Winter forecast... snow???

          We’re experiencing a little winter here with daily snow and temps ranging in the 30s (F).  We’re hearing that several feet of snow has fallen in the Hills, but we only have a 2-3 inch covering here in the foothills.

          The forecast is iffy... storm warnings for tonight, with snow depths anywhere from a few inches to a few feet!

         We talked with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) this week, and heard that our Notice of Intent on the Friday Gulch placer project has been received.  They haven’t looked at it thoroughly yet, so no progress report there.

          This is an important phase of the permitting process.  We will learn from this application whether there are any special, exceptional, critical or unique lands impacted by our mining plan.  Fingers and toes crossed… this has a lot of impact on the time frame for the permitting process!

          We want to take a moment to applaud Roberta Hudson of DENR, who is handling our applications.  She works very hard to establish and maintain a good working relationship.  Our Iron Creek placer project is still in the permitting process and the phone call regarded steps she is taking to assist in acquiring information to complete the permit. 

          Equipment is the other priority.  We’ve already adjusted the Iron Creek permit to reflect use of a trommel and/or shaker screen. There’s a possibility we (partners) have acquired a 50-ton per hour shaker screen.  The other option is to build one.  It needs to be portable enough to transport on a car trailer.  This is going to allow us to determine the most efficient means of processing gravels: trommel or shaker screen!  It is intended for the Friday Gulch project, but will ultimately determine which application to use on both projects.  It could result in a combination of both!

We’re going to lecture a little here on riffles, which seems to be an on-going discussion/argument regarding placer mining.  Expanded metal works great…. but how long does it take expanded metal to bind up and slough off the gold?  It could be minutes depending on material! That is why it is critical to have riffles in the sluice box to help avoid compaction with a larger vortex.  Expanded metal is only going to hold flour gold long term… larger stuff eventually just washes out!

In an operation where loader buckets are being processed as opposed to 5-gallon buckets, you can fully justify the relatively small expense of installing riffles by comparing to a full-time paid laborer on the sluice! Riffles are both a time and money saver.

Additional equipment in the works are a backhoe, a water truck and tanks, 25 feet of sluice, generators… just to name a few items!

I digress a little… several inquiries this week about Sunset Valley and claims for sale.  Please email us if you have doubts about their listed properties! I finally went to look at their Blue Moon properties near Jewel Cave which I had read so much controversy about in various discussion groups. Bob’s first reaction was, “You can’t claim a cave!”  They’ve got that covered… they call them limestone lodes and list a variety of minerals.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t really explain the emphasis on proximity to Jewel Cave (tourist attraction potential?) or the price tag attached!

But we thought, tongue in cheek, we’d offer to find you a natural cave entrance for a mere fraction of the price listed -- there’s only several thousand available! Let’s see, we don’t really even have to find one; there’s natural caves entrances on some of our existing claims. One even looks as if a mountain lion hangs out there; we don’t suggest exploration of that one!  Sorry, Teresa’s sense of humor goes south with the winter months.

So as the wind howls and the snow piles up, we’re doin’ what we’re doin’, getting ready for a summer of mining!

Road trip… Southern Hills!

          Every once in a while a plan falls together… this weekend was one of those times and we never fail to take advantage of opportunity!



Forgot to baby-proof Zia's ahir!



          We had word from one of our kids that they would be visiting over the weekend.  We had previously planned a trip to the Custer area, now it was a matter of making the plan work.  We spent Friday doing our best to “baby-proof”, knowing our 8-month-old grandson Rylee was now mobile! We got a call from them Saturday morning that said they would take off after work and arrive here late that night.

          I said I guess I could do some more cleaning or… we could head for Custer!  Guess you know how Bob answered that one.

          We haven’t been down toward Custer exploring for a season or two, but we knew what we were looking for… bench gravels hopefully exposed with minimal snow cover.

          There’s always surprises though… more development in the Custer area; more “red tops”; lots of logging trucks hauling timber; and a very small mining operation obviously shut down for the winter but pretty much ready to go with nice weather!

          Now when we head for a specific area like we did, we often get distracted by the site of old placer or lode workings.  This particular time we found both… one area clearly claimed as a placer, but also an abandoned pegmatite mine that will need further exploration.  We’ll go into what we look for in pegmatite mines one of these days!

          Creeks were looking dangerous, with water running through and under ice.  What snow cover we encountered was firm enough to walk, so that made hiking around a lot easier.  We actually were able to drive over a really shallow creek that with moderate temps had thawed and re-froze into an ice plain.

          What we found shouldn’t surprise us anymore, but it does!  Several areas that visually looked very promising turned out to be open for claims when we returned home to research!  We also posted a new claim, which is always an exciting event!

          We returned home via the Rochford route, checking out Mystic claims as we passed through that area.

          We may return to this area yet this week, as the weather man is telling us we have a cold snap headed this way!

         

What to do?

What would you do?

There’s a popular TV series which poses scenarios and films reactions to test people in situations which should incite political correctness, well knowing that humans often “overlook“ what should be done and choose to show indifference.

We though it would be fun to share some scenarios regarding prospecting protocol and how people overlook so much of what should be done and choose to ignore or feign indifference.

Locating a mining claim is a dream for many and a task often performed with little research or care for what the law outlines as a necessity. We often pull locations certificates for research and find them lacking not only the required information but not meeting physical (on-site) requirements.

What would you do?

Federal law states: STAKING A CLAIM--Federal law specifies that claim boundaries must be distinctly and clearly marked to be readily identifiable. (Argument 1: We have direct feedback from Bureau of Land Management that many location certificates do not define corner and side markers; and we know from experience they are not often visible on the claim itself). Most states have statutes and regulations concerning the actual staking and recording of mining claims so claimants should refer to the appropriate state agency for additional requirements before locating a claim.

Prior to locating a claim, a prospector should check BLM records for prior recorded claims (Argument 2: The overwhelming evidence using BLM LR2000 shows a lot of overstaking, most of it on well established claims). Ultimately, the prospector must check for prior existing claim markings on the ground (as addressed in Argument 1).

