Loaming for Gold information and questions

[Beagleboy]

Definately interesting to see how do pros do it. Thanks village.

 

[user 1769]

Thanks Village, that's an awesome amount of information. Sometimes I notice when reading EL annual reports that the stream sediment, panned concentrate and BLEG samples are spread a huge distance apart, leaving a quite a bit of room for extra prospecting. Also the assumptions used to determine whether a significant anomaly is present are often flawed. You can look at anomalies that are pronounced yet have been dismissed, that are within the range of those in samples they collected from areas within a short distance of well known productive reefs. In my opinion when this is happening, the underlying assumptions about what is worth prospecting are wrong. Or perhaps the size of deposit that large companies are looking for is such that they'll dismiss small to medium sized deposits.
My experience is only from Tasmanian stuff though.

 

[Village]

Hi guys, been watching this thread with interest and cant help myself but give my two bobs worth. Got to ask yourself before you get involved with all the technical side of loaming / soil sampling...." am i looking at trying to find a gold source to begin a commercial mining operation????".

This in many cases requires extensive digging and registering a claim, (not as simple as many may think), OR , am i looking at covering a small area to get the best amount of easily attainable gold from it. 99% of us on the forum are after the latter and the technical differences, in the long run, are only academic, and in my opinion not worth losing any sleep over.

Personally, I sample using both methods and couldn't give a hoot as to which is the technically correct term. I sample to get a pattern of where the gold is shedding from, with amateur prospecting in mind.....not to potentially fire up a "Tod Hoffman" operation.

In over 50 years of prospecting all over the country have come across only three small reefs the old timers missed.....and
they didn't warrant setting up a mining claim.

Got to keep this "Loaming" in some sort of perspective....use whatever you want to call it, and concentrate on enjoying the hobby. We won't be tested on what we've "technically" achieved, and we now live in an era where nobody really cares about being politically correct.....enjoy the hunt and keep the dream alive,

Cheers Wal.

I don't know Wal, didm 't you say in a post somewhere else that it is what the scales say being the measure or something along those lines. I think most who take it as hobby, and yourself I am willing to place money, would want results, and if that earns them some cyril ash along the way, the smile would be greater. Noones promoting taking an Exploration license. But the methods employed today commercially have been proven to be the most viable, so why not employ a simplified version to maximise your effort. Even today the extraction methods employed by most in this forum, are in fact simplified hybrids of commercial operations, the likes highbankers, trommels, suction dredges, rock crushers, even slide hammers

A large percentage of areas that you prospect have in the last 5 to 10 years been the subject of extensive investment in commercial prospecting, from chip, through to core samples from several hundred metres. As a result of the demising commodity price, expediting commercial extraction has slowed a little, not to say it won't go ahead. Did the old timers leave behind much, well assayed areas in the or under the same ground your walking on sometimes, ranges from 10g Au per ton up to 385 gm Au per ton. Now given that in an average day a two man crew on a high banker can what process say easily 1 cu metre of soil, so based on purity levels and the current spot price, say the days work yielded say a 100 grams, thats a wad of cyril ash at about 2 gorillas, not a bad effort I would reckon, and a defy any person to say that they wouldn't like those results.

Perspective is that a large percentage of members, fall into the retired and pension area of life, thus the cost of an outing must be considered well before expending the cash, whether on gear or the likes of fuel. Utilising processes that increase the profitability of a good day, thats perspective. Decimating and simplifying the processes, in the most cost effective manner, promotes the hobby, the better the results, the more that will join.

If I use terms which seem technical well I apologise, but this is too fold, one it is a way of life for me, and I do have to think process down to explain them which takes a lot of time. Secondly by enclosing certain terms which best describe a method promotes the reader to do a little of their own research to comprehend what is being said. This further develops their understanding and context in the field and not only in the term itself. There is a knock on effect. The application of these in the field then develops their knowledge base and ability into lithology, which in the long term is highly beneficial in the field application of their hobby.

Don't get me wrong here Wal, i'm not taking a shot at anyone. I think in reality to date there is not a real lot of explaining on the how to's, there is a lot of people showing results which is encouraging and a bit of camaraderie. Drilling process down is not getting technical, it's helping. Use it, ignore it, disagree agree with it, well like beauty it's in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Ben78]

If it helps anyone, I use these when I'm out and about, I like to sample dry gullies sometimes, or mark various features/trash/finds etc. 25 orange marker flags for $4 - http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/SCA-Warning-Flag.aspx?pid=324411#Cross

 

[SWright]

G'Day all

If you want to explor for gold properly in order to find a mine then start off gridding the region, take 5-10kg samples, seive, put fines in for BLEG, BLEP, BLEC (Bulk leach Extractable Gold/Paladium/Copper) to define soil and rock/basement composition, put second sieved material in for AAS (atomic absorbtion spectrometry) or Fire Assay with carbon rod finish for 64 elements concentrating on trace elements in deposits of the region or theoretical deposits that could exist in the geological region, cross correlate results with geophisics, geology, remote sensing information, undertake a reasonable regression analysis, follow up with trenching and rotary airblast drilling, follow correlatated results with percussion drilling and/or diamond drilling and so on and several thousands to millions of dollars later you may have a mine if the price of gold is good enough

OR we can enjoy our hobby and even make some money if lucky and pan and loam and sluice and hope and enjoy and get wet and have a beer (or several) at night with our mates around a camp fire and struggle up again in the morning with a killer hangover and do it all agin.

