The amount of black sand and other heavy minerals, found associated with placer gold, varies a lot: there is not a simple direct correlation. There are places that are loaded with black sand but have no gold. Conversely, there are also places that have good quantities of gold but very little black sand.
Flour gold or flood plain gold is defined as ultra-fine gold found in low micron size fractions, often smaller than 74 microns or 200 mesh.
You might have heard the term “flood plain gold” and are wondering what it really means. A very simple definition is “fine-sized gold flakes carried or redistributed by flood waters and deposited on gravel bars as the flood waters recede.” When this “redistribution” occurs, it is usually after heavy winter storms that churned up rivers enough to turn part of the bedload over and move the river bar gravels from one place to another. Within these gravels is fine gold that was previously deposited there. When waterways flow way up and above their normal banks, they generally drop the heavier gold in the front of the bar, and as pressure decreases, the finer gold starts dropping into the mixed gravel. Over time, some of this finer gold will work its way down to bedrock, but generally it stays on the move.
Never throw away your black sand concentrates. It takes extremely good panning techniques to capture fine or flour gold in a pan, and a high energy sluice will generally wash the micron gold out with the tailings, maybe even easier than washing out the fine black sand. If you suspect you have micron gold, the first step is to look for it with a good 20X or 30X magnifier, looking for discrete, small particles.
Fine Gold Recovery Equipment
Fine gold recovery equipment is specifically designed to reduce the amount of raw gold bearing material to a manageable amount for further processing and/or aid directly in the separation of finer grains of gold from heavy black sand.
Gold is one of the first minerals used by prehistoric cultures. The Latin name for this mineral was "aurum" and Jöns Jakob Berzelius used Au to represent the element when he established the current system of chemical symbols. The Old English word "gold" first appeared in written form about 725 and may further have been derived from "gehl" or "jehl". May be derived from Anglo-Saxon "gold" = yellow. (Known to alchemists as Sol.)
A native element and precious metal, gold has long been prized for its beauty, resistance to chemical attack and workability. As it is found as a native element, has a relatively low melting point (1063 degrees Celsius) and is malleable, it has been used by mankind for thousands of years.
Gold is used as a standard for international currency and is also widely used in jewelry, electronics (where its superb properties as a conductor help offset its tremendous cost), dentistry and in photographic processes.
Gold occurs in significant amounts in three main types of deposits: hydrothermal quartz veins and related deposits in metamorphic and igneous rocks; in volcanic-exhalative sulphide deposits; and in consolidated to unconsolidated placer deposits. It may also occur in contact metamorphic or hypothermal deposits (eg. Skarns), or epithermal deposits such as volcanic fumaroles. It is most commonly found as disseminated grains in quartz veins with pyrite and other sulphides, or as rounded grains, flakes or nuggets in placer deposits in recent to ancient stream and river deposits. Gold is often panned from such deposits by taking advantage of its high density to wash away the lighter sediments from a pan or sluice.
Nuggets are almost exclusively hypogene in origin, forming mostly in veins, but can be somewhat modified in form and chemistry by weathering, erosion, and transport (Hough et al., 2007).
Gold:
Gold is one of the densest of all the chemical elements.
It also the most malleable metal.
One ounce of gold can be drawn into a wire about thirty miles long.
Gold is chemically related to copper and silver
It is highly resistant to chemical change and cannot be dissolved in common acids
Gold does dissolve in aqua regia and cyanides.
If the current volume of fiat dollars was converted to gold it would exceed $50,000 per oz.
Details:
AU—the chemical symbol for gold
Gold’ atomic number is 79 and its atomic weight is 196.967
Gold melts at 1064.43 Centigrade
Gravity for Gold is 19.3, meaning gold weighs 19.3 times more than an equal amount volume of water.
Tinsel Strength 11.9
Hardness (Brinell)=25
Occurrence of gold in Earth’s crust= .005 parts per million
Standard Bar Sizes
400 troy ounces (12.5 kilos)
32.15 troy ounces (1 kilo)
100 troy ounces (3.11 kilos)
*Wide varieties of bar sizes are traded on the market, but are not deliverable to an exchange as the bars above.
Fineness and Karat Weight
Percent Gold
European System
Karat System
100%
1000 fine
24 karat
91.7%
917 fine
22 karat
75.0%
750 fine
18 karat
58.5%
585 fine
14 karat
41.6%
416 fine
10 karat
Of the 92 natural elements in the earth’s crust, Gold ranks 58th in rarity.
