At Gold Basin until Thursday

[Chrisman91]

well, I finally made it to gold basin. We are out here until thursday afternoon, or thursday evening. Would somebody out there be kind enough to tell us what we should look for that might carry gold? Type of rock, soil, etc.? Not asking for exact gold locations, just would like to know what signs go look for. Thanks in advance to anyone who answers.

[nuggethunting]

Hey Chris,

The Basin is a big area, many major drainages along with hundreds of smaller ones. A lot of gold has been recovered out of the drainages and slopes leading into them. Many patches have also been found on top of the flats between washes. As for signs, most of the typical stuff you might look for in other areas could help. I would look for rotten quartz, stained soils (iron rich), ironstones, evidence of old placers and prospects. Hunting around these areas might give you the best chance, but no guarantee.

As for meteorites, you can find them just about anywhere. Dont toss anything assuming it's a "hotrock" until you examine it more closely.

Hopefully some others will chime in. I personally haven't been to the Basin in some time.

Rob Allison

[rexb]

The desert trumpet plant? http://www.delange.org/DesertTrumpet/DesertTrumpet.htm

I've only been to Gold Basin once though

[Roger]

Rob its nice of you to help Chris out even tho is has been awhile since you been there it still help to have general info

what does a desert trumpet plant have to do with gold being there is it the soil it grows in

I find it is getting harder to get help with info as the price keeps going up

no one wants to give up alot of info

Rob have talked or forumed with you since winter how is your hand doing? back to work? I see you are showing nuggies once and awhile so I know the hand is work enough to MD

you done with therapy

you might have said something on another subject but have not see it thought I'd ask

Roger

[nuggethunting]

Hey Roger,

I do my best to help when I can. If I knew more about Gold Basin I would share, but it's been years since I have nugget hunted up there. The last couple of times were strickly hunting for meteorites.

I have mixed feeling on the Trumpet Plants. Without a doubt they grow in iron rich soils and have seen them around when I have found gold. That being said, I couldn't count how many times I have found nuggets and never seen a Trumpet Plant in the area.

My wrist is doing much better. I have complete all the therapy some time ago. I have good and bad days with it, sometimes it's very sore, others days I don't even notice it.

P.S. Is this Roger from the Lake Havasu area?

Talk with you later,

Rob Allison

[Roger]

No this is Roger from WI and Congress AZ north Ranch in the winter

never met just know you from here and that you are at Stanton area alot and have a small operation claim around there with partners

and that you really screwed up your hand BIG time

I offered to trade you my rare left handed gp3000 for a gpx5000 I was loosing money on the deal but hey what are friends for

Roger

[nuggethunting]

Hey Roger,

Yep, I don't think we have met before.

I did break my wrist awhile back when a 6,000 pound wire reel broke away from the stand and snapped my wrist. Pretty good break, but it's all healed now with the help of a metal plate and screws.

I think I remember talking with you about the GP3000, but at that time I had too many used PI's in stock.

I have new GPX 5000's in stock if you're interested in one.

Curious if there are a lot of prospectors staying in North Ranch during the Winter season?

Talk with you later,

Rob Allison

[Roger]

The people that own park model and homes there are older but in good shape and some do prospecting

then you have the campground and some campers do prospecting

I would guess alot more dont than do

I dont have the $ for a 5000 thats why when you only had the left hand to swing with I offered you my very very rare left handed 3000

now that your right hand is back in service I think I will keep my 3000 lefty blue book has it as a collectors item worth 10 grand thats why I was making you such a good deal when you were broke

no just giving was trying to make you smile when your screws were new yet are you back to work look for falling reels

any more steel there goes MDing

Roger

[clay]

Hi Chris,

We did a lot of research on Gold Basin and Lost Basin when we made that FootPrint. I'll share what I know but it sounds like my reply might be too late to help on this trip.

Gold Basin and Lost Basin have different geology and different gold sources so for now I will concentrate on Gold Basin.

Most of the surface of Gold Basin is covered with Holocene gravels. These are relatively recent deposits and they do not contribute any gold. Underlaying these Holocene gravels are older Quaternary gravels. These gravels are the source of the Gold Basin placer deposits.

