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Colorado Gold Miner
Prospecting for Gold in the Colorado Rockies
That Time of Year
Image via Wikipedia
Looking at the Snow Report widget in the right hand column today, I realized that it is getting to be that time of year when I normally head back out into the gold fields and start prospecting. When the ski resorts begin to shut down for the season it signals warmer weather. Warmer weather equates to snow melt, which washes more gold down the mountains, which creates more for me (and you too, I guess) to find.
Many of the places that I like to prospect at are on the Arkansas River and the Spring snow melt causes the river to rise creating problems if you are using a sluice box. The water gets high and swift and makes finding a suitable spot to set up your sluice troublesome, to say the least. I usually create a diversion with some rock to bring the water to the sluice instead trying to find a place to set the box.
If you are into rafting, this is the best time of the year to hit the Arkansas River around the Salida area. The water is high and swift making for the ultimate raft trip through the area. It is a thrill ride that you will never forget… But, I’m getting a bit off topic here…
Dredging can also be a challenge during the Spring runoff. You need to find a calmer area and have some good strong rope to tie the dredge (and yourself) off with. The calmer water will also be where gold is more likely to drop out and sink to the bottom, so finding a calm area on the river should be a priority anyhow.
Personally, I prefer to use the highbanker this time of year. Regardless of how high the river gets, I can always find a place to set up the rig and go to work. In most of the places I frequent, I am digging a ways from the river’s edge so this makes less work for me in transporting my material to be processed. But sometimes…
I just want to sit in my chair with an ice-cold beer in a secluded spot and lazily shovel material from my bucket into the sluice box and take in the scenes around me. The relaxation, both physically and mentally, that this brings me is worth all of the gold that I have ever found in all of my years of prospecting.
Unfortunately that will have to wait this year as I am in the process of preparing to move to Colorado permanently. No more long drives from Henryetta, Oklahoma to Salida, Colorado. Its taken me nine years to convince my wife that it is where we need to be, and by the end of June it will be. I’ll miss out on some early season gold mining, but in the end, it will be all worth it… And who knows? I may just sneak off and do a little relaxing on the river during the move.
Until next time… See ya’ in the gold fields!
History, Gambling and Gold – The World’s Greatest Gold Camp
- Image via Wikipedia
Cripple Creek, Colorado and the surrounding area was the site of the richest gold strike in Colorado and the area continues to produce gold today… But times have changed.
Today Cripple Creek is known more for its casinos than for its gold production, although Cripple Creek-Victor Mining continues to operate a very successful open pit mine nearby. But why should the city not capitalize on its past? When it was the World’s Greatest Gold Camp there were tons of casinos (along with saloons and brothels) in operation.
Whether you are a gold miner, a gambler or just a history buff, Cripple Creek and the surrounding area has much to offer. I love to go there and visit from time to time. I usually make my way into a casino or two and play some cards while I am there, but what keeps bringing me back is the history of the area.
There are many old mines and buildings left over from the time of the World’s Greatest Gold Camp that you cannot see just anywhere. Below are a few photos from one of my recent outings in the area… and there is so much more to see!
Cripple Creek
Old Gold Mines near Cripple Creek, CO
View From Cripple Creek Victor Railroad Train
Old Gold Mine near Cripple Creek
Today the fame of The Cripple Creek Gold Camp ranks with London, Paris and other money centers of the world, for, while the great money centers may handle and control more of the world’s assets, Cripple Creek actually adds more new money to the treasury of the world than any other place. Nearly $2,000,000 are added every month to the world’s wealth by the product from the hills within The District of Cripple Creek.
– Cripple Creek Times, 1904
The ghost town of Anaconda, CO between Cripple Creek and Victor
Gold Coin Mine in Downtown Victor
Gold Coin Mine Power Station in Victor, CO - Now Condos
The Gold Coin Club in Victor
Gold Mine Head frames in and around Victor, CO
Victor, CO Trolley Car
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Time To Get Your Concentrates Cleaned Up
- Image via Wikipedia
I have been thinking about doing this article for a while now, but procrastination kept getting in the way. 
With gold prices at an all time high and there seeming to be no end in sight to the long-term rise; I guess I really need to do it.
I’m not one that sits and stares at the gold price every day to see how much my little stash is worth, but I do like to take the occasional look to see whether or not its time to part with some of it or not. I do not mine for a living (though at these prices, I probably could). The gold I take out of the ground gets put away for the rainy day when I might need some extra cash or my retirement… which ever comes first.
If you are like me and just mine for recreation, you probably have several pounds of concentrates sitting around waiting for their final clean-up. With the price of gold regularly hitting all-time highs, maybe its time to take some of those cons and get them panned out and sent off to the smelter for a nice payday.