Departmental decisions require a discovery on each claim, based on actual physical exposure of the valuable mineral within the claim boundaries. (Also, each 10 acres on a placer claim, after a discovery, must be mineral in character). (Argument 3: So you can‘t just locate a claim anywhere! Also, if for instance Sunset Valley Mining Co. staked an 80-acre claim and is selling it by 10-acre lots, legally they have to have proved discovery on each 10 acres., not just the original discovery. Wonder if that has happened?)

So what would you do? We’ve talked this over time and time again. There are literally hundreds of claim locations in the Black Hills which do not even come close to meeting federal guidelines not to mention state requirements.

The law does, however, protect those ignorant of the criteria in that “good faith effort” is recognized, meaning for instance that you put in monuments but grazing cattle, a snowmobile or a vandal destroyed it.
It seems to us that good faith is used as an excuse a lot around here… if you can find no sign of a monument; if there is no visible paper anywhere on the claim; if the location posted misrepresents the area in which it is posted… there’s a lot of “iffy” claims out there.

So back to our discussion. These claims are technically invalid. The catch is you may have to prove it in a court of law.

What would you do?

partners...

Many of the inquiries we get about claims are asking for large claims… up to eight locators are allowed on a placer location. At 20 acres per locator, a claim can take in up to 160 acres.

We have claims we’ve located with friends/partners, and we have claims we’ve used just Bob’s and my name.

Here’s what we’ve learned. A friend, just like in a workplace situation, can become either a better friend or foe very quickly when it comes to gold!

One of Bob’s earliest partners taught him much about prospecting, staking claims, etc. They had a few differences of opinion and Bob located his own claims to avoid dispute.

About then Bob and I “partnered” up and we’ve managed to keep it pretty civil J !

Throughout the years since, we’ve sworn many times to NOT take in partners, but often the necessity of a larger claim means either bringing in partners or forfeiting a chunk of really good mineral ground to someone else’s location.

Probably the most irritating aspect of sharing a claim is not your fellow locator, but the “friends” they bring with them! I don’t know how many times Bob and I have started a promising dig, returning to find it gutted by friends and friends-of-friends!

Beware… if you find gold they will jump right in there!

I have my own idea of how a dig should develop. Once we find a promising spot by test pan, I try to clear as much overburden as I can to expose gravel layers. I’ve learned very quickly not to expose any more than I’m going to work that day. One friend-of-a-friend shadowed us to a good find. Several days later they had taken out about 3-4 yards of material!

So I learned that lesson -- expose only what you are going to work that day. Pile the overburden away from anticipated direction of digging. You’d be surprised how often I’ve had to remove someone else’s overburden piled in front of pay dirt!

Mark your hole in a way which will allow you to recognize new disturbance. Strategically arranged rocks will let you know immediately if someone else has been digging there. It doesn’t hurt to slough a little overburden in on top of the rocks. It will camouflage your digging and when you clean back to the rocks you placed, you know you’re back in “the zone.” Also, if someone test pans the overburden you knocked into the digging, they’ll probably get zip and go away!

Another lesson to learn: Alert fellow claimholders from Day One -- DO NOT dig in my diggings! It will save a lot of grief!

Probably most irksome to me personally is to return to a digging and find the pay zone gutted from underneath with a shovel, six feet of overburden collapsing into the pit! You probably don’t want to be ANY WHERE near when I discover this!

Pick your partners carefully. If you operate independently, set some ground rules right up front. It’s probably most prudent to designate portions of the claim to each locator. Gold may not be magnetic, but it does magnify the worst character traits in a friend or partner!

Let’s see… we’ve lost a nice nugget when a friend tripped over the pan (accident?) and later saw that nugget displayed by the friend thinking we wouldn‘t recognize it. Must have tripped right into his boot! We’ve had digs gutted and left to cave in multiple times; had digs cut to within inches of a flowing creek which we had to reclaim to avoid diverting the creek; failure to expend labor for assessment; failure to help establish monuments and maintain paperwork… the list goes on!

Choose carefully… a friendship might not be worth it’s weight in gold!　

First time out!

Patricia, an email and website friend, was reluctant to guest blog but allowed me to edit parts of her emails for publishing… I like the way she tells a story and hope you will enjoy!

How naive I was when I look back and how I thought like so many that you dip a pan in the creek, slosh it around a little bit and expect that pan to be filled with shiny nuggets!

My first experience was more like this: A friend of mine had two rusty older pans and we decided to pick a creek this past summer and dip in! Well, fall in was more like it as I kept slipping on mossy rocks trying not to get wet! I gave up since I was soaking and sat down on a large wet rock in the middle of the creek and proceeded to dip my pan in the creek on the downstream side of the rock. Each time I did, the pan went "clonk" as I was hitting large golf ball size gravel, not the soft sand I thought I'd be scooping up with gold in it.

Lesson one learned: this was not going to be as easy as I thought, and probably a lot of other newcomers have found this out also.

It was good that it was a warm day, as I was now pretty much soaked up to my waist hopping from rock to rock, so I just waded in. (hencethe waders as a Christmas present from my sons).

We finally got down to some finer gravel sand and proceeded to pan away for a couple hours. I have to wonder now how much I washed away not really knowing what I was doing.

So off to the library to check out every book they had on Black Hills gold, and cruised the internet and youtube for "how to’s" on panning and placer mining. That’s when I discovered the creeks may have some gold, but better yet to find out what gravel benches and old diggings look like and try that out!

Finding available unclaimed places to dig/pan was not easy, so when you offered to lease the Tallent, I was ecstatic. The Tallent has so many unusual features with the cut /old diggings/gravel benches, so much to actually see and learn first hand about what I was reading!

