Colorado -- I am Going Dredging Today! 12 August 2018

Hey Gold Adventurers...

SO tired of re-staining on my house...……...and about 98% done now after on/off effort for 2+ weeks, SO...…….

………...I am going dredging today with a buddy, Miner Matt, on the Arkansas River.

Plan to dredge on a friend's claim, hit a big gravel bar in the middle of the riverbed that's sample panned up some O.K. looking color.

I am going to use my big 4 inch Keene and see how much material I can move. Hope to find some good gold. Only time and "hard fun" will tell...

I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Plan to spend 3 or 4 days on the Ark. I'll move to a secondary spot on a low bench I've ID'd if the bar is a bust.

Randy C-17A

Good luck and have lots of hard fun.

Dickb

Dickb,

Well, a LONG overdue update...

My buddy Miner Matt and I hit this big in river cobble/gravel bar hard for 4 1/2 days... 12, 13, 14, 15 and half of 16 August.

Got 7.75 grams total. Did about 13 total hours of nozzle time to get it....so, not great. BUT, wasn't skunked either!

Randy C-17A

Hi Randy:

Always a good time when you can bring back some color for your efforts. I bet the water was cold and running fast at that time of the summer. It's good to see you and Matt getting out for some nozzle time for sure. That 1 oz nugget is still out there waiting for you to find it. :-). Good luck and keep looking.

Dickb

Dickb,

Yep....was a lot of fun...

Then, later my claim owing buddy came out from Oklahoma first couple weeks of September. He played around on one claim for about 4 or 5 days, not getting much no matter where he moved...

I suggested we move over to another of his claims and go Gold Cubing for a day. Think we got about 2 grams that day, probably more than all 5 previous days...

We then sample panned around that area and found some good color showing up in sample pans of old time Cache Creek gravels with dark clay. SO, I brought out my little 2 1/2 inch Keene and we suction dredged that area doe 3 days:

Day 1 -- 4 hours and 4.13 grams

Day 2 -- 4 hours and 1.13 grams.

Day 3 -- 6 hours and the cons yet to be panned out. BUT, his Gold Cube cleanup of the cons that day looked REAL good.

Here's a YouTube video of his Cubing, FYI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucUq7LGcHA0&t=263s

Most impressive, so I think it will be even better than Day 1!

Still waiting for the final number.....as John's still panning those cons.

Randy C-17A

Randy what you need is a heater from Action Mining to install on your 4 inch dredge so you can take advantage of the low water conditions in the Winter. I'd bet you would get good gold ! BUT who am I ?? I don't even own ANY dredges or equipment anymore !

Russ,

Ha. Well..............I have considered it...

BUT, I can tell you come real winter, the banks are so frozen, ice built up from the banks out, sometimes totally over the river...

Oh, the water is like 32.1F too...

IF there were big nuggets and ounces. Maybe. But nano specks & flakes and grams at best. Probably not.

Randy C-17A

Russ,

Update on the heater thing...

I went sample panning over on the Ark on Friday, 9 November and I can tell you that water is ICE cold!

I had to bust 2 inches of an ice sheet just to pan a couple pans and it was SO cold my hands & fingers got numb after a few pans...

SO, a water heater would have to work, really, Really, REALLY well to keep a person happy, warm, comfortable in that ICE cold water.

With the banks and bars and benches literally concrete now too, frozen solid, not much sense getting a heater unit and TRYING to dredge in the snow and ice...

IF we had nuggets, really good gold...………..maybe. We don't.

I'll just wait until Spring, then get back to prospecting business!

Randy C-17A

Action Mining has what you need. I really thought of buying one from them BUT I sold all my equipment because I'm just to beat up to do this anymore ! AND I HATE NOT GOING DREDGING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!