Clear Creek Gold..... Before the Ice - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

duxthe1 · #1 09-29-2012, 09:01 PM

Ok maybe it wont be the next hit show on the Discovery channel, but I thought I'd share it anyway.

I've got an old Keene triple sluice dredge and haven't hardly had a chance to go dig much at all this year. Well today me and my dredging buddy had a go at it. Here's some pics...

The first pic is the wagon ready to be unloaded at the claim. When its all put together most people don't believe that all fits in (and on) the wagon, but with my tetris like precision, it sure does.

The second pic is a scenic view of the claim. It's on Clear Creek, a bit west of Golden Colorado. A local prospecting store owner has leased this claim and opened it up to the public. The gold isn't great, but better than having no claim at all.

Third pic is the dredge frame assembled before being carried down to the water. It's 7ft from stem to stern. Even with all of the gear on board you can still hop on it without risking capsizing.

The fourth pic is the frame with the sluice box on back and the engine mounted up front. You can see a bit of white smoke from the engine, its running in the picture. The engine is a single cylinder 10hp diesel and is one heavy beast, 106lbs dry without ancillaries. It has no glow and is only a pull start so once the engine is bolted to the frame we fire it off for a few minutes. That way there is residual heat in the motor making it easier to start once the pump and compressor are mounted up.

More to come....

duxthe1 · #2 09-29-2012, 09:11 PM

.....continued

The first pic is my dredging buddy digging between two large boulders. When the creek is running in flood stage large boulders create low pressure areas that can cause heavy things like gold to drop out of the current.

The second pic is a view from the rear of the dredge. We use a decent sized rock to provide ballast and counter the weight of the engine. Later once the sluice fills with heavy black sand the rock goes back into the creek.

The third pic is the sluice box after we shut down for the day. The large pile of rocks behind the dredge are its "tailings" When we started there was about 15" of water where that pile now stands.

The fourth pic is a view of the black sands that the sluice box has caught. The riffels are lifted exposing the rows of black sand on the miner's moss. The miner's moss is a loose weave mat that helps trap heavy particles while lighter stuff washes back into the creek.

duxthe1 · #3 09-29-2012, 09:20 PM

When all 3 boxes are cleaned out, it's roughly 2.5 gallons of concentrate. The majority of the gold in clear creek is as fine as flour. Before leaving the creek I rough panned 2 handfuls of the concentrate. There was two flakes, very rough and chunky which is an encouraging sign. Unfortunately I don't have pics of the actual recovery as I haven't processed it. The bucket is all I have to show at the moment. I'm sure there's not a fortune, but certain there is enough to make me want to keep at it.

Over all the trip was a great success. Last time out the impeller for the water pump failed and took considerable work to repair. The repair worked well. Additionally I added a wet suit heater since the last outing. That water is pretty cold and takes a lot out of you to work in it. I added about 5 ft of stainless tubing inside the muffler for a heat exchanger and plumbed some fittings to connect a rubber hose which gets shoved into the wetsuit. It worked pretty good and I'm pleased.

Maybe I can get out again before the creek freezes over.

cullennewsom · #4 09-29-2012, 09:26 PM

Do you refine it yourself?

duxthe1 · #5 09-29-2012, 09:53 PM

Yes, I chemicaly refine the gold by dissolving it in acids and selectively precipitating the gold back out. The coin stamped with the 4 is placer gold I refined.

cullennewsom · #6 09-29-2012, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duxthe1

Yes, I chemicaly refine the gold by dissolving it in acids and selectively precipitating the gold back out. The coin stamped with the 4 is placer gold I refined.

SMB? Is that about 1/10 ozt?

duxthe1 · #7 09-29-2012, 11:26 PM

Technically sulpher dioxide is the precipitant, but I'm guessing you already knew that. I do use SMB to that end.

That coin is 4.6g if I recall correctly.

cullennewsom · #8 09-30-2012, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duxthe1

Technically sulpher dioxide is the precipitant, but I'm guessing you already knew that. I do use SMB to that end.

That coin is 4.6g if I recall correctly.

I have only done a very tiny amount of refining. I wouldn't even call it refining more like little tests. My "ore" is electronics scrap. Still studying Hoke. Trying to gather enough to pay for some proper equipment. Thanks for sharing. Good luck and all that.

cmbdiesel · #9 09-30-2012, 11:45 AM

Nice work!! And X2 on that water being cold....

I own a placer claim in Colorado, but no water to run a sluice on.

Used to live on The Golden Age Mine in Boulder and saw a guy every year who would revisit all the old adits and pick through the tailings and along the railways. Always came up stuff that had been dropped or discarded in favor of the better ore which was available when the mines were open.
He claimed to leave with a grand more or less every year after spending 4~5 days on the mountain. Great little vacation for him and his horse either way.