I have to wonder how many people who stake claims actually realize how much work is involved in finding a claim let alone working one? For me the work is enjoyable, the locating part frustrating. Still have a lot to learn, and I have been grateful for your help by email, and the info in your blogs. --ttyl, Pat

Pat added this when I sent her a copy to look at…

I know that in finding you and Bob on the web was truly amazing. Not only are you both incredibly knowledgable but your willingness to share what you know with every one and being so supportive in the search for a claim of one’s own is amazing and seldom found in a world where people seem so self centered. I enjoy reading your blogs not only for the knowledge you two impart, but because of the enjoyment you both seem to get in sharing what you know with others as well as really enjoying helping others find a claim! I know a few of us who have tried to find one on our own have found the maze of information to finding and filing a claim frustrating and almost impossible and it wouldn't have been possible for me and others to find one without your help. You and Bob understand men & women who truly enjoy prospecting with their friends and families, and sharing and encouraging them and realizing it’s the enjoyment of the process of looking for that gold, with the emphasis on the process not just the finding of the gold or silver or mineral one is looking for.

We’ve asked a few of our friends made through our website and blog to share their prospecting experiences… Joel sent this:
February 2, 2012 
DIGGING FOR GOLD IN THE BLACK HILLS
for no other reason other than, we just like to….. 

I spent a few months in Colorado back in 1978 with a long-time friend, mostly rock climbing and trout fishing. It was the summer before my senior year in high school, Volkswagen Camper all the way! (No flowers)

We had a goal at one point of fishing a different trout stream everyday as we traveled throughout the state.  We failed on several occasions because we came to streams that were so good that we couldn’t leave… we caught a lot of trout and on many occasions were catching four species of trout within the same creek system.  

Then one day along a creek in Gilpin County. Colorado, I came upon an old timer running a sluice box. I knew what it was that I was lookin’at and what he was doing, but my knowledge of working placer ground ended right about there.  Trout fishing was gonna have to wait for a bit!

The next three days he taught us how to run a sluice, how and where to dig in the area, all the basics. I was fascinated by the process. 

The old timer was getting by, making his grocery and gas money selling one ounce jars of gold to tourists and anyone else curious enough to stop by wondering what he was up to.  I wanted to buy one of those jars so bad it was killing me, but if we could cobble together enough cash to fill the gas tank we were grateful. 

In fact we ran out of money along the way and found light construction work in Aspen a few weeks later, enough cash for the return trip home to Minnesota.  The old timer built us a wooden sluice box that we still have to this day, that was a long time ago. 

They say this is incurable. They are probably right, I never got over the feeling I experienced looking at the old timer’s gold and I did not forget the stories he told.  We didn’t actually recover that much gold, most of it probably went out the bottom of our sluice but that’s ok. 

The gold we did recover remains to this day in the same glass tube with a cork in it, I glance at it once in a while and think of the old guy and still thank him for helping us out.

Over the years I dabbled panning here and there, nothing very serious. Now it’s time to catch up a bit; which I have done in the Hills over the past few years. There’s success on some days and less on others, it’s all good.

My daughter Luella, aka Lala, or Lalabuggy now wears her Gold Nugget earrings quite often, a great reminder of one of our trips to the Hills this past summer.  We were fortunate to find two pieces of similarly sized and shaped gold to make a perfect pair!  We brought them to a jeweler and had posts soldered on.  This was last August when we camped out with tents in the Black Hills National Forest very near the location we were digging and finding gold. 

That dig site now lies adjacent to my first actual gold claim in the Black Hills!  We named this claim GALA GOLD, after Lala and Gabe, her older brother.  In addition to the GALA claim we now also own claims in the Northern Hills, named LALABUGGY and NUGGETCITY.  The detailed stories about how these claims were acquired would find us at the bottom of at least one bottle of wine or several beers, not enough time here today, subject for another blog…

 I pondered and dabbled with the idea of owning a mineral claim in the Hills for a few years, believing that eventually I would have a small dig to call home.  The learning process started out slowly. I read several books and talked to various people about the subject, those that would lend an ear and actually offer up an idea to help me along my way. I also spoke with several folks that were like asking a trout fisherman where you would go to catch 16” brook trout… these secrets are well kept.

I traveled through various websites and investigated several companies that offer these services and claims for sale. All proved in the end to not be worth dealing with for a myriad of reasons, some unscrupulous.  I kept asking questions and digging deeper and learning what I could, sponge-like with desire to learn how to “really accomplish” what I was after. 

I have some training with the US grid system for land surveying, plotting, description and map reading, so I considered attempting the process on my own.  However, there is far more to this process than knowing how to read a map, and recognizing a posted claim site that may or may not be valid.  Proper research through the local governments (county) and governing federal agencies (BLM) is required to gain full understanding of private property boundaries, existing valid claim sites, and other roadblocks such as monuments and areas not open to the staking of mineral claims, not to mention finding an area where there is gold to the extent that the ground is worth staking. 

In step Bob and Teresa Fox, the team who made my mineral claim ownership a reality.  I could not speak more highly of their knowledge of the interworkings of this entire process.  I learned volumes working with Bob and Teresa over the past several months, details that experience only can teach.  They guided me through the process and advised me along the way and tailored the claims to fit what I was looking for. More importantly they became great friends during the process.  If you are considering a mineral claim in the Black Hills, I would not look anywhere else.  The experience was a lot of fun and I enjoyed every minute of it along the way. 

I enjoy everything about searching for gold in the hills: the history, the hunt, the dig, the adventure, the geology, finding a flake or a nugget, and revisiting digs that may not have been worked in 130 years.  Then there’s also some fantastic trout fishing, hiking, camping, and a myriad of other things to do. 

In our diggings, we’re picking up where they left off… those old timers who searched for gold during the rush and during the years that followed.  What we wouldn’t give to talk to them now as I did with the old timer in Gilpin County.  What questions would you ask? “How ya doing?” or “Find any gold in this area?” Maybe you'd inquire, “Did you do well in your diggings up on that bench gravel?”  These old miners have all gone home, as they say, returned to the very ground they spent their lives working.  Like our ancestors past, we can’t ask them any more questions; we have to go learn it for ourselves, discover and have our own fun.

It’s our turn. Heck, I can’t wait for Spring! We’ll be out there digging and having fun and I hope you do too!  Maybe you’ll see us along the road with our old red Cherokee. If you do, stop by and say “Hello” or “Are you finding any gold?” or “Do you know where I can catch 16” Brook Trout?”  

I might tell you…good digging!  