There are people who are all doom and gloom about the economy and the future value of the dollar, who think that you should just sit on your gold because it is going to be the only currency worth having in the coming future. While I can understand where these people are coming from, I disagree. This country and its currency are going to be strong for many decades to come.
Politicians will get the message, as they did in previous administrations, that uncontrolled deficit spending is not going to sit well with the American people. There will be changes in the spending habits of the government or the people will vote them out of office. We saw signs of that in the recent mid-term elections… But, I digress…
Will gold prices continue to rise? And, if so, for how long?
I’m of the opinion that gold will continue to rise in the near future, but that there will be a sell-off in the near future that will drop the price 10% or more. So the question becomes: Do I clean-up my gold concentrates and sell them off now or wait to see if the price keeps going up?
I have a few hundred pounds of concentrates that probably contain a few ounces of fine gold. I have several ounces clean and put up for safe keeping, With this in mind it probably would not hurt me (or my future) by selling off 20% or so of my stash. I will probably replace that amount, and more, this Spring when I return to the gold fields again.
By selling that amount and then taking that cash and using it to invest in better mining equipment for next year, I should actually be able to increase my gold production significantly. This would lead to more savings in the long run and, in its own small contribution, help the economy… At least for a few gold mining equipment dealers.
I could also take some of the proceeds and get my wife an extra-special 25th anniversary gift (November 30th). Yup, she’s put up with this crazy entrepreneur for 25 years… She must be a saint. 
The point is that most of us miners have gold or concentrates sitting around. The economy is crap right now, so why not take advantage of the crappy economy (and high gold prices) and take a little out of our stash and send it to the refiner for a quick cash infusion into our own personal economy.
Take the profits from the sale of your gold and invest them in new mining equipment or use them to give your family an extra-special Christmas. Its not going to kill your nest egg to use a small portion of it now to make your own life a little better… or your mining a bit more productive. Sometimes we just need to strike while the iron is hot and make our money before trends change and we find ourselves holding on to some cheap dust.
Drag those concentrates out of the garage and get them cleaned up. Don’t go crazy and sell everything you have, but part with a portion of them, then watch to see what happens to the economy and gold prices in the future.
If gold keeps rising, maybe you will want to part with a bit more down the road. If the economy continues to tank, you may wish to increase your stash.
However you decide to handle things, I’ll see you in the gold fields of Colorado soon.
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Point Bar Public Mining Claim
If you are ever up the Arkansas River Valley near Salida, Co, be sure to bring your mining equipment with you. The public mining area at Point Bar, part of the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, is jointly maintained by The State of Colorado, the Gold Prospectors Association of America, and the Bureau of Land Management. The gold is fine, but plentiful in this area, so it is a worthwhile stop.
If you plan on using motorized equipment (highbankers, dredges, etc), you will have to visit the the BLM office in Canon City or Salida for a permit. Additionally there are restrictions on the use of dredges during certain times of the year when fish are spawning. You can check the BLM website for more details.
If you are just using a pan and sluice, you do not have to worry about permits. Be sure and bring a bucket and shovel, because the best areas are a ways from the River channel.
You should be able to see where others have been digging. Chances are, that if others have been digging there, you will find gold there as well. The overburden is fairly light at one to two feet thick. Below that you will hit a caliche layer from the ancient river bed where the Arkansas River flowed thousands of years ago.
This caliche layer is where you will find the most gold. It can be tough digging as the old round riverbed rocks are nearly cemented together from the chemical makeup, time and pressure. Be sure and wash the bigger rocks off. I usually bring two buckets with me… One empty and the other about half full of water to wash the rocks off in.
I normally use a half-inch mesh and classify everything down to a small size before sluicing it. This makes the sluice box run much smoother and the gold recovery higher because you don’t have the bigger rocks carrying your fine gold out the end.
My bucket with the water in it, I run through the sluice or just pan out. Most of the material is pretty fine in it, so it makes it a pretty easy job to pan or sluice. I usually save the concentrates from my cleanups until I get home.
You can take a cleanup wheel or recirculating mini-sluice to do your cleanup with. This makes for an easy time, but I usually work the sluice until dark, so I can get as much gold as I can while I am there.
Here are a few pictures from my last trip to Point Bar back in March. Notice the snow on the mountains around me…
Point Bar Diggings on the Arkansas River in Colorado. Notice the reddish color overburden. The off-white material below is the caliche where the majority of the gold is found
Snow on the nearby mountains
The Arkansas River is pretty low and mild before the Spring snow melt.
A view of the nearby "Fourteeners" from downtown Salida, CO... just a few miles North of Point Bar
These rock are from the highbanking operations that have been taking place at Point Bar
A few last notes. There is a public restroom in the park, but don’t expect to use it during the Winter or early Spring as it is locked up tight… Bring a port-a-john with you! Camping is allowed here, but be sure and have a fire pan if you plan on building a fire. Rules are rules and the Park rangers do enforce them.
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