Mining isn't what it use to be

As one hears stories of "ol' tymers" stumbling across big nuggets and huge load bearing ores, one may want to jump up and go find some themselves but it's not like it use to be. Most of the ground level big nuggets or veins have been stumbled across by determined prospectors years ago. When and still an area got established as having gold many hoards of people would rush to there creating a gold rush and they were thorough. Spending months and years searching every inch of these areas many would go home broken and broker then when they came. Some rare few may and have found massive nuggets weighing upwards of 87 pounds like the one in Banco Central museum in Brazil. So if one is heading out with a pick, pan and bucket in hopes of finding pounds of gold be prepared to work alot harder then the "ol tymers" because they scooped up all the easy stuff so mining isn't what it use to be.

Hint #7 for finding gold

Old timers would use a thing called Gossan. Gossan is intensely weathered/oxidized or decomposed rock that appear at the upper part of a mineral deposit nick named "iron cap" or "iron hat". Alot of the time the iron hat has a red stain to it compared to the rock around it. But as we proceded into modern times we learned that Gossan can have different colored hats meaning different things:

Yellows, Browns, Maroons, and Reds =  Various Iron Oxides
Black = ................................................. Manganese Oxides.
Green = ................................................. Nickel
Greens and Blues = ............................... Copper Sulfides, Oxides, Carbonates, Etc.
Bright Yellow = ...................................... Molybdenum
Waxy Green = ....................................... Native Silver, or Silver Chloride.
Oranges and Yellows = ........................... Arsenic
Pinks and Purples = ............................... Cobalt

Also more then not it is topographically positive(higher then the surrounding area) due to the erosion resistant quartz in the mineral deposit.

Prospecting for silver information.

                                                      Photo above is a copper/silver mix                                                
Silver unlike gold is not often found in nuggets but mixed with sulfur, arsenic, antimony, chlorine, argentite, chlorargyrite, galena ,lead and even gold. So because silver is mixed it has to be extracted through smelting, amalgamation or electrolysis.

Prospecting for silver can be very difficult and may not pay off but the best way to find silver is to know the geology in which to find it and make an educated guess. Look for a waxy green gossan ( weathered/eroded rock area that stands a bit higher then the surrounding area).

Nova Scotian Gold

As I have spent the last couple years prospecting around Nova Scotia I have learned the best places to look that has had the best results. I'm not saying that this is the ultimate truth, im just saying that in my experience this is what I found.

The shore that is up by the Northumberland Straight hasn't given my much luck with finding gold. The quartz deposits have been slim with very little nice crystal formation. There is nice beach glass, nice sandy beaches but I figure that because it has less drastic tides then the rest of Nova Scotia it has had less development of minerals. I haven't came across any volcanic activity or much volcanic rocks either.

Along the bay of fund for a prospector is an amazing place. There are amazing crystal formations, I've found 5 different types of geodes, many types of mineral crystal formations such as sulfur crystals and amethysts. The tides are the highest in the world make the landscape change every single time you go there,lending to great discoveries.

On the Atlantic coast and inland 20 to 30 kilometers has been my best discoveries of gold and historically has been where Nova Scotia's gold rushes have taken place. Over the last couple years old and new mines have been opening all over the side of Nova Scotia.

Recently a geologist has a prediction and discovery of rubies in Cape Breton. I believe this is part of the ruby belt that comes down from Greenland.

Hint #6 for finding gold

When prospecting for gold in rivers an streams make sure to check the moss. When a river fills up from heavy rain it loosens up tiny gold particles(flour gold). The flour gold gets caught in the moss that because of the risen water level is now submerged or partially submerged and gets trapped staying there when the water level drops. When getting the moss look for large rocks that have moss and a bit of a crevasse in front of them to collect the gold particles. When getting the moss make sure you take all the dirt and debris you can. I then take the what I have and separate it to get all the moss out before panning.

Hint#5 for finding gold

"Don't reinvent the wheel". When looking for gold do your research on where gold has been found, its guaranteed that people have looked in your area before, play off what they have found. Use old mineral claim maps, old/new and abandoned mines maps and talk to some old prospectors. Two hours researching what another prospector did saves a day in the field.

Hint#4 for finding gold

Gold isn't always visible by the naked eye. Sometimes rocks need to be crushed and processed before you will actually know if it is in the area you are looking. Do research and make educated guesses before hunting for hidden gold.above picture is nano-particles of gold

Hint #3 for finding gold

An old hard rock miners saying that runs very true today is " Gold rides an iron horse". The same geological process that is takes to make gold is what it takes to make iron so you tend to see them running together.

Hint #2 for finding gold

Use a river to do the heavy work for you for finding gold, it digs and classifies the gold for you. Over a long period of time the water erodes the rock and releases the gold into the body of water. Use streams and rivers to see where to find gold. Use a pan or a sluice to search for the gold. The smaller and more round the gold is you are find the further it travels. So when you start find larger sharper pieces you are getting closer to the area that the gold came from.