Joel
 

 

　
We’re excited and intimidated to see that 10,000 have logged on and found the time to read our blog!

Excited because we love talking to people about mining… intimidated by the sheer number. Please take the time to comment at hillshistory1876@gmail.com if you have a subject of interest, a claim you want researched, or any question you might have about information we post.

We’ve promised a couple of time to “tell you a story” about some of our research ventures. One was outlined in our last blog. There are so many “characters” in the Black Hills (probably including ourselves!) that there is an unlimited supply of stories to tell…

One of these characters suits the profile of the old-time Black Hills prospector to a tee. He’s a little gruff and rough, a little grizzly and a lot evasive when you talk gold. We’re sure of his knowledge as to where to find gold; we’re not so sure of his ability to stake a claim and hold it!

We have a claim on Rapid Creek. We found that claim about eight years ago using BLM to verify it was available. The problem was that a sign on the property stated it was already claimed. We checked at the county… yes, a location certificate had been filed in May. It was June.
We checked again at BLM, but it hadn’t been filed there yet. That’s okay, you’ve got 90 days from date of location to file with BLM.

We kindof forgot about it… already staked. Then one day 90+ days hence, we decided to check again with BLM. Hadn’t been filed!

What we found was this. The party who had the claim located did the same thing each year. He’d file a location certificate with the county each year which held the claim for 90 days. He never followed up with BLM.

We obtained the claim by locating in April of the following spring!

A friend of this guy must have taken his advice! We helped a group of friends find a claim on California Gulch last year, or was it two years ago! We had an eye on adjacent Friday Gulch for ourselves.
Winter arrived and we didn’t get to the area that fall. The following spring we couldn’t make it down that way but asked a friend, in exchange for including him on the claim, to take a location certificate with him, make discovery and hang paper.

We found out a month or so later he never made it, wasn’t interested.

We finally made it to Friday Gulch despite some wrong turns, engines overheating, weather allowing!
What we saw when we got there made our hearts stand still. Rim-to-rim of the gulch there were signs posted, “Mineral trespass”. At first we were disheartened – a wasted trip. Then we started thinking… BLM showed no claims here since 2005. Is it a valid claim? If it is… it’s gotta be 160 acres (maximum allowed) plus!

We found he had filed a 40-acre claim in June with the county. So we just worked around that 40 acres! We posted a location certificate. When the 90 days was up and he hadn’t filed at BLM, we helped some friends stake more claims!

So let us take a look… if you know specifically where you want a claim we might be able to find one of these exceptions for you!

We’ve still got an excellent location available in a highly acclaimed gold region… we need at 4-wheel drive! Wanna trade? Maybe your car dealer might want a claim? Email us at hillshistory1876@gmail.com

Location... certificates!

        We’ve created several hundred location certificates. It all started with a large claim block in the Tinton region in the late 1980’s  .

        We’ve looked at a bunch of certificates also… they range from pretty straightforward (a minority) to so vague or so contradictory that it is mind boggling!

        This past week was just one example of many… the claim location didn’t have a clear starting point for the claim and it just got worse as vague directions left us wondering not only where does it start but where does it end!

        A phone call to the Bureau of Land Management confirmed what we had concluded, “Go with what’s on the ground.  If there’s nothing on the ground go with the map!”  Many trips to the area had already confirmed that there is nothing on the ground.

        Technically that makes the claim invalid, but we try to be good stewards and don’t really want to take the time or spend the money to fight it in court! 

        We’ll take a minute here to urge claimholders to have their location certificate on the claim as required, to mark corners of their claim with substantial posts (not PVC pipe please!), and post a copy of current affidavit of assessment.  Contrary to our frequent complaint of claim jumpers, it does slow the tide to a somewhat manageable trickle! 

The old-timers didn’t want to do that… they didn’t want the “rushers” to swarm onto their claim!  Technology is such these days that not only is it wise to have your claim posted, you may be challenged based on various factors if it isn’t!

        Now we fall back on the map which was created and filed in the 1970’s.  I guess there must not have been townships, ranges and sections at that time J because the map shows none of the above!  A good tie point to start description of your claim is a section corner or an existing benchmark… not a bridge on a road that floods and is re-built every few years, not (like the old-timers did) from the corner of the local sawmill or cabin or blazed tree!  Luckily, again, we are familiar with the area, the roads, the creek…

        From this map we were able to verify that not only was the claim we were researching for a friend available, we were able to see another 20-acre claim is possible! 

Interested?  We’re between a rock and a hard place here.  We can’t locate any more claims under our name because we want to maintain small miner status.  Also, we desperately need a reliable 4-wheel drive vehicle to take the resident grandkids to and from school!  Email details of the vehicle to hillshistory@gmail.com if you want information on locating this available claim and we’ll start discussion on a trade!   We won’t disclose location here, but there’s a year-round creek, gravel bars, proven gold because we’ve panned there.  If certain parties knew of the location it would be advertised as two 10-acre claims at $20,000 each! We’re willing to guide you through the claim process at this location.

        We urge anyone with old locations to contact us.  A location certificate can be amended within certain criteria and filed for a few dollars.  That sure beats the cost of a court battle!

        My brother asked me this past week if, with warm temps and creeks breaking through the ice, I was doing any panning?  I just shivered! 

The pleasure and reality of prospecting....

Creekside... no way!  Deep hillside diggings.

    We seem to be experiencing a little winter… temps hover around the 20s and 30s for a high each day.  We’ve also been getting a little snow here and there… not enough to really slow things down but enough to make you shiver when you go out to run errands!

        Here and there on the internet and among friends we see explanations of “why we look for gold.”  The consistent thread seems to be a difficulty of expressing the why… it’s not for money, it’s not for fame.  It’s like playing golf, or gardening, or hunting.  All I can contribute, I think, is that it’s for the experience!

        My sister, who doesn’t prospect, expresses the feeling of us who enjoy being here and "experiencing" life or even a visit to the Hills.  She refers to the simple pleasure of,“a beautiful view each day of God’s magnificent creations, the Black Hills, the South Dakota prairie and the sun rising beside Bear Butte.” A special hug of appreciation for this sister who lost her husband the past weekend.

