Back down in the hole

[Flintgreasewood]

Hello all. Been a while but I haven’t had much of anything interesting to share. Last summer a friend from Colorado came up for a couple of weeks to help me run tailings. After about a week my little steel track loader broke down so to salvage the week I rented a Kubota rubber track skid steer. Big mistake! In the water saturated ground we were working in we spent about a fourth of each work day winching out with a monster hand winch. Fortunately the gold
was good enough to make a reasonable profit.
Since then I have devoted my time at the mine upgrading my hoist system to include a significantly heavier trolley line, refurbished vintage trolley, 5hp hoist motor replacing. 2 hp, and larger diameter hoist drum (to reduce number of rope layers). I scaled enough ice off the shaft walls to fill the shaft (roughly 6’x6’) 35’ deep. I just began removing that ice as well as some old cribbing a few days ago. That all came to a abrupt halt when the upper 5’ of the gin pole broke off. I’m rerigging all the cables and attachments. I’ll have a bit less of an incline but the heavier trolley should descend just fine (I hope). Here it’s almost mid April and I’ve been perched atop the gin pole in a snow storm. If I should happen to fall, no big deal…there’s 30” of nice soft snow below to cushion me. Ha!
Almost forgot to mention I’ve learned the marvelous convenience of electromagnetic contactors to run the two 3 phase motors I use. With light gauge control cables carrying just 24 volts down into the shaft I can control the two 209 volt motors. I also installed an electric caliper brake on the hoist and swapped the elevator motor for a 3 phase brake motor. All that electrical stuff is a challenge for me but I’ve been able to get it all straight. I’ll try to send a photo soon.
I’m looking forward to an exciting and productive mining season especially now that I have a young, strong friend working with me. Much safer too! Ya’ll be safe too

[waveaction]

Loved the information. I was wondering how your Summer went last year.

[Slatco]

Ya, would love some photos. What you are doing is old school but proving to be productive.

[Flintgreasewood]

The only actual mining we did was the tailings work which amounted to about 100 yds. Hope photos go through. Looks like one might not make it

[easy goer]

Flint

What type of tailings are you running? Before any smart asses weigh in I know they are tailings from previous mining activities.
I have tons of tailings left over from bucket line dredging from the early to mid 1900's on a river in a the middle of nowhere.
If I am able to process previous tailings and at least pay for gas while getting to bedrock that would be helpful to say the least.

Easygoer

[Geowizard]

I ain't Flint;

Having been there and seen the "pile"...

They aren't tailings.

Tailings are the END product of the GOLD recovery process. Technically, there is NO GOLD that remains within the realm of economic recovery. Yep, we are smarter and more efficient and have designed a better sluice box. Yep!

Drift mining is done at the BOTTOM of a VERTICAL SHAFT. That's what the winch is for! Every pound of (hopefully) PAY dirt is winched up from the BOTTOM of the hole.

100 yards of tailings. I ran that much in two hours.

After having mined "tailings" for the past 10 years, I can save you the next ten years trying to prove me wrong. There is NO net profit mining tailings.

- Geowizard

[Geowizard]

Old school;

A previous post inferred by association that drift mining / shaft sinking may fall under "old school".

The REALITY of GOLD mining today is that the surface GOLD has been discovered and mined to and in many cases beyond the extent that is economically practical.

What's left;

The LODE sources of placer GOLD deposits have been sought after from the beginning. Many of those lode deposits have been discovered and mined until the GOLD was exhausted. There are miners that can defy gravity and through much extended cost of time and labor recover marginal to sub economic GOLD. What is left are thousands of undiscovered LODE GOLD deposits and a few hidden Placer GOLD deposits.

LODE GOLD deposits require a HOLE;

DEEP Placer GOLD;

Deep placer deposits occur on deep bedrock. Usually the result of ancient channel erosion that cut into relatively soft rock. There are physical limits on the depth of excavation in alluvium. The depth is dictated by the angle of natural repose.

It isn't old school. It's the NEW paradigm in GOLD mining!

- Geowizard

[Jim_Alaska]

I think we need to define terminology better. Lode is NOT placer and placer is NOT lode. Two entirely different terms and deposits.