The older Quaternary gravels are loosely sorted fanglomerates that contain detrital gold. When these older gravels are exposed by erosion the gold they contain can concentrate in small placers that often appear to be situated in the more recent Holocene gravels. As such the Gold Basin placers are secondary deposits with no obvious hardrock source.

There are areas that the Quaternary gold bearing gravels  are not covered by the later Holocene gravels. Often these gravels are the source of detectable nuggets. Being unsorted there will be no obvious placer deposit although some areas will be more productive than others. This is where Rob's advice about rotten quartz etc. will come in handy. Heavier materials, including gold, tend to accumulate in certain areas even in those loosely sorted fanglomerates.

I'm not a big fan of the trumpet plant theory. They do grow in highly mineralized soils but they also tend to favor disturbed areas. If trumpet plants pointed to gold the shoulders of HWY 89 between HWY 60 and Congress should have the richest gold deposits in the State. That being said there is a subtle yet definite difference in the ground cover on the Holocene and Quaternary gravels in Gold Basin. This is best seen from the air.

A lot of the geology we show on the Gold Basin FootPrint was assembled from three major geological reports. USGS Open File Report 75-93, USGS Professional Paper 1361 and USGS Bulletin 397. These will explain just where the different gravels are exposed. We put all that information on our map as well as the historical placer production areas. Combine that information with our simulated flood models and it becomes obvious how and where the placer deposits formed.

I'm guessing all that information amounts to a lot of hoo haw since you are actually on the ground right now so I'll try to condense some of that info into something usable for you:

Here are the areas in Gold Basin with proven historical placer production:

White Elephant Wash 29N 18W Sections 20, 28 and 29.

29N 18W Section 1

29N 17W Section 6

30N 17W Section 31

Not all of these are accessible now:

29N 17W Section 6 is part of the Lake Mead NRA

30N 17W Section 31, 29N 18W Section 1 and 29N 18W Section 29 are private property.

Most of the other proven areas are claimed. The Bahde GPAA claims in White Elephant Wash are your easiest targets. This area is pretty well worked over but good nuggets are still found there. Bunk found a nice sun baker near there just last year.

When you are ready for BIG gold you might want to consider Lost Basin. Much higher historical production figures and large multi ounce nuggets still being found.

Hope that helped?

Good Luck and Good Gold to you Chris

[oldies1955]

Wow Clay:

Im not up at Gold basin, but that was sure nice of you to

put so much info up on a post!

Tom H.

[Roger]

WOW CLAY

I dont know what you were talking about but it sure sounds impressive

you da man

if your footprints is anything like what you just said it must be good

you should make a video about this stuff but with pictures so us bumkins have a chance

sure looks easier on the MDIng dvd just walk the washes,slopes and buy the latest and greatest and you got gold

Tom Massie does not even bring a pick MDing just a plastic scoop

look are disceiving

I'll keep listening and asking questions

thanks all

Roger

[Roger]

Clay

whats in your newdiggins newsletters

does it have pictures I like pictures

what does it cost

Roger

you can pm me with the info if you want

[clay]

Hi Roger,

The newsletter is free.

Unlike most newsletters we don't send them out unless we have something we want to share. We mostly just tell subscribers what we have been making and what we plan on making. We make lots of free stuff for prospectors as well as our maps for sale. The newsletters give subscribers advance notice of our FootPrint updates and releases as well as providing links to new articles, research papers and free maps.

There are no pictures in our newsletter Roger

But our maps are full of "pictures".  

[tundra]

Hola

Can anybody tel me what lost basin Clay is talking about?????????????//

Rodd

[clay]

Hi Rodd,

Lost Basin is the valley to the east of Gold Basin. Meadview is located at the northern end of the basin.

[nuggethunting]

Hey Guys,

Clay diggins is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to research and mapping. The Footprints have been a huge hit over the years and I'm proud to be one of the first, if not first dealer to ever carry them. Most think the Footprints are just for claims, but that is not the case. There is much more information such as Geology, Hydrogeology, historical placers and mines and much more.

Hope you're doing well Clay diggins.