         A friend and customer of our website and blog reminded me this past week of something I want every Black Hills prospector to think about. We were discussing an available claim that has limited creek access but some really promising hillside diggings. This person is not a veteran prospector but has read enough information to respond: “Your find is exciting, having enough of the creek for sluicing would be great since it sounds like there is plenty diggings and gravels to work with. And as you have mentioned in your blog and I have read in old books about placer mining, a big section of creek is not always where it’s at.”

        We understand a beautiful, gurgling creek as a backdrop for a wonderful weekend in the Hills.  However… the creeks have been worked repeatedly, by each generation since the gold rush.  The really good gold was “picked” out of the creek by Johnny and like gold rushers who were the first to work a creek.

        Throughout our research we find reference to dry diggings, diverting water, hauling gravel to creeks.  These guys were using donkeys, carts, digging ditches and still felt the gold justified the work!  The modern day prospector in this age of 4-wheel drive, 4-wheelers, established roads and trails, recirculating equipment such as highbankers, spiral panners… has no excuse to sit on a worked-out creek and complain of no gold!  Like our friend said… that’s not where it’s at!

        There are acres and acres of dry diggings out there, many documented as serious finds… think about it!

'A' Mine names

We’ve had a mild winter here… especially compared to last year when blizzards started before Thanksgiving and seemed like they didn’t stop until May when it modified to rain!
Our temps hover in the teens today, but our low of -2
degrees F could easily be the high temp for the day this time of year!

I used some excerpts from an old document about Black Hills mine names a few weeks ago.

Some of these names are well known… there were a few that we hadn’t heard or we found a cross reference that helped us solve a few of the mysteries we encounter.

Here’s a sample of names and their origin:
*Addie Mine (Pennington Co., gold) was discovered in the 1890s by John Remington, who later established a hardware store in Hermosa. He named the mine for his daughter, Addie, the only girl in a family of six.
*Adelphi Mine (Lawrence Co., gold and silver) was located July 7, 1881, by Charles Miller and A. Danielson. The origin of the name is believed to be that of a society of which both partners were members.
*African Mine (see Grant Mine).
*Ajax Mine (Lawrence Co., gold) derived its name directly from Greek mythology.
*Alpha Mine (Lawrence Co., gold) was located May 12, 1876 by James Wolsay, a Californian, W.E. Jones and M.V. Roland. The Alpha was the first quartz mine discovered in Lawrence County and consequently was given the name of the first letter in the Greek alphabet.
*Apex Mine (Lawrence Co., gold) was located in 1878 by High and Thomas McGovern and was named because it lies on a ridge near the head of Nevada Gulch.
We’ve visited the name *Aurora Mine before, scene of the murder of Cephas Tuttle. At the time the mine was discovered, there was a brilliant display of the northern lights, or aurora borealis.

We like unique names and often incorporate them into claim names… the Backyardiggan was a fun one when the grandkids watched the same-named show about dinosaur and gold hunting in the Black Hills. Several claims of ours are named as private jokes (I’m guessing they’ll go down in history as no origin known for the name). There’s gonna be a few people who know that the Bronco and Bronco II are named in reference to a friend who preferred to buy a Bronco over staking a claim… and then there’s the Section 8 (that’s a story worthy of a campfire and a beer at the end of a long day of sluicing!).

I’ll share some more names another day… you can see I only made it through the As today!

So to wind it all up, when a normal winter would have had us shivering for weeks now, we’ve been enjoying more days in the 40s than around 0. We look at January and February as the months for coldest temps, so being more than ½ way through January and the short month of Feburary ahead of us, it looks as if we’ll make it through another winter!

Setting up a sluice...



An easy set-up... plenty of water but not too much; a couple
flat rocks build in drop!



 　

How long does it take you to set up your sluice… so it’s actually working right?

We’ve experienced every problem imaginable: too much water, too little water, no drop, too much drop, flow fluctuation… it boils down to experience and knowing your equipment.

Now I could take from 15 minutes to 2 hours to properly set up a sluice… that’s because Bob usually takes care of it and I am virtually inexperienced. He usually takes about 15 minutes under almost any condition to get us up and running.

Here is Bob’s step-by-step on locating a sluice spot and setting up:

We let the deposit dictate location within 20-30 feet up or downstream. If you’re lucky enough to have drop, placement of bottom rocks and rocks under funnel help stabilize. The trick is to keep the end of the sluice just contacting the water. Sometimes that’s hard to achieve, resulting in flooding of last couple riffles. This requires more manual labor cleaning out tailings from end of box.

I usually throw a small shovel of fine gravels/sands to see if the box cleans out property and if it is level from side to side. Material should wash uniformly across the funnel and riffles. If you need more drop, raise the funnel if you can. Try to drop the bottom of the box as little as possible because it will create a larger load for tailings removal.

The box is in place… if water is low, slight channeling can easily divert flows into the box. Fill in around the funnel and put enough rock/dirt in front of funnel (level with funnel) to seal leaks under the funnel. If water is high, raise box with larger rocks and anchor. A couple of good-sized rocks where the funnel and box meet will keep the sluice box from drifting off! Allow water to continue leaks under and around funnel if you don’t need the extra flow. If creek is running strong, find an area where channel comes to a riffle for set-up.

That’s the word from Bob… happy sluicing!

Mine names...

　

We seem to have attracted several history buffs to our website and blog… which brings up the question of how much undiscovered history of the Black Hills is still out there, maybe in a family album, a box of old documents tucked in the back of the attic?

We are not looking to buy artifacts, but we’d sure love to photograph them! Did your prospector ancestor keep a journal or photo album, have maps of old workings? That could be scanned or photographed!
Quite often someone tells us, “You should talk to ‘Joe‘, his dad worked in all the old mines!” We’re not real aggressive people, and unless they want to introduce us we’re not comfortable going door-to-door soliciting mining memorabilia!

But… there’s always more isn’t there? If you know of someone, or are someone who treasures this memorabilia and would be willing to have it documented, we would love to hear from you.
Please get permission from the individual before contacting us. It would then be up to their discretion if they wanted the information made public on our website or if they just wish to have it documented.