Every state in the U.S. has some gold deposits.
When gold is legal tender, governments try to regulate or manipulate its value, and that’s always difficult… when Roosevelt raised gold from $20.67 to $35 in 1934, it immediately devalued the dollar by 40%.
But from 1786 to 1933, the U.S. government only allowed the price of gold to rise from $17.92 to $20.67. A 15% increase in the official price of gold in 141 years. In the same span, U.S. GDP grew about 28,000%.
Among the worst debasers of gold coins were Henry VIII, Diocletian and Nero. Debasement is a hidden tax. Henry added base metals to coins. Nero reduced silver content and made the gold coins smaller.
In 1542, Francisco Pizarro took more gold from the Inca in a week than European miners produced in a year. The conquistadors brought so much gold from the New World to Europe that they increased supply by 500% and started the first gold-induced inflation. Other inflations caused by sudden gold supplies happened during the U.S. and Australian gold rushes in the 19th century.
When used in trade, gold coins wear out in about 18 years.
It is believed that most of the gold coins used in trade between the U.S. and the West Indies before the U.S. Revolution were 15-20% “light.” Crooks and traders put coins in a coarse bag and shook them to create gold dust—called sweating the coins. They traded the coins at full value and made money on the dust.
For years, banks sent gold coins to England from the U.S. and back again to maintain trade balances. In each trip, $178 in value from every $1 million in gold shipped, rubbed off during transport, according to an 1894 book on banking practices.
An ounce of gold can be stretched into a wire 80 kms (50 miles) long.
Gold is not only precious, but pure gold is also very, very soft. So soft, in fact, that a single gram can be beaten into a sheet of one square meter! If you ever get some pure gold to play with (you wish, eh?), remember the following sciensational fact:
Absolutely pure gold is so soft that it can be moulded with the hands
Seventy-five percent of all gold in circulation has been extracted since 1910.
A medical study in France during the early twentieth century suggests that gold is an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
Gold is so pliable that it can be made into sewing thread. An ounce of gold can be stretched over 50 miles.
Gold is edible.
The largest gold nugget ever found is the “Welcome Stranger” discovered by John Deason and Richard Oates in Australia on February 5, 1869. The nugget is 10 by 25 inches and yielded 2,248 ounces of pure gold. It was found just two inches below the ground surface.
Gold is chemically inert, which also explains why it never rusts and does not cause skin irritation. If gold jewelry irritates the skin, it is likely that the gold was mixed with some other metal.
One cubic foot of gold weighs half a ton. The world’s largest gold bar weighs 200 kg (440 lb).
The Incas thought gold represented the glory of their sun god and referred to the precious metal as “tears of the Sun.” Because gold was not yet used for money, the Inca’s love of gold was purely aesthetic and religious.
Around 1200 B.C., the Egyptians used unshorn sheepskin to mine for gold dust from the sands of the Black Sea. This practice is most likely the inspiration for the “Golden Fleece.”
There are more than 400 references to gold in the Bible, including specific instructions from God to cover furniture in the tabernacle with “pure gold.” Gold is also mentioned as one of the gifts of the Magi.
The Greeks thought that gold was a dense combination of water and sunlight.
During the fourteenth century, drinking molten gold and crushed emeralds was used as a treatment for the bubonic plaque.
In 1511, King Ferdinand of Spain coined the immortal phrase: “Get gold, humanely if possible—but at all hazards, get gold.”
Both Greeks and Jews begin to practice alchemy in 300 B.C. The search to turn base metals into gold would reach its pinnacle in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.
The San Francisco 49ers are named after the 1849 Gold Rush miners.
Gold and copper were the first metals to be discovered by humans around 5000 B.C. and are the only two non-white-colored metals.
The world’s largest stockpile of gold can be found five stories underground inside the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s vault and it holds 25% of the world’s gold reserve (540,000 gold bars). While it contains more gold than Fort Knox, most of it belongs to foreign governments.
The “troy ounce” of gold comes from the French town of Troyes, which first created a system of weights in the Middle Ages used for precious metals and gems. One troy ounce is 480 grains. A grain is exactly 64.79892 mg.
Gold is higly reflective: Since this metal completely reflects infrared rays, it is used widely for radiation reflection and is a good conductor of thermal energy.
