January 24 Through February 4—TUCSON, ARIZONA: Annual show
Welcome to the GemologyOnline.com Forum
A non-profit Forum for the exchange of gemological ideas
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 10:35 am

All times are UTC - 4 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: My neighbours open-cut.
PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 7:31 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Veteran

Joined: Sat Jul 14, 2012 5:11 pm
Posts: 657
My neighbour Tom doesn't like tunnelling, so he digs the most awesome, small open cuts.
Tom is not a young man, but puts me to shame with his energy!!
We are only 20-30ft away with our closest workings, in the same material, but tunnelling.
Attachment:
File comment: Imagine the effort put in here!!
toms opencut 003.jpg
toms opencut 003.jpg [ 216.75 KiB | Viewed 2433 times ]
Attachment:
toms opencut 001.jpg
toms opencut 001.jpg [ 216.66 KiB | Viewed 2433 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: He has simply dug a "walkway" in, and prescreens the sand out, before wheelbarrowing the process material out to the small wash-plant.
toms opencut 002.jpg
toms opencut 002.jpg [ 207.9 KiB | Viewed 2433 times ]


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My neighbours open-cut.
PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 7:57 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Royal Princess

Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:56 am
Posts: 6461
Location: The frozen north prairie :-/
That would certainly be my way of mining :P . I don't know how anyone goes into those small tunnels! You're a braver man than I! (Okay, so I'm not a man, but you understand the sentiment 8) .)

_________________
IIJA Registered Gemologist
GIA Graduate Gemologist


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My neighbours open-cut.
PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 8:39 pm 
Offline
Valued Contributor

Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:15 am
Posts: 352
Location: Cary, NC
Barry,

I'm with Barbara. I don't suffer from claustrophobia, but the heaviest dirt tunnel roof I like over my head is pure air :).

Can't wait to hear of your latest finds and if you've come across some more large sapphires

_________________
Bob Hodges

Faceter: When turned into a zombie, they stumble around crying "roooouuuuggghhhh"


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My neighbours open-cut.
PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 10:00 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Veteran

Joined: Sat Jul 14, 2012 5:11 pm
Posts: 657
Well my friends, I will have to post photos of past finds, as the digging has been cut short, and we have had to return to our beachside abode!!
Many factors, most pressing being some essential work on our old sailing ship.
It needs to be lifted from the water, for some T.L.C to the underwater parts.

Managed quite a lot of developement work at the mine, and defined the need for 1 more shaft to access the area we believe will be the next "jewel box".
It was a difficult decision, but unlike fruit on a tree, which must be picked when ready, Sapphires are happy to await our return.
It may be possible to get some more time digging, before the heat starts in october/november, so will get all my work on the ship done quickly.
In the meantime, I continue to seek miners with rough for sale, and will let you all know if "good stuff", is offered.

To Barbara, and Bob, yes, we are going to open cut from Toms boundary with us, to our last workings. It will cut our driveway in, but it just looks too "juicy", with the pyroclastic boulders peeping out of the surface, ( they can be seen stacked up beside Tom's cut.) and we think there may be a big uplift under our entrance drive.
Attachment:
File comment: a parcel of parti-colours, or colour zoned sapphires.
sapphire rough 018_renamed_17018.jpg
sapphire rough 018_renamed_17018.jpg [ 152.01 KiB | Viewed 2417 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: some more colours. My personal favorite is a stone with lots of yellow, but showing another colour as well.
sapphire rough 022_renamed_10636.jpg
sapphire rough 022_renamed_10636.jpg [ 155.03 KiB | Viewed 2417 times ]


Attachments:
File comment: This is the area I've spoken of. Our boundary is to left, and current workings just out of shot to right.
The whole area has the tops of big boulders at surface. Current workings have featured in other posts.

474_renamed_27442.jpg
474_renamed_27442.jpg [ 71.13 KiB | Viewed 2417 times ]
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My neighbours open-cut.
PostPosted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:10 pm 
Offline
Gold Member

Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:52 pm
Posts: 1131
Location: Central Queensland, Australia
I'm on board with your neighbour's idea Barry - I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to going underground :)

I know it's pretty safe if done properly, for some reason I still don't like the thought of thousands of tonnes of earth and rock hanging over my head.

A friend mined underground at Bedford Hill for three years until he had a close call with a cave-in. He wouldn't go back underground after that.

I'm still recovering after being caught in a collapsing earth bank, a big piece about a quarter of a tonne or more struck me in the chest and crushed me against the ground. That was two weeks ago and I reckon it'll be another two before I'm close to fully recovered.

Anyway, to each their own. I hope you continue to do well :)


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My neighbours open-cut.
PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 3:04 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Veteran

Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 9:44 pm
Posts: 711
Location: Las Vegas
can not wait to see what ya pull from this Baz! 8)

_________________
Life is to short to worry about what others think of you.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My neighbours open-cut.
PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 6:46 pm 
Offline
Gold Member

Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:52 pm
Posts: 1131
Location: Central Queensland, Australia
Barry, how deep down is the floor where Tom is digging?

The side view of the material looks just like what I have over near the Washpool. There's that layer of brownish soil, at my place it contains pockets of bearing wash here and there. That sits on a band of red clay 18 inches to two feet thick, just like in the photo. Punch through that and second wash begins, a paler, yellowish-coloured material. It seems to have all the right ingredients - chunks of basalt, globs of volcanic ash and proper quartzite billies the size of 44-gallon drums in it.......but not a sign of stone.

No sapphire, no zircon, no black spinel, bugger all iron stone - nothing heavy. It's very clearly been part of a river system, all the rocks in it have the classic stream-worn shape.

I haven't been able to use my machines yet so progress has been very slow. I'm down about five feet and it just keeps going down with no sign of a floor. The few neighbours I have where I am say that there is no stone in it at all. I've had a look at their diggings and they all look the same - a small hole no bigger than a kitchen table and none of them have dug any further than a foot or two into the second wash before giving up. No one has dug to a floor.

The old timers who were our neighbours at Russian gully decades ago were very insistent that you must reach a floor and then put through a good quantity of material from off that floor before you can make a judgement as to whether there is worthwhile stone there or not. A commercial miner very close by has supposed raked good stone out of the same material. Another bloke over your way said he has a band of the stuff 11 feet thick with good stone - but only on and a little above the floor and he only washes the bottom two feet.

Anyway, with luck it will all be ready to go by Easter and then I'll be able to move enough dirt to decide whether I've pegged a dud or not.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My neighbours open-cut.
PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 7:59 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Veteran

Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:52 pm
Posts: 576
Location: N Dakota
Who needs a tunnel rat? My uncles were tunnel rats in Nam, grandfather a private coal miner in the badlands of Dakota. I'll do anything to get warm today! -25 actual -37 wind chill. :smt009

_________________
Dan


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 4 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
Gemology Style ported to phpBB3 by Christian Bullock