Booth Run - Greenville PA - 5-21-11

Howdy all,
  I got a chance to spend the day on the Allegheny Chapter site this past saturday!  The weather was awesome!  I got some time to chat with a few members like Chris and Bill (and a few others I forget the names of).  I met a nice couple from Erie who were prospecting my spot from last week.  They were not having much luck until I got there.
  I went a bit up-stream and dug out a nice honey hole next to the bank.  My spot was right on the egde of the water, beneath the roots of a fallen tree.  The spring floods had dug into the bank a bit and exposed a nice fresh area.  I could see remains of the former stream level in the bank, so I went to town in the stream just below this spot.
  After about an hour of collecting, I began to test a few scoops.  The couple I had met were nice enough to let me borrow their EZ Sluice.  This sluice was nice and compact, light, and easy to use.

It had the flare at the end to help funnel water, but this picture shows the basic sluice.  As the couple was doing their clean up, they found a nice fleck and came to show me some actual Booth Run Glarial Gold!

I spent the next ten minutes packing my gear to move to a different spot.  I had gathered 2.5 gallons of 1/4" classified concentrates to take home.  I forgot how heavy 2.5 gallons of sand and gravel is!

I took a much deserved Lunch break after that and moved down stream.  Here I ran into Chris and a few other members.  I had some nice conversation, then decided to snipe along the water line at the base of this cut in the hill.

The above image is two years old, but it still looks about the same.  I used my suction tube along the very base of the cut.  The gray silt is like concrete, and is also below the water line actink as a "False Bedrock".  My first pan showed a speck, so I had Chris take a look at it.  He confirmed the speck so I went back for more.

I got about 2 gallons of concentrates to take home from this area.  Once I get home, I use a 1/8" and 1/16" screening process before running in my recirculating clean up sluice.  Here are a few images of my finds.

Speck of Gold!  My first Booth Run Fleck!

Pyrite in Star Like formation!

Micro Gold on Quartz

Unknown Stranded Specimen (Pyrite and ?)

All in all, I had a wonderful day!  It was great to get out and see the property a second time!  I look forward to many more trips.  My family and I will be camping on site for the next monthly meeting in June!

Cheers!

"Rockhound" Steve

Everyday Items have other uses!

Greetings All!

SEE BOTTOM NOTES AFTER FIELD TEST!

Yesterday, I had to go to the local Home Depot for some supplies for work.  While I was there, I found myself looking at some of the products thinking how I could use them for Prospecting.  There were Buckets, Shovels, Screwdrivers, Brushes, Flashlights, Kneepads, and a ton of other things that are fairly common to Prospecting.  But I was also looking at other things that sparked my interest.

I found myself in the Home and Garden section staring at PVC Pipe, Corrugated Pipe, and assorted other things thinking how I could build a Sucker Tube, Mini Sluice, Gravity Suction Tube, etc.....

I came across something that caught my eye for two reasons:  First, it was Gold Pan Green (yes, i know they come in all sorts of colors, but mine is the same color), and Second, it was covered in riffles!

A common Down Spout erosion guard!  When your roof protects you from the rain, it diverts loads of water into your gutters.  The gutters then empty into the down spout and flow with gravity to the ground.  Anyone who has down spouts will tell you that if you don't do something with the water coming out, it will either pool next to the foundation and cause a wet basement, or erode the heck out of your yard!  Simply put, this plastic device will save you tons of headaches as a homeowner!

But look at it again!  It's almost a perfect Mini-Sluice!  Place the wide end up stream to allow the water in.  Cut the very end of the narrow end to allow water to flow straight thru without a lot of turbidity at the end.

20 Riffles to flow over!  It is VERY light!  Less than 36" long, it can fit mostly into a backpack.  It's plastic so it won't corrode.  And best of all, it was really really cheap @ under $7!!

It has some flaws though, and I will have to test it.  There are two channels along the side of the riffles that will allow any material to slide right thru, and the riffles themselves are rather rounded.  I plan on putting dowel rods down the sides to plug the channels and divert material to always flow over riffles.  I also plan on scratching the surface a bit to create extra friction for trapping material.  And I may even sharpen the riffle tips a bit.

Field testing will take place this weekend!

Think of any other interesting items to use?  Please post in a comment!

On a personal note, I also try and recycle as much material and items as I can.  I use the overburden and concentrates left overs I bring home to beautify my yard and fill the driveway, I use coffee containers to hold material and concentrates, I have a closed loop water system for cleaning concentrates.

May you find color in your pan and friends by your side!
"Rockhound" Steve

**Edit after Testing**

I tested this item in a stream and found a few problems right off the bat.

1 - The piece is way too bouyant!  It took a huge rock to keep it down!  I think that trimming the sides and the end will help.

2 - The channels in the side need to be addressed.  I have decided to put dowel rods down the sides to help keep material on the riffles.

3 - The narrow end cap needs to be cut off to allow material to flow straight thru the box.

4 - I think i need to "rough" up the surface a bit to help trap fine materials. 

Second field test after i finsih these changes.

Some Interesting and Helpful Documents

Greetings to all!

I was crusing around the web yesterday and ran across some interesting and useful things at the Pennsylvania DCNR site:

First was a map of Pennsylvania Glacial Deposits

The second was a booklet about Common Fossils of Pennsylvania

I highly recommend checking them out and browsing the site.  Use the tax dollars you spent on the site and enjoy some of the educational fruits of our labors!

I have also added these to the Documents page for future study.

Cheers!

Steve

Todays Additions to the blog

Hello all,
  just a quick note, I have added some new photos to The Facebook Page and added a few pages to the blog.

Check out the

Calendar Page

Directions Page

Links Page

  I am still fleshing out a bunch of info, images, and such.  Any suggestions, please E-mail me!

Steve

Contact Information

President
Robert Smith  
330-898-7397
Website
Blog Author
Steve Foster
goldinpa@gmail.com
Facebook Page

Photo Archive - April 2009 - Part 1

Chapter Mailing List

Howdy everyone!  Thanks for checking out the Blog Page!

Now that I have come on as the new Blog/Facebook/Website Helper, I would like to get a list of everyone that would like to be notified of Updates/Events/Postings.

If so, please send me an e-mail at goldinpa@gmail.com

Thanks!
"RockHound" Steve Foster

Photo Archive - June 2004

Here are some inmages from June 2004!

GPAA - Allegheny Chapter - Facebook Page!

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Stop By and Like us!

And don't forget our Website!

GPAA - Allegheny Chapter

The Allegheny Chapter of the GPAA is located in Mercer County, PA. Our website is located at http://www.goldinpa.com/. You can find pictures, news, and other information of not only the Chapter but also other Gold locations in Pa.