, Biram, I don’t think you should worry, too much, about whether or not your claim will have hot rocks, because it almost certainly will have at least some. And remember, if you’re going to stick with electronic prospecting, I can guarantee that you will not restrict your attention to just a single 20 acre placer claim.
Like the rest of us…you’ll wonder near and far in your quest for gold and encounter thousands of hot rocks in your ‘career.’ Believe me though, with determination…you will master them!
So, rather than buy a detector based on the mineralization of one unique spot, just get a good one and learn to use it under all conditions.
As far as detectors go, I’ve owned and had success with White’s, Fisher and Minelab. I currently own two newer Minelabs (a Eureka Gold and a GPX-4000) and an old White’s Goldmaster Vsat. (But remember, there are many other brands worthy of your consideration).
Good luck Biram! And please don’t forget to get back to all the GorpStew.com readers and me with accounts of your exciting adventures in mining…and learning!
Thanks and GOOD LUCK!
JQK