Funny how life works…I had started this blog and we were at Spearfish Coins and Antiques talking with Dean about mining, past and present, in the Black Hills.

He walked over, pulled out a binder and showed us a report someone had given him about Mine Names in the Black Hills. Bob kindof elbowed me when I said we have offered to document (copy or scan) old documents. Dean then graciously told us we could borrow the report if we wanted to copy it! I’ve seen bits and pieces of this before, but acquiring a copy gives time to really READ it!

Here is just a teaser of some of that info that I am in the proesss of scanning and transcribing:


“Mine names differ from other place-names in several particulars. In the first place, they are attached to a comparatively small territory. A butte may be seen for miles and a creek or river may cross several counties, but the name of a mine designates a few hundred square yards of earth. Again, a canyon or river is of vital interest to a number of people who perhaps depend on the one for shelter and the other for water. A mine, on the other hand, is of principal interest to one or, at most, a few men. It follows that the name of a natural feature often represents the general consensus or opinion on the part of a whole community, while a mine is frequently named by one person. It is therefore much more difficult to trace the origin of mine names then that of other place-names. The owner of the mine may have died or moved away; the mine itself may have been abandoned for many years, the very location of it choked with underbrush. The reason for the naming may be buried in the forgotten annals of pioneer days. Obviously the best source of information regarding mine names lies in the memory of old-timers. But these sources do not always agree. Sometimes the very location of the mine is in doubt. In one case the owner of a mine committed suicide in a state of despondency over its prospects, and the chances for discovering his reason for naming it are exceedingly slim.”

Couldn’t have said it better! So please email us if you know someone or are in possession of historic information… we want to help preserve mining history for ourselves and others!

Winter prospecting...

It’s a beautiful time of year here in the Black Hills. We’ve had two weeks of very mild weather, with temps in the 40s and 50s most days.

It’s hard to stay inside during weather like that… so we didn’t!

We headed for the Rochford area, checking on our claims as we went. Alex had to throw some rocks in Rapid Creek, but we kept him well back. The creek gurgled as it ran from exposed water back under the ice. It kindof sounded like spring here in December! I showed Alex what we call honeycomb ice, dangerous because it has been weakened by freezing, thawing and re-freezing.

Another thing we couldn’t help but notice were huge swaths of bug trees, their red tops scarring the beautiful scenery. They are working hard trying to harvest as much timber as they can salvage from these areas, and we were pleased to see that whomever is cutting on our claim had taken care to preserve our claim post!

We will caution all those venturing into the forest that these bug tree areas are extremely dangerous. Underfoot are downed trees, limbs and stumps. Overhead loom black skeletons of post years’ kill, surrounded by the red tops that fell victim this past year. A quirky gust of wind might bring any one of them down!

On the positive side of things… despite the fact that the ground is frozen, the creek temp is frigid and snow makes navigation a little treacherous, we saw something made visible due to lack of foliage and a slight snow cover. An old trail led us on a little hike to some old workings on the lower part of our Rapid Creek claim! You might be able to discern what we’re talking about… in the grassed area you can just see the Mickelson Trail going across the photo, and above it the snow highlights an access we didn’t know we had!

So if we throw December out of the winter mix, that leaves us with January and February before the longer days of March give us a taste of spring. We might make it yet!

Happy New Year everyone!

That time of year...

Every year claimholders have two deadlines… maintenance waiver by August 31 and affidavit of assessment due December 30.

The end of the year is near and we want to remind everyone to get the affidavit of labor/assessment filed at the county and also the Bureau of Land Management.

This document proclaims you are working on your claim. Some of the items which qualify for work performed include sampling, mapping and maintenance of boundaries, picking up trash and controlling noxious weeds. Each claimholder is responsible for $100 of work for each claim, which in this day and age doesn’t take long! You can perform the work yourself or pay someone else to do it.

If you are a new claimholder, you will notice that part of the filing fee when you register your claim goes toward the first year’s assessment. Therefore, the assessment form does not have to be filed. The BLM LR2000 site will show your claim as having assessment filed.

A lot of people drop the ball here… we see a lot of claims every year that assessment was not filed. The claim does not show as inactive until April because BLM gives you 90 days to appeal the decision. We’ve never heard of anyone winning that appeal… you may as well re-locate and pay BLM another $189, but at least they give you 90 days to do that before the claim is declared invalid.

I continue to transcribe and edit the Keets mine story. The Black Hills Pioneer newspaper has graciously allowed me to use their copyrighted material, so it will be as complete and accurate as possible.
So I’m going to keep this short… let me know if there are any other historic Deadwood stories you want to see. I would like to focus on early Deadwood so if you have a request I would prefer it pre-date 1900.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and for reasons of our own we are hoping for a prosperous New Year!

As old as the Hills... mining story

     We have several friends who love stories of the old west, particularly in the Black Hills. A lot of positive comment we receive on both the blog and website are related to historic content.

     Luckily, we have researched a lot of the history which is redolent with stories of every shape and form, all entertaining in one repect or another. The toughest thing to do is choose one… in bringing up this particular saga I ran across two others that captured my attention and diverted me temporarily from my mission!

     This is a story about miners and mining, guns and blasting powder, Seth Bullock and ways of the old west. The irony is that miners’ attitudes aren’t much different today. Gun play isn’t quite so prevalent but we still hear stories…

     I wanted to give you the whole story, as reported, but there was a tremendous amount of newspaper coverage of this event. It is lengthy but very interesting reading. I will shorten the story, but do my best to preserve the original. Mostly I want to present the story without bias and only the facts as reported in early Deadwood history.

     I also want you to experience the era, how the reporters wrote, how the legal process worked, how some things are different but most things don’t change!

     Thanks to the generosity of the Black Hills Pioneer newspaper, I have received permission to quote copyrighted material, giving you a view that otherwise would have cost you hours (days!) of research!

