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Last Chance Placer
(4.8 miles) Drive in 200 feet to a split rail fence around a
mining pit.
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Placer
mining is a simple technique where gold is separated from
sand or gravel with water. The miners worked the ground
at this site down to bedrock. Once pay dirt (black sand)
was found, it was transported by horse and cart or in sacks
on burros' backs, to be "sluiced in the rockers." There
crude gravel washers were located near hand-built earthen "snow
ponds" where runoff supplied the water they needed.
One such pond is northeast of the pit, 0.25 mile up the
gulch.
The
mounds or "tailings" you see are the dirt
and rocks removed from the mine after it was worked for
gold. The prospectors were in search of the mother lode-
the source of the gold -which has never been found. |
Placer
Deposits
A
placer deposit is a concentration of a natural material
that has accumulated in unconsolidated
sediments of a
stream bed, beach, or residual deposit. Gold
derived by weathering
or other process from lode deposits is likely to
accumulate in placer deposits because of its weight and
resistance
to corrosion. In addition, its characteristically
sun-yellow color makes it easily and quickly recognizable
even
in very small quantities. The gold pan or miner's
pan is
a shallow sheet-iron vessel with sloping
sides and flat bottom
used to wash gold-bearing gravel or other material
containing heavy minerals. The process of washing
material in a
pan, referred to as "panning," is
the simplest and most commonly used and least
expensive
method for a prospector
to separate gold from the silt, sand, and gravel
of the stream deposits. It is a tedious,
back-breaking
job and
only with practice does one become proficient in
the operation.
Many placer districts in California have been mined on
a large scale as recently as the mid-1950's. Streams draining
the rich Mother Lode region--the Feather, Mokelumne, American,
Cosumnes, Calaveras, and Yuba Rivers--and the Trinity River
in northern California have concentrated considerable quantities
of gold in gravels. In addition, placers associated with
gravels that are stream remnants from an older erosion
cycle occur in the same general area. In addition to these localities, placer gold occurs along
many of the intermittent and ephemeral streams of arid
regions in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and southern California.
In many of these places a large reserve of low-grade placer
gold may exist, but the lack of a permanent water supply
for conventional placer mining operations requires the
use of expensive dry or semidry concentrating methods to
recover the gold. |
What
are the rules for prospecting for gold and staking claims
in the National Forest?
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Prospecting,
mining and claim staking activities are permitted
on National Forest system unappropriated land. Claimants
have an express and implied right to access their claims
when permitted under Forest Service surface use regulations
(36 CFR;228). Check with the Bureau of Land Management
Office for land status pertaining to mining claims and
the Ranger
Station for land appropriation status.
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An Administrative Pass is a temporary authorization issued
at no charge for prospectors and miners who have a statutory
right to enter and prospect on public lands sanctioned
under the General Mining Act of 1872, as amended.
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Other visitors using the forest for recreation are required
to purchase an Adventure Pass for a fee, which is required
to park their vehicles while recreating in 'High Impact
Recreation Areas' (HIRA).
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An Administrative pass may be issued for a 14 day period
for members of a mining club and other prospectors at no
charge. If they require a longer period, we request them
to submit a Notice of Intent for the District Ranger's
review to determine if the proposed activity causes a significant
surface disturbance. If the proposed activity does not
cause a significant surface disturbance, then the District
Ranger may issue an Administrative Pass for up to one year
at no cost.
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The Notice of Intent requires your name, address, telephone
number, a claim map or the approximate location of the
proposed activity, the number of samples, the depth of
the sample site, the beneficiation method and need for
water.
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If the District Ranger determines that if the proposed
activity may cause a significant surface disturbance, the
claimant, prospector and the mining clubs will be required
to submit a Plan of Operation. This will require substantive
information about the mining, beneficiation, reclamation
methods and a substantial reclamation performance bond
will be required