Reading an "Old Timer's" Workings

[Wantmoregold]

G'day forum,

I have been wondering when an "old timer" prospector digs a trench chasing a "lead of gold" out on "flatter ground" would he throw the contents of the trench out on the side of his trench that he would assume to be the down stream side, therefore indicating to me what he thought was the direction of flow across the ground?

Brian.

 

[dave wiseman]

Are you talking about following a quartz vein?One would dump the waste and/or wall rock on the side or downhill and sample the vein as you go in or down.If your samples still throw gold,follow wherever it goes,down,up in,back etc.Can't quite get the drift of your??? Dave

 

[bris dave]

You are not to clear in your question, but I think I get the gist of it.

An old timer would be looking for leaders/reefs by taking soil samples and dishing them. When he found some colours he typically would start trenching uphill, still sampling and dishing until the coulour stopped.
He would then be very close to the source and would spend more time trying to find the quartz vein which held the gold.
Watch out for these holes and follow them uphill. Detect as you go in on the line of the trenches and detect the holes and throw outs.

Last yera I found a small leader by detecting a piece on a slope then zigzaggeg uphill, detecting bits as I went until I located the source.
At some stage this year I will push some dirt off it and see if it is worthwile pursuing.
The old fellas didnt find this leader, but there were a few small hard rock shows and indications of prospecting trenches all over the place.

Gold from these primary sources will run directly downhill under gravity in pretty much a straight line but will fan out a little with distance from the source.

I hope that helps.

 

[Wantmoregold]

Thanks Daves, and gold was detected exactly as you say "bris dave" in the line of some trenches in my example below when the oldtimer's used trenching to trace a lead up hill. This example was with "old timers" potholes peppering a gully until they ended, than a long shallow trench around the base of a hill with further potholes at a certain point above the long trench with extensive trenching higher up the slope in a criss cross formation. Further trenching and potholes then occurred on top of the hill before a shaft being sunk.

Now fellas what I am trying to explain is when the old timer's were trying to trace the direction that gold might have come from when they were sampling on "FLAT GROUND" away from hills. That is, can the you tell by the direction they cut a short shallow trench and the side they dragged the throw outs onto as a guide to which way they thought the gold came from as detectable gold was found on this "Flat Ground".

Hope I have explained myself more clearly.

 

[bris dave]

OK.
I would be looking at the way the trenches were cut. See if there is a pattern to them on the flat ground.
The direction they will be looking will be at right angles to the line of the trench.
The flat ground you have now is likely as not to have been hilly several hundred of thousand years ago. Prospectors are now possibly looking for the location of old stream beds. I fancy looking for old washstone on the throw outs to be a good idea.

 

[Wantmoregold]

bris dave,

Thanks mate for the advice.

Cheers.