The Hard Times No. 1 Gold Claim offers an impressive mining opportunity. An extensive amount of exposed bedrock as well as the natural stream bed support productive gold recovery.The claim is suited for most types of gold mining activites from panning, to sluicing, sniping, high-banking, metal detecting, dowsing and dredging.
Mineral County is located in the vast "Big Sky Country" of Montana. The crest of the Bitterroot Mountains divides Montana from Idaho and serves as the county’s western boundary. The topography varies from remote, high alpine lakes to whitewater streams and from heavily forested ridges to smooth rolling meadows.
Hard Times No. 1
W 1/2 of NW 1/2, Section 1, Township 15 North, Range 27 West
40 Acres
Non-PatentedTest results have been most encouraging when panning, sluicing, and test dredging. Other than testing and accessment work, the Hard Times Mine No 1 has not been actively mined since the great Cedar Creek Gold Rush. The claim has not been worked beyond routine sampling and assessment work.
The Hard Times No.1 Placer Gold Claim offers impressive mining opportunities. An extensive amount of exposed bedrock as well as the natural streambed support productive gold recovery.
The Hard Times No. 1 Placer Claims is part of a contiguous block of approximately 1200 acres slated for commercial gold exploration and production. Gold is present at a grade sufficient to have a strong effect on the economics of an excavation project. The package is available for sale/lease or joint-venture.
So how do they sample rocks for gold and silver? Gold, silver and platinum are categorized as precious metals. This means they are highly valuable with a high demand. This translates into a high monetary value for relatively small amount of the metal (Gold/Platinum ~ $1500/ounce, Silver ~$25/ounce). In addition to the high monetary value, nature only supplies precious metals in small amounts (usually) which results in some difficulty in sampling at all stages.
Of particular problem to precious metals is called the nugget effect. This is where the tiny amount of precious metal may be rich in one part of a rock, and completely absence in another – it is never evenly distributed, Nature doesn’t like making things easy. Overcoming the nugget effect typically means larger sample sizes or targetted samples based on indicator minerals. Tiny gold in a core sample - nugget effect - Indicator minerals are a mineral associated with the precious metal but much more common in the rocks.
Typical indicator minerals are referred to as sulfides and include Pyrite (FeS2), arsenopyrite (FeAsS), Pyrrhotite (Fe1-xS), Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) amongst others. These are minerals which are of no to little economic value in small quantities however the do indicate the potential presence of a more valuable precious metal. A very useful property any iron sulfides (contain iron (Fe)) is that they rust, leaving a nice rusty stain to see. All samples are then assayed for the precious metal.
The sample is pulverized into a powder, mixed to distribute any precious metal evenly, then divided down to a small manageable size for assaying. A 1 kg sample will end up with only a 30g or 50g sample size. Without proper mixing, the nugget effect can be greatly enhanced leading to either very negative results to over reporting of the precious metal content. various techniques are used for assaying specific minerals, I wont go into that here.
The end result is a report on the amount of precious metal in your sample of rock from which you can extrapolate potential value to proceed or move your exploration elsewhere.
Stage one sampling
Stage one sampling occurs at the outcrop level, these are bedrock (not boulders) exposures accessible with no to minimal excavation. A quick way to see if a rock isn’t just a large boulder is to place your foot on it and hit it (not your foot) with a hammer. If it vibrates its likely a boulder, if not likely outcrop. Looking for a nice rusty rock, with the proper indicator mineral, hammer off a chunk a little larger than your fist. Do the same thing in another section of the rock, rinse repeat.
The more samples you take, the more representative it is. The more samples will also narrow down where the precious metal is depending on the amount, nature and ratios of indicator minerals which result in a positive gold showing when assayed. Molybdenum / pyrite rich hand sample
Stage two sampling - 2 bladed saw cutting channel sample
Stage two sampling, in theory, provides a more reliable indication of precious metal value.
Channel sampling uses a rock saw to cut two deep cuts forming a channel approximately 2 inches apart and 4-5 inches deep. The channel is cut perpendicular to any structure (across the vein) if present. using chisels and hammers, the channel rock between the two cuts is then removed/broken from the rock. Length of samples are determined by rock type, mineralization and localized constraints to precious metal mineralization. Since these samples tend to be larger, and are cut from solid rock, the resulting sample tends to be “fresh” allowing for an easier indicator metal determination and lessen potential contamination from other rocks above them.
