Mining the Colorado Mountains with the Weather Channel

 Naw, we aren't in the Weather Channel show, but this is a picture of Larry and friends Jan and Tim hunting for gemstones on Mt Antero in 2011. I'm behind the camera, of course.

Gold closed Friday at $1667.20, silver at $31.43, and the DOW was over 14000 this past week, although it didn’t hang around there for long.  Lots of speculation out there about what gold will do in the short term as it is having trouble holding its’ 200 day average.  Not a particularly good thing for right now, but it certainly doesn’t mean we are looking at a crash, but possibly a good pull back.  Platinum has been closing above gold for some time, now.  Has something to do with it being needed in catalytic converters for cars.

A nomination that caught my attention this past week was the appointment of the next Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, president and CEO of REI.  I have not heard why our own Ken Salazar decided not to continue in that role for the next four years. 

Mark your calendars for March 26^th and the premiere of the Weather Channels’ series “Prospectors”, featuring many Colorado gem miners.  While they aren’t after gold, these people are definitely successful at what they do.  I know several, am acquainted with others, and they mine the mountains of Colorado.  You can see the trailer at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=422192217855655

We are almost at the end of our kitchen remake, and it is turning out to be really nice.  So far, the project has not had too many set backs or problems that were a disaster.  I’m sure most of you can relate.  Glad to have it finished this winter and not hanging over our heads as the weather turns to spring. 

There is so much to report on that has to do with legislative and court issues that are of concern to prospectors large and small, I am going to link you out to International California Mining Journal to read about all of it.  If you don’t have a subscription to this magazine, whether online or snail mail, you should consider getting one.  www.icmj.com Besides keeping you up on many of the issues you need to know about, they write excellent articles on metal detecting and prospecting in general. 

That’s it for now.  Do your research for that place you are wanting to find while the weather has you inside.  And, as always……

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley Weilnau

www.hookedongold.com

hookedongold@gmail.com

Denver Mining Club talk on Fine Gold Recovery

                                           Now, THAT'S a Big Sluice Box, Boys!

Did you know that Denver has a mining club that was founded in 1891? I knew the Denver Mining Club (AKA Colorado Chapter of the International Order of Ragged Assed Miners) had been around a while, but I had no idea they had been here so long.  Their website, www.denverminingclub.org , is a wealth of information about its’ meetings, (they meet every Monday) founding fathers and their activities. Everyone was very friendly and did their best to make all of us feel at home.

At the beginning of their meeting, they had all new comers stand, introduce themselves, and tell their interest in or connection to mining.  There are no right or wrong answers, so all newcomers are voted into the Denver Mining Club or CCIORAM, and presented with a certificate that they are sworn to place in a prominent place in their home or place of business.

Larry and I were there attending a discussion about find gold recovery given by Phil Martinez, www.vistaminingadventures.com .  Phil had asked us to go with him, his wife Elsie and their oldest son Phillip Jr., to help with the computer stuff that his paper and crayons won’t handle.

Phil talked a great deal about the large placer operation he worked for that is located at the base of Mt. Elbert.  I won’t plug them here, so you will have to look up their name if you want to know about them.  According to Martinez, they were running up to 1,000 yards a day and their biggest problem was the sticky clay that ran with all of this material.

Their solution to the problem was to use a series of jigs to break up the clay, and to then, run all of that material into a bowl system.  As in all fine gold recovery, the name of the game is breaking down your material into a useable state where all material is of similar size, and then to run water and sluice boxes at a water speed and sluice box angle that is best suited to your circumstances.

Clay is particularly bothersome to everyone, and recovering the gold trapped in it is never easy.  Emulsification of the material is of great importance, but only if the values that can be found in the clay would make breaking it up worth the time and effort needed to do so. Testing is the only way to decide if your time is better spent running material that you can separate the gold from more easily, or to go after what is in the clay.

To maximize recovery in this large placer, the sluices needed to be adjusted from what Martinez called ‘ski slopes’ to a proper angle to keep from running the gold into the tailings ponds.  After this adjustment was made, the sluices were able to handle the volume of water running down them and capture the finer gold much better.  Recovery of the fine gold went way up.

As with all operations, testing should be constant, whether you are a large operation or a weekend placer warrior.  Then, watch your water speed and the angle of your sluice box for maximum fine gold recovery.  Flatter box, more water; steeper box, less water.  Those are the basics.  Depth of water and size of material also play important parts.  Keep tweeking until your sluice box is recovering 90% of what is in your material.  How do you know when that is?  Do what we did when this large placer first asked all of us for help.  Test your tailing pile with your pan.  

So, how do you break up clay in a small operation? Mix it in a bucket with a small shovel or use a dry wall mixer and a drill in a bucket.  I've done both.  The drill is definitely easier, but if you don't have one or you are not allowed to use anything motorized, a shovel will work.  It can work you to death, too.  LOL!

Gold finished out this week at $1667.60, and we saw DOW 14,009.79, the first time it closed over 14,000 since October 2007.  Hope you are busy getting your equipment ready for this summer.  We will be staying home this year and not attending the Tucson Show in Arizona.  We have this house we bought that needs its’ kitchen fixed.  As Always,

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley Weilnau

www.hookedongold.com

hookedongold@gmail.com