T-Bone's Big Nugget


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  • 3 weeks later...

Yo Rob & All ... I hunted the "Johnson Flat" placers a long time ago and also went up with my Keene 151 drywasher and shoveled in from some of the pushed piles ... Unfortunately, it all was trash city ... I may try it again, just beepin' ...That's some high strange country up there ... Heard tell there's the site of a bad ass Indian battle in that spot ... Perhaps one just finds "bloody" nuggets on that flat???? Cheers, Unc

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  • 3 weeks later...

It may not be widely known the greater area around the Eugene Mountains has yeilded

"a large amount" of placer gold by those drywashing and nugget hunting....

I define this greater area as including Blue Mountain, Kamma Moutains, Seven Troughs

Range, Trinity Range, Humboldt Range, East Range and the Stillwater Range.

However, this is just a short list; as I could also add both the Hot Springs and Santa Rosa

Ranges to the north. Heck... I could include most of Pershing and Humboldt counties.Either

county could keep anyone busy using a metal detector to successfully find both placer gold

and electum. Also, the "cheveon" gold is not limited to the Majuba placers (Hey, I did not

mention Majuba Mountain specifically in my short list)... the Majuba placers are better known

as Ryepatch... but be careful as the real Ryepatch is across the valley and as I understand(?)

it may be being drilled as a possible Carlin-type gold deposit.

Now to get to the point of all of the above "verbatim," it is to bring to everyones attention

that Terry "T" Bone just knew where to best hunt for gold in the yet to be pounded areas

within the above short list. Being first is everything... Especially if you are first to use a

metal detector to seek for possible placer gold associated with a now idle and considered

"worked' out precious metal ore deposit... Many of the earlier rich epithermal gold placers

in this "'neck' of the woods" are now being drilled and found to be Carlin-type at depth. But

there are many small and overlooked epithermal precious metal ore deposits out there.

The Great Basin Provence of Nevada and the Mojave Desert are known as being rich in

epithermal deposits that were worked out and now being found to overly a Carlin-Type gold

deposit. A good example of this is the "Geology of the Carlin Gold Deposit, Nevada."

(USGS PP 1287, 1985)

Just to give a heads up, I wrote short article "Ellie and the boulder of gold." It was published

in the Augusr 2012 Western & Eastern Treasures. The "Ellendale" is just one example of

of a once overlooked small epithermal precious metal deposit... There are many more out

there and still overlooked... This is the value of going out into the "hinderwhere" and seeking

a still overlooked placer deposit or a large chunk of rich "specie." This is just what Terry did.

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  • 2 years later...

Wow Guys you all have Great memories ! When reading all the stories, makes me wish I had the opportunity to meet or know all of you. I wish I was around the early 90's or so while alot of the things you all spoke of were happening. During this time I was doing my time for Uncle Sam. When you all speak and tell the stories makes me wish I was around. Your stories good ,bad and otherwise are a Great projection of the Great friends and detectorist you have all become. I hope sometime in the near future I have the luck and chance to meet or run into all of you out in the field. Those that I know now is Rob and Dennis, whom to me are a couple of outstanding guys that will help you at moments notice. God Bless. Member :My1spooky /Ralph Lowrey

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Very good thread. I love the stories that have been posted here. I had the pleasure to meet jim malone when we just started detecting in 1996 I believe. He wore a huge gold nugget around his neck. Him and his partner stopped and talked with my dad and i while detecting out at majuba. Very cool guy. Never met T-bone but sure wish I could have.

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Bump... Jim Straight here aka Dutch John

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  • 2 years later...
  • Admin

Hey Guys,

   I bumped this thread as I just got off a long talk with T-Bone's Daughter.  She called me tonight and told me a lot of information on her Father.  She is searching for information and pictures of her Father and even of the 27 ounce gold nugget.  Any pictures you might have, or know someone, please let me know.   

She is also looking to find the original article about the nugget.  I told her I couldn't remember what magazine it was in, but would search ICMJ, GPAA, Western Treasure and Lost Treasure to see if I could find it.  Anyone know off hand or would happen to have a copy of this article I would love to get a copy to give to her. 

Thanks for all the information in advance. 

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WOW! What treasure trove from all you guys. I know I missed an exciting era in the hunt for gold ... I got into it part time in 2003 and more or less full time in 2011 when I moved from NH to AZ. I'm hoping that more good times stories will be read and enjoyed by the next generation as those of us doing it now past to the gold fields in the next world. No ... I'm not announcing my impeding demise ... Too much to do before I do that! LOL! Anyway I read the entire thread with great interest and admiration for what has transpired and especially that characters involved! A great read and well worth being read by all prospectors and wanna bees!

Mike F

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This is the kind of history that makes the books and lives on forever! My heart goes out to your late friend T-BONE.

Those truly are the types of friends that you count on one hand.

-The only way you will know if you can trust someone, is to trust them-

 

 

 

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  • Admin

Hey AZ-sourdough,

  I agree with you 100%.  Glad to see you on the forums.  I was hoping to find some more pictures on T-Bone, but I don't have much of my pictures from back in the early 90's when I hunted up around Northern Nevada.  Now with a family & business, it makes it very difficult to break away for more than a few days.  

If anyone has any stories, pictures or articles about Terry T-Bone I would love to pass them on to his Daughter.  Thanks! 

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  • 1 month later...

Great story, thanks for sharing, ironically one of the flats I got on my trailer this summer was on jungo road and I pulled down a side road to put the spare on... continued down that road to turn around my long trailer and ended up on that very train crossing... very sad.

On a side note: I speak from experience when I say the north end of the Eugene's are still giving up the occasional big gold.

RIP Prospector....

Jennifer

Whoever said the GPZ doesn't make you dig big dig holes hasn't used one.....

gpz-horseshoe bend 300.jpg

Edited by jjbond
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  • 3 months later...

There was a story going around after T Bone passed that the railroad guys found a pill bottle 3/4 full of nuggets when they where cleaning up the debris.    We spent a lot of time out  in the Eugene Mt.s   Most of my old friends Dr. Bob, Jimmy, Ronny D, Dick Baily and someone just told me that Smokey passed away.   

I still have a load claim out there but it's not the same.

Bob

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Bob, it wouldn't surprise me in the least that Terry had a goodly quantity of gold on him when he passed. He was in the habit of holding onto to the week's finds and then selling them to a buyer who met him for breakfast at a café in Wickenburg. Man, I still miss Terry's Southern drawl cheerfully saying "Mornin' Gee-Um." He was well liked, and a mentor to many of us. HH Jim

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  • Admin

Hey Jim,

   Ya, he was very liked and a mentor to many electronic prospectors across the Western US.  I still remember him coming into Arizona Al's prospecting store when it was on 43rd and Northern and showing the briefcase of Northern Nevada gold.  It about blew my mind the stuff he was finding.  This was around the time period where he hit the big one up there.  

I think for many, many years to come guys will think about him, especially when they are up in the Northern Nevada area.  

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