Stage three sampling
The most widely reported form of rock sampling comes from drill core. A diamond drill is use to produce a drill core of varying size. This cylindrical peice of rock from deeper in a deposit tends to be untouched by surface action and uncontaminated from materials above. Drill core is usually drilled at an angle through the deposit so length of a mineralized “zone” in core does not correspond to the actual width of the deposit. Core is examined for indicator minerals, mineralized zones, geological structures and whatever else can be learned from raw untouched rock. For sampling, the core is split, cut with a rock saw, in half – half stays with the core for future reference (43-101 compliance rules dictate this must happen). The other half is bagged and sent toan assay lab for processing like the other samples. Drill core - samples where core halved
We will be conducting activities related to prospecting, exploration, documentation, and mineral extraction. Proposed activities will include, but are not limited to, clearing, constructing settling ponds, sluicing, grading of tailing piles, constructing, maintaining drainage-control structures, and site rehabilitation. Exploration and development of locatable minerals will be conducted in accordance with approved plans to mitigate impact and to protect resources. All mining operations will follow the guidelines specified in Montana Placer Mining Best Mining Practices, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Special Publication 106 and United States Forest Service Plan of Operations For Mining Activities Regulations (36 CFR 228A), Suction Dredge General Permit Application Information Updated August 2012, and Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act. N References - (Section 75-7-101 through 124, MCA)
The Bonanza Gulch Placer Gold Claim is ideally suited for most types of gold mining activities from panning, sluicing and high-banking to metal detecting, dowsing, and dredging. The claim is located in one of Montana's richest gold-producing areas, Mineral County, home of the Cedar Creek Gold Rush. History is written all over this claim.
Mineral County became the site of one of the largest gold strikes that helped settle the West. In the 1860s and 70s, several thousand miners converged on Cedar Creek to earn their fortunes. Many of the miner's that were part of the rush on Cedar Creek were Chinese. However, there is no historical record to indicate that the Chinese ever mined in Oregon Gulch.
Newspaper reports of this early rush were quite favorable, comparing the wealth of Cedar Creek to Alder Gulch, the richest and longest-lived mining district in Montana during these years (The New Northwest, December 31, 1869).
The gold is recovered from stream and bench gravels located along the three creeks and their tributaries. The gold originates from veins associated with igneous dykes crosscutting the northward extension of the Bitterroots. Chalcopyrite is the principal ore material, and also carries copper and silver in small amounts (Sahinen 1935).
Since gold was first discovered in the Cedar Creek Mining District, the precious metal has been recovered, at one time or another, by most every method known to man.
Cedar Creek is the most productive of the district drainages. Oregon Gulch is the most important mineral-bearing tributary of Cedar Creek.
Production from placer mines from 1867-1947 yielded as much as Twenty Million Dollars along Cedar Creek and its tributaries. • Placer gold from the district exhibits extreme purity. 0.980 fine gold has been recovered. It is not unusual for gold to be .096 to .097 fine.
The initial rush on Cedar Creek, especially on Oregon Gulch was so great that a hundred miners staked out 200 claims within six months of the initial discoveries in 1869. Mining camps arose and were abandoned quickly as the focus of placering shifted around the district. The population of the district rose upwards of 10,000 by some estimates. In 1870, Forest City, on Cedar Creek itself, reached a population of 7,000 and was a wholesale commercial center for many towns in the area including Missoula.
The placers were first claimed in 1869 by French Canadian Louis A. Barrette, and have seen continuous production since then. By 1935 the district had yielded at least $2,000,000 in gold and perhaps as much as $10,000,000. Annual output between 1869 and 1935 ranges from $1,000 to $50,000, with recovery primarily through sluicing and hydraulicking. A connected-bucket dredge was reported to have operated in 1912, and some shaft, drift and limited lode mining has been done. The gold was transported from Superior, a station on the Northern Pacific and the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroads (Rowe 1911; Sahinen 1935).