Hint #1 for finding gold

Gold is most commonly found with quartz and is most often found in "dirty quartz". Dirty quartz is different colored from all the mineral concentration in and around it. White and clear quartz can have gold in and around it but it is less likely.

How to open a geode

Sometimes people think geodes are delicate and easily destroyed but the truth is most are very strong structures. Opening them sometimes can be a real task and other times they almost fall apart.

How I open them is with a grinder, a cutting wheel, hammer and chisel.  It depends on how you want you geode to look is how you cut it but for the most part I cut around the the center in a circle about about an inch and half to two inches as straight as I can. (first geode on the left in the picture above is uncut)

Next I take the chisel and put it in the cut and gentle strike it with the hammer. I do this all the way around the geode until it splits in half.(the middle geode in the picture).

I then cut around the outside of the half geode with the grinder end to end not cutting to close to the crystals on the bottom. I go as straight as possible and go about an inch to two inches. I do the taping with the chisel and hammer until it splits again. (last geode in the picture on the right)

Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeWzYDu1fX0&feature=youtu.be for a video on this.

how to hand finish a geode?

 For the way I hand finish a geode you will need a few things:
                              1. Safety glasses
                              2.Thick leather gloves
                              3. ear protection
                              4.electric hand grinder
                              5.grinding disk
                              6. electric drill
                              7. sanding wheel for the drill(medium grit)
                              8.polishing wheel for the drill
                              9.some rock polish(car polish works o.k)
                              8. sand paper(medium grit and fine grit)

**Always put your safety gear on first**

First thing you have to do is grind the shape that you are looking for in the end product. Then you will have to grind out all of the nicks, gauges and round the edges. After that is done give the entire geode a nice grinding it get the excess material off. This usually takes about 15 minutes but just take your time and be patient. Sometimes pieces will come off and you will have to just work with it.

Second take the drill with the sanding wheel and start to work the geode. The grinder will leave tiny bumps and burn marks so you have to sand those off. The better you sand at this stage the easier it is to hand sand and polish later. This will take 10 minutes.

Third thing is to now hand sand with the medium grit. This is so you can get all the spots you couldnt with the electric tools and really give a nice round finish all over the geode. Take your time and make sure to get out all the scratches and buff marks at this stage. Now take the fine grit sand paper and do the entire geode top to bottom until it is very smooth and has a shine to it. This should be the longest part of the process.

Fourth thing you are going to want to do is wash the geode to get all the dirt and dust off of it. I soak mine in dish soap and then wash the crytals with tooth paste with a medium bristle tooth brush. I then rinse it well with warm water and then let it soak over night.

Fifth thing to do is polish your geode. After the geode is completely dry put a thin layer of your polish all over it then use your polish wheel on your drill to gently polish the entire geode. This should only take 5 minutes tops.

Now you have a beautiful geode for a decoration, healing purposes or to sell. Have a gold day!!

Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeWzYDu1fX0&feature=youtu.be and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_AyJFrrX0M for videos on this.


                         

How to find geodes?

Another question i asked all the time when people see my collection is where can they find some geodes too. I won't tell anyone where exactly to find them but I will always give a few hints.

Finding geodes is a bit different in every area that you go to because geodes look different everywhere you go. So one must go online and look at the outside of as many geodes as you can and if possible some from your own area so that when you do see one you don't over look it. In Nova Scotia where I go looking for geodes I have seen a dozen different types of geodes in and around the same water way .

Look for round, oval and cylinder type rocks. They won't look anything like the geodes you see to buy, they are rough, dirty and sometimes misshaped. Look in new collapses of hills and cliffs by the water from erosion. But the only sure fire way to tell whats inside is to crack them open, sometimes they are beautiful crytal formations, solid crystal, a tiny bit or crystal with rock or absolutely nothing all. Good hunting

How do I start mining for gold or hunting for gemstones?

  I get asked a alot from people about how they can start finding, mining gold or other precious metals and how they can get into finding gem stones or other beautiful minerals. I'm going to explain that best possible here from the perspective of someone in Nova Scotia, Canada.

  First thing i suggest for people to do is to get their prospecting identification so they can be legal from day one. In Nova Scotia you can to https://novaroc.novascotia.ca/novaroc/page/home.jsf to register,pay and get your prospecting identification but your local department of natural resources will be able to tell you on how to go about that in your area. Here it is only 12.50$ right now to get that.

  Second is to make sure you are doing what you are doing legal. If you are on someones land or mineral claim and you find something worth money by law you can't keep it. See when you go somewhere to prospect someone can own the land but not own the mineral rights and vice versa. In Nova Scotia rivers, steams and ocean are government land so as long as you have your prospecting identification you can pan the waters for gold or sluice for gold and gems.

 Third things is to know what you are doing. Do some research on what you are going to do, don't just google it once and think you have mastered it. Read some books, talk to some experts and watch some films.

Laws are different from area to area so look those up. Be prepared for what you are doing and have a gold day.