Rob Allison

[Roger]

Just order the Stanton / Richhill footprints from Rob's

and signed up for Clay's newsletter

excited to see it

Roger

[nuggethunting]

Hey Roger,

Sent you a PM back. Thanks for the order, we will get it shipped later today.

You will enjoy the Footprint DVD, we sell a bunch of them.

Talk with u later.

[Chrisman91]

Clay......sent you a PM. I was taken aback by your post. THANK YOU for the response.

Rob, as always, you are Johnny-on-the-spot with info, help, and advice. Even when I get frustrated to the point of quitting you have a way of talking me into sticking with it and cooling my jets. As I have told you before, there is not one time that I have ever regretted spending my money with you. I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for me.

Though the trip was unproductive when it comes to the gold, we had a blast up until the very last minute when we had a blowout and I had to put our spare on...to realize that the spare tire on the truck has less tread on it than the bottom of my sneakers; LITERALLY! We spent two hours at the tire shop in Dolan Springs while the guy put 7 patches in it, along with a strip of inner-tube and $30 later we were on our way. Got about 35 miles away at Frank C's place and the patch job blew out. So the spare went back on. I did happen to find a meteorite fragment for the very first time. Frank C was a HUGE help in verifying my find and showing us what to look for when it comes to the Gold Basin meteorites and how to identify them with a loupe.

It was fun, but I am glad to be home.

[DolanDave]

Good to see you made it back Chris. Frank is an awesome guy, with tons of experience. I need to pick his brain sometime.

Dave

[Chrisman91]

Good to see you made it back Chris. Frank is an awesome guy, with tons of experience. I need to pick his brain sometime.

Dave

Dave, thank you. It is really good to be back. I wish I could have met up with you as well on this trip, but I totally understand what you mean about the heat. It was a killer out there. Wednesday afternnon at 2:37 the outside thermometer on my truck said it was 107 degrees. Felt more like 170...lol. Hopefully when we get back out there later this year we can meet up.

[clay]

Just order the Stanton / Richhill footprints from Rob's

and signed up for Clay's newsletter

excited to see it

Roger

Enjoy your FootPrint Roger!

Don't forget to register your FootPrint. That Rich Hill map comes with a recent claims update as well as a patent survey map update for registered users. There is also a nice upgrade for the aerial photos available to all users.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact us. Support is free. We want you to get real value from your FootPrint.

No one is required to register their FootPrint program and we don't share or sell your information if you do register but you can only get the free custom updates if you are registered.

[clay]

Hey Guys,

   Clay diggins is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to research and mapping.  The Footprints have been a huge hit over the years and I'm proud to be one of the first, if not first dealer to ever carry them.  Most think the Footprints are just for claims, but that is not the case.  There is much more information such as Geology, Hydrogeology, historical placers and mines and much more.

Hope you're doing well Clay diggins.

Rob Allison

You were the one retailer that gave FootPrints an honest chance in the beginning Rob. You gave us a chance when no one else would take the time. It is entirely possible that if you didn't have the foresight to try something very new FootPrints would be no more than a memory to just Ruby and I. We thank you for that and for all you do for the prospecting community.

We are both well. We've got all our wrists intact.

We have been enjoying our summer in the Gila. Besides Gold and some interesting copper discoveries we have found some really beautiful and rare mineral specimens. I'm hoping to find some torbernite next week and we have plans to detect a virtually untouched placer we've found once these fires cool off in a month or two.  I'll try to get some pics up later this month.

[rhino]

wow clay

lots of super information...thankyou

just want to add that lost basin has lots of private property - stay clear- and i would presume that most of the blm areas are claimed up,

there are club claims gpaa , gssn , and mojave prospectors .

oh and frank c , is a crazzy old fart """" lmfao

chris coffe glad you had a good time , the basin is one of my favorite spots,

maybe see ya out there some time

[clay]

Hi Rhino, you are welcome.

You are right about the private land. In both Gold Basin and Lost Basin every other section is private land. The other sections are managed by the BLM.

All that private land was part of the railroad grants. Funny how they never built a railroad.

You are right about frank c too...