I have done both and they, as WalnLiz suggested, are different things. Lets not confuse the two. Mineral Exploration is an industrial activity while prospecting the way we do it is recreation with a lotto ticket attached.

Araluen

 

[SinHof]

Hi Ben78,
Thanks for the info on the marker flags; next week I was going up to the local butcher to buy some meat skewers to make some marker flags; Supercheap here I come.
Cheers, SinHof.

 

[SWright]

Better than marker flags, go to an exploration supply business - they are in every capital city and in regional mineral exploration centres - and get some rolls of flouro flagging tape. Write the number of your sample on the tape and wrap it around a rock where your took the sample then a small piece around a conveniently located twig high enough to be seen at a distance. Very quick and cheap. Use orange tape or red but not yellow or green as it is hard to see in the bush.

Araluen

 

[Outback]

What a top thread !

Ive found gold in some depressions in dry rocky desert country but nothing shedding from the higher ground ? is it possible that the gold got there somehow else ?

 

[Outback]

Did the old timers leave behind much, well assayed areas in the or under the same ground your walking on sometimes, ranges from 10g Au per ton up to 385 gm Au per ton. Now given that in an average day a two man crew on a high banker can what process say easily 1 cu metre of soil, so based on purity levels and the current spot price, say the days work yielded say a 100 grams, thats a wad of cyril ash at about 2 gorillas, not a bad effort I would reckon, and a defy any person to say that they wouldn't like those results.

.

Spot on Village !
There sure are many areas especially in deserts that will produce those results or better for two blokes willing to do a hard days yakka '
Always amused me that so many who use detectors only after a long day digging holes are happy with a couple of grams :lol:

 

[Goldtarget]

I'm sure this topic began in much more modest terms, but sometimes the big fish come to hit the smallest rods.... And I think village has made a gallant effort to open us up to his expertise. Ok so fair bet we aren't about to sit a geology or exploratory mining exam, but I for one think the conclusions drawn here are sound. What comes through to me here is an explanation with impact and an opportunity to learn. After all if we are classify ourselves a prospectors, we could worse than understanding the methods employed by those who do the same thing on much grander scale for profit, and by extension improve our perspective. As much I would try to understand and comprehend someone with decades of experience on the workings of a detector, I will endeavour to do the same to understand location of where I am detecting and the likely result. Bravo village and thank you

 

[Village]

Look guys

if your going to be silly about it, don't read the post. There are some who i take it want to learn how to go about it. Keep yourselves constructive for the sweet love of jesus. The methods outlined are basic, methodical and inline with current practices. If employed, will provide definitive results, which for the hecklers, I think is bringing about some insecurities. If you don't like it, ignore it but don't throw pebbles from the sideline, if your going to contribute, be constructive. Full Stop.

Hobby, interest or cash income stream in retirement, peoples choice, choice of the reader, leave it to them to make the choice. Take away what works for them in the long run.

 

[Village]

Jesus Outback, if thats your portrait for your avatar, I be more then happy to help you out on site, especially if the lease is on a nudist beach.

 

[Outback]

Jesus Outback, if thats your portrait for your avatar, I be more then happy to help you out on site, especially if the lease is on a nudist beach.

Ha-ha
No it's not me but I like Looking at nice females so that's why I used it as an avatar .

Cheers
Outback .

 

[Village]

What a top thread !

Ive found gold in some depressions in dry rocky desert country but nothing shedding from the higher ground ? is it possible that the gold got there somehow else ?

G day Outback

Hard to say without all the info need, but isolated alluvial deposits in the desert are not uncommon. Could be anyones best guess from here mate.

sorry

 

[Outback]

G day Outback

Hard to say without all the info need, but isolated alluvial deposits in the desert are not uncommon. Could be anyones best guess from here mate.

sorry

Thanks Village ' good to know it's not uncommon , one spot was near Cockburn SA , far to hot to go back out that way until the cool comes back .

Got onto that through some young trail bike riders who came across a guy prospecting with a frightened look on his face .

 

[trenchfighter]

wtf is lithology ?

 

[Ben78]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithology

 

[trenchfighter]

cheers ben78.... but it looks complicated..... Duuuhhh im not real smart but i can lift heavy things.

 

[WalnLiz]

I'm not disagreeing or agreeing with the pros and cons of loaming, and agree that all prospectors should know the basics. It's just that reading through this thread there is a lot of info (which is good) on a couple of methods of "loaming" which at the end of the day will get the same result for the prospector.

The thread is sometimes heading down the, "I'm right", "He's rite", path on a subject that can be looked at with different points of view, and ultimately, achieving the same result....and i would like that spot where you refer 100grams a day with the highbanker That's only on good days

I agree one should use all knowledge and techniques gained from research to their advantage in an attempt to maximize their finds. I do this myself as I'm in the game on a semi professional level, and rely on what i find to finance extensive travel over the country prospecting.

Finding gold lines in rivers and on hillsides is something that i assign a lot of my time to, and agree the results take care of themselves.

The passing on of knowledge and techniques is something I applaud, but just saying we should keep it at just that, and not head down the path of criticizing others about their "Loaming" being technically incorrect. If it works for them then good luck to them. Just my opinion,

Cheers Wal.

 

[Village]

wtf is lithology ?

The art of field research, being able by eye, determine the physical character of a rock by what it is comprised of, colour, grain size and matrix . In other words know what your looking for in the first, then being reasonably able to identify it in the field. its really not about being smart, just recognition.