© Black Hills Pioneer (1887)
Black Hills Times

Shooting of Mr. J.D. Tuttle     About noon today, news was received here that a man had been shot in the Hidden Treasure gulch in consequence of the difficulties arising from the dispute to the title of the Keets mine. Immediately our reporter jumped one of Travis Bros.’ best horses and started for the scene of the affray, arriving there, he discovered that Mr. J.C. Tuttle was lying at the point of death, having been wounded by a bullet which passed through his body, entering the lower portion of the back. The trouble, as nearly as we can ascertain, arose from the fact that last night about forty armed men in the interest of the Keets Company, took possession of the tunnel in the Aurora mine, which connects with the Keets, and filled up a shaft on the Aurora ground. 
     This morning Mr. Tuttle, who owns a one third interest in the Aurora, warned the Keets’ men that he was going to blow out the shaft, and inserted giant powder for that purpose in this shaft, which is on Aurora ground… After blowing it out he proceeded to a wheel-barrow also on Aurora ground, and in direct range with a port hole in the rear of the cabin occupied by the Keets’ men. We are also informed that while Mr. Tuttle was at the shaft two men stepped out the the Keets’ cabin and fired a number of shots, apparently at random, some of which, however, were returned from the Aurora cabin by an employee of that company.
     With regard to the shooting of Tuttle, we give his dying declaration as follows: “I was greasing a wheel-barrow on Aurora mining ground when shot. I don’t know where the shot came from that hit me. I was not resisting anyone. I had a revolver in my pocket but did not show any firearms. I don’t know how many shots were fired. I told one of the Keets’ men that if he was badly off for shooting to get a pistol and come out and I would atisfy him alone. This as all that passed between me and the Keets men. It was about fifteen minutes from the time of my telling the man to get a pistol before the shooting commenced.”
     One of the attorneys for the Aurora company arriving soon after the shot was fired at Tuttle, posted a posse of men to guard the cabin and mine occupied by the Keets’ men, until the Sheriff arrived at which time the inmates surrendered, and were conducted to jail.
     The shot which struck Tuttle was fired, as we are reliably informed, from the port-hole in the rear of the Keets’ cabin, without any previous warning having been given the victim.

 © Black Hills Pioneer (1887)
     And so the story begins… a continuation will appear on our website in the near future. I know that’s kindof awnry… a word I remember my mom using… hmmm! Joel from Minnesota might even call it paybacks! This is just the beginning of the story and its gets better or worse depending on your point of view!

     I will take you through the news reports, then on to the ensuing trial…

     Meanwhile… back to the present and wishing you “Merry Christmas” from our house to yours!

Prospecting 101

We often talk about lessons we’ve learned through the years.



Castle Creek looking chilly!

 Before we go there, I want to extend Seasons Greetings for gold in your stocking (ouch!) and nuggets in your pan!

I will share with you some stories. I often say that the only place to talk about how much you drink is with the bar crowd! Likewise, the only people to appreciate our prospecting stories would be prospectors!

Bob had done some prospecting when we started dating so I was the real greenhorn, but he had not started working in the mines so we both had a lot to learn. We had my two girls, ages six and three. During the summer months we had his boy and girl, ages six and four respectively. Yeah… we ended up raising four teenagers all at once!

We were both working, so we started taking drives through the Black Hills when we had time. Bob always had his trusty metal gold pan.

The first lesson we learned is that no matter how cold it might be, no matter how cold the water might be, kids will find a way to get wet! Here in the Black Hills we might get snow in June and the creek water may be frigid to the touch until July 1. I knew this well because childhood summers at Iron Creek Lake had taught me, after repeated tries, not to swim until after the Fourth of July. Bob’s family had a cabin in Spearfish Canyon so he learned a similar lesson.

We did manage to forget the “repeated tries” part… within ½ hour of being within ½ mile of any water, the kids were wet and cold. We started taking an extra outfit, which took another ½ hour to get wet! Grandma then contributed her coat/jacket while she shivered, and of course they got wet also.

Needless to say, before the Fourth of July, we never got much more than an hour or two of digging before the kids were ready to go home.

We had a good claim in those early years, close-by the Iron Creek claim we have now. Gold was good and there was usually enough water to sluice.

I hadn’t started panning yet, so we would set up the sluice and start running material. Everything went through the sluice box, from the grass roots down. What that boiled down to was about the time the kids got wet and cold we were getting to a nugget or two!

Now this particular creek had a layer of reddish clay, gravel-like material followed by some very slimy (ask any mom of a newborn and you’ll catch the concept of consistency) yellow clay. We scrubbed every rock until our fingers were pincushions from the quartz in the creek.

We still have a couple of the nice-sized nuggets recovered on that claim.

Hindsight is 20/20… what we would have given for the deep-V ribbed matting we use today! Those pretty little nuggets would be displayed spectacularly!

I would have saved a few items of clothing… a metal gold pan is no good unless it’s weathered and it takes some real coordination to hike in, juggle a gold pan, buckets and shovel without getting rush on something. A wet rusty pan is even worse! The newer plastic pans are also a lot lighter and the size I use tucks nicely inside the concentrator for carrying.

Further, we would have panned layers and quickly identified the zone between the two clay layers as the pay zone and not worked two-four feet of overburden! In retrospect though, I was too busy hauling wet kids out of the creek and changing their clothes!

We would know that the gold settled on top of the yellow clay zone and not run the risk of putting the clay through the sluice to rob our gold! If we did want to run clay, we’d clean the matting first, then go for it!

If the material was dry, we would have used a concentrator to screen and clean bigger rock and saved a few fingers from scarring!

Once you poke through that clay layer, do you know what happens? Water in the hole, then we’re all wet, muddy and ready to go home!

We’ve prospected a lot with kids and grandkids. I know to take extra clothes and not let them change until we’re almost ready to go home. Kids’ boots are a waste… they will find water deeper than any boot! We always have a blanket they can wrap up in… until it gets wet. Plenty of refreshments and snacks are necessary for all. I love those small shovels when we find a pay zone. Get more than one… kids can dig too!

Last but certainly not least… Every kid and probably every adult you ever take on your claim will kick over a gold pan at least once! Patience is a learned trait.

We usually make about four-five hours on a claim now and can’t say we’ve been “skunked” (no gold) for quite some time. We’re older and wiser (less labor, more gold), but we’re still driving the Hills and scouting out new prospects!

