How to's and how much??? Sampling

G'Day all,

Basically I would like to ask the "how to" of sampling either quartz reef samples and/or soil samples.
Is it better to just break off chunks of quartz along different points of a reef to dolly and pan? If so how much, or is it just a typical trial and error, or are there general pricipals to improve your prospects.
Also soil samples. Is it best to dig down to bedrock if possible in creek bed points to sample or is a sample of top soil right down to bedrock best taken?
Finally has anyone out there every sampled the flats leading out of gullies? if so again is it best to sample numerous points of top soil or dig down and how far??
There is some serious questions here but I'd prefer to throw them on the table.
I know there was a question asked previously about sampling quartz reefs but I am keen to learn and want to re-ask similar questions again.
Cheers all and happy digging.

Anybody?

A couple of books come to mind
Loaming for gold by S.J. Cash would be a good read,
also
Prospecting for gold by Ion Idriess another good book.

Flats at the bottom of gullies usually have more 'topsoil' to dig thru, as you walk up hill the topsoil should decrease in depth to maybe only be an inch or two deep.
What you are looking for is a bottom or layer of rock/clay which gold would settle on and not pass through.
Sampling can be as hard as you make it, try for half a gold pan of soil 'off' the bottom at each sample point. How far apart between sample points depends on the location.
If you have a place in mind where you have already found colour, walk left and right and sample, see if one has more colour; repeat process from that point if that sample spot has more colour.
Now you could walk a little uphill and repeat sampling "loaming", trying to follow the colour trail, you may even find the source.

Cb.
(I am no expert, I just enjoy the hunt)

Are you using a metal detector or just old-style prospecting? Taking random samples is time consuming and in my opinion wasteful unless there is a very good reason to do so. You will almost always have indicators you can use to determine if gold is nearby. Are there any old workings like mines, shafts dryblowing? Do they form a line giving a preferred direction in which to concentrate in. Are the diggings following a fault line? Are there any other fault lines nearby? Are there signs that alluvial was worked - some old workings might be nothing more than a shallow pothole or a mound of dirt often overlooked as something natural rather than a small working. Difficult to recognise unless you know what you are looking for and often hidden in vegetation.

If all you want is to pan off a small sample to test then pick a spot where gold would most likely end up trapped. If its in a drainage channel then try at the bottom of small plunge pools or within the cracks and crevices of rocks that cross a gully - these act like the riffles in a gold pan to trap gold.

Knapping and sampling reefs should begin at the base of the outcrop first before moving further up, and usually uphill from where you found indicators. If detecting, use a HF VLF to determine if there are any low grade specimens, then "loam" these to your leader or reef.

This is explained in "Prospecting the Murchison" book.

Have a read of this link.

http://goldandcoindetecting.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=644

http://goldplacer.com/hardrockgold.htm

Clay Base wrote:A couple of books come to mind
Loaming for gold by S.J. Cash would be a good read,
also
Prospecting for gold by Ion Idriess another good book.

Flats at the bottom of gullies usually have more 'topsoil' to dig thru, as you walk up hill the topsoil should decrease in depth to maybe only be an inch or two deep.
What you are looking for is a bottom or layer of rock/clay which gold would settle on and not pass through.
Sampling can be as hard as you make it, try for half a gold pan of soil 'off' the bottom at each sample point. How far apart between sample points depends on the location.
If you have a place in mind where you have already found colour, walk left and right and sample, see if one has more colour; repeat process from that point if that sample spot has more colour.
Now you could walk a little uphill and repeat sampling "loaming", trying to follow the colour trail, you may even find the source.

Cb.
(I am no expert, I just enjoy the hunt)

Cheers clay base, I will get a hold of those books and get stuck into it.

Nebuchadnezzar wrote:Are you using a metal detector or just old-style prospecting? Taking random samples is time consuming and in my opinion wasteful unless there is a very good reason to do so. You will almost always have indicators you can use to determine if gold is nearby. Are there any old workings like mines, shafts dryblowing? Do they form a line giving a preferred direction in which to concentrate in. Are the diggings following a fault line? Are there any other fault lines nearby? Are there signs that alluvial was worked - some old workings might be nothing more than a shallow pothole or a mound of dirt often overlooked as something natural rather than a small working. Difficult to recognise unless you know what you are looking for and often hidden in vegetation.

If all you want is to pan off a small sample to test then pick a spot where gold would most likely end up trapped. If its in a drainage channel then try at the bottom of small plunge pools or within the cracks and crevices of rocks that cross a gully - these act like the riffles in a gold pan to trap gold.

Knapping and sampling reefs should begin at the base of the outcrop first before moving further up, and usually uphill from where you found indicators. If detecting, use a HF VLF to determine if there are any low grade specimens, then "loam" these to your leader or reef.

This is explained in "Prospecting the Murchison" book.

nebuch...

Yes I am using a detector however I was hoping to gain some basics which could aid in finding a source or faults/quartz reefs etc which a bearing/carrying gold.
I am searching in a gold bearing area containing digs from side of a hill. However there are numerous quartz reefs within a 5km radias (approx) and as always is alot of ground to cover so trying track down where it is goin. I have found some alluvial gold on a flat but plotting the finds only gives indication its coming from the hill so as i say trying my luck if it has travelled elsewhere.
Cheers for your helpful reply.