Mineral County
Located in western Montana along the Idaho border, Mineral County was formed in 1914 by partition of Missoula County. All gold mined before 1914 from the area now included in Mineral County is credited to Missoula County. Almost the entire gold output came from placer deposits along the creeks that drain the east side of the Bitterroot Mountains and that flow into Clark Fork River between Tarkio and Superior. The most productive placers, and the only ones that produced more than 10,000 ounces of gold, were those along Cedar and Trout Creeks and their tributaries. Estimates by Lyden (1948, p. 98-103) suggest that placer production before 1904 may have exceeded 120,000 ounces. From 1904 through 1956 the county produced placer gold valued at about $665,000 (32,175 ounces), most of which was produced before 1942.
The surficial geology of the area was created by Glacial Lake Missoula about 15,000 years ago. The entire flow of the Clark Fork River backed up behind an ice dam, and the glacial lake reached an elevation of about 4350 feet. When the ice dam failed, Glacial Lake Missoula emptied through the Clark Fork Valley in just a few days, releasing the greatest flood of known geologic record. This process occurred repeatedly, each time resulting in colossal floods. Exposed bedrock and sedimentary deposits provide evidence of the lake in the Missoula Valley, as do layers of lake bed deposits alternating with river sediments exposed just west of Missoula (Alt and Hyndman 1986).
Bonanza Gulch
Many of the northward-facing slopes have a thick stand of pines, firs, and other conifers, whereas the southward-facing slopes are commonly grass and brush covered and more sparsely timbered.
A walk up Bonanza Gulch - a widening bench follows the creek up the mountain. The Bonanza Gulch streambed is composed of repeating sequences of steps and plunge pools formed by resistant bedrock, boulders and wood debris. The stream flows year-round down the steep gradient through confined channels directly coupled to hill slopes.
Bonanza Gulch is a Valley in Mineral County, MT with an elevation of 4,849 feet. The claim boundaries encompass the confluence of the Bonanza Gulch and Missoula Gulch.
Cedar Creek Mining District
Mineral County, Montana
160 Acres
Non-Patented
We are actively prospecting the immediate area surrounding Charlie Miller's Cabin and the Bonanza Gulch Mine entrance. Evidence of the old ore car rail system is still visible. Gold (Au) found in Bonanza Gulch to date consists of flour gold accompanied by ample amounts of black sand. The small-sized gold particles and gravels with black sand indicate excavation and further testing will be necessary to characterize the deposit.
Although we have not been able to locate production records, Charlie Miller's claim, now known as the Bonanza Gulch Placer Claim, gleaned the reputation of being one of the "best claims on the mountain." What we do know is that his production justified building many miles of road over steep mountain terrain to access his claim and to haul ore down the mountain. We also know that he built a rail system across his claim to haul ore from his mine down the mountain and across the creek for loading.
"No one invests that much money, energy and effort unless the mine is profitable. "
The Bonanza Gulch Placer Claim is part of a contiguous claim block slated for commercial gold exploration and production. Gold is present at a grade sufficient to have a strong effect on the economics of an excavation project. The package is available for sale/lease or joint-venture.
The claim is located approximately 25 miles from Superior, Montana. Mineral County is located in the vast "Big Sky Country" of Montana. The crest of the Bitterroot Mountains divides Montana from Idaho and serves as the county’s western boundary. The topography varies from remote, high alpine lakes to whitewater streams and from heavily forested ridges to smooth rolling meadows.
Tamarack and Mountain Ash in full autumn glory, enjoyed on the road to Bonanza Gulch.
Access is typically available from mid-May to mid-October and provides an excellent opportunity for the recreational panner or seasoned miner. The area receives heavy snowfall every winter making for an exciting spring run-off.
Disclaimer: This locality information is for reference purposes only. Please do not attempt to visit any sites listed without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
W 1/2 Section 12, Township 15 North, Range 28 West
Cedar Creek Mining Distict
Mineral County, Montana
Massive boulders and extensive exposed bedrock in shallow water make the Hard Times No. 3 Placer Claim a prospector's paradise.
The Hard Times No. 3 Placer Claim is part of a contiguous block acres slated for commercial gold exploration and production. Gold is present at a grade sufficient to have a strong effect on the economics of an excavation project.
The Hard Times No. 3 50-Acre placer claim is available for sale/lease or joint-venture.
For more information please contact:
Marlene Affeld
marneaffeld@mac.com
509-389-2606
The Hard Times No. 3 Placer Gold Claim has exposed bedrock outcroppings and several natural gravel bars, a diversity that offers outstanding spots to pan, high-bank, dredge, sluice or metal detect. The incredible potential of this claim would keep anyone prospecting for a lifetime.