T.G.I.Friday gulch...

Abandoned cabin on private property.

        We’re contemplating a new (additional) permit project on recently acquired claims in what we can now disclose as the California and Friday Gulch area north of Hill City.

        You might want to kick yourself a little… we offered claims in the area last winter!  The story is classic, though.

        Way back in 1992, Bob and a friend did a little prospecting on California and Friday Gulch.  They found good gold, staked a claim and filed it, but subsequently the “friend” disappear and the claim was dropped.

        Around 2004, Bob recommended the claim to another “friend.” He didn’t follow through and probably won’t because he now resides in Sioux Falls for the next 35 years J.

Late last fall we corralled the grandkids and got to California Gulch about dusk, couldn't do much that trip except see the potential and listen to kids complain!  We located a claim  for a group of friends on California Gulch. They followed through! We wanted to locate in Friday Gulch ourselves, but also offered opportunities to our followers. It was a chance in a lifetime, since no one but us had discovered that a 40-acre patented placer claim had been re-conveyed to the U.S. Forest Service.

April of 2011 rolls around and we prepared a new 60-acre location certificate for ourselves and a friend.  In exchange for us doing all the research, he would pay to have the claim filed.

That didn’t happen.

We headed out for Friday Gulch on three occasions this spring/summer.  The first time we tried the access Bob had originally used in 2004.  It was round-about and we spent most of the time trying to figure out where we were, or weren’t as the story goes!

The second trip was on a hot day, Rusty overheated at least five times.  We did get almost where we wanted to be but another overheat was just too much and we headed home.

Three’s a charm, so they say.  A rainy day in the area got us to California Gulch to look over our friends’ claim and venture into Friday Gulch. 

A mineral trespass sign informed us there was already a claim. This definitely dampened our spirits, literally and figuratively!



Pits and diggings cloaked in Aspen groves.



        Like good prospectors we came home, ran the area on LR2000 (again!), saw no active claims.  We drove to Rapid City, pulled claims and found one claim filed in January 2011(therefore expired) and another July 2011. Luckily for us, that locator wasn’t aware of the re-conveyed placer claim.

        We worked around his locations and dates, claiming an adjacent area and returning to post location certificates. We then received an angry phone call accusing us of claimjunping – par for the course! 

        Around came October, the previous locator didn’t follow through and file with BLM.  We staked the remaining claims for friends. They then received angry phone calls, which of course trickled down to us! We ran everything on LR2000, made another trip to Rapid City and declared our friends’ claim valid.

        Sorry to make a long story long, but we have now procured the area and will start pursuit of an exploration permit soon.  An exploration permit differs from a small placer mining permit in several ways.  The main reason we’re seeking an exploration permit would be that we don’t know that area as well as Iron Creek, where we have ten years of experience as recreational miners!  Bob has sound theories, but we need exploration to give us definite direction.

        Just a few teasers on what y’all missed out on and what we’ll be looking for…



There's still very little water... an isolated water hole.



1902 -- “There are a number of people working in a small way working the placer in this vicinity (Hawk-Wright Friday Gulch) and quite a little gold dust is being recovered at the bank.  Some of the men are compelled to haul their dirt quite a distance to water, but the clean-ups they make seems to justify them in doing so.  Nothing very big is being made, but all who are at work are taking out good wages and doing better than thought they would working for somebody else.  Friday Gulch, which has been worked for 25 years, continues to contribute not a little placer gold still.”

1903 – “From the Lucky Baldwin’s property which adjoins the Sunbeam in Friday Gulch some excellent ore is taken out and free gold specimens are numerously found.  Many openings have been made on the ledge and in all of them ore containing values have been found.  The deepest shaft is 65 feet, on which a day and night shift are employed.”

        Just a note… here in the next few months we’ll fill you in on the Mystic area and what we’ve found there!

Millions of years later...

        We’ve been here before, explaining a lode claim versus a placer claim, but we continue to get questions about what is lode, what is placer?

        Lode (pronounced load) gold, or primary gold, is gold still in place in the host rock.  Take a look at this rock… if a ton of it were crushed, there could be ¼ ounce of minute pieces of gold.  That’s what mining companies go after; they crush tons and tons of ore to create ounces of gold. 

        Nature does the same thing, it just takes millions of years!  The same host rock in a primary vein eroded out through a million years or so and was deposited in the Cmabrian sea, and thus became cemented gravel which concentrated the gold.  Another few million years pass and this cement ore decomposes and becomes high bench gravels. Some of these gravels erode and concentrate again as mid-level gravel benches. Further erosion brings them to the creeks, where they concentrate again in today’s modern streams.

        Therefore, gold concentrates can be found in high bench gravel, mid-level bench gravel, and the creek. Examples of all can be seen in the Black Hills… if you’re walking down a Forest Service road and the road gravel is well-rounded, not crushed limestone, those might be native gravel benches.

A nugget, obviously, would have come from quartz and/or schist, Pre-cambrian primary veins of visible gold.  This is probably a more recent event; the rock is more intact and erosion breaks it open to release larger pieces of gold.

You can judge the distance to the source somewhat by the characteristics of gold flakes or nuggets.  The “rougher” the nugget, the closer to the lode. The longer distance it travels, it becomes rounded and bears the color and characteristics of the gravels which surround it. 

Happy gold hunting, and don’t overlook gravels where it seems gravels shouldn’t be!

            Speaking of gravels, high bench and mid-level, we just staked a new claim which I of course had to be harangued about from a phone call… you’re claim jumping!  It is a simple matter of a location certificate stating one section staked in another section, plus numerous other “errors” which don’t add up in any situation! There is a “good faith” clause, but there’s way too much misinformation to give the benefit of doubt.  Even if the claim was valid on that property, a failure to file an Affidavit of Assessment in the year following location resulted in a closed claim. We feel it was a fraudulent attempt to claim ground without paying the piper (BLM) and we feel strongly that at least a good faith effort must be made!

We were nice enough to leave a good-sized parcel unclaimed… do you suppose they’ll follow up and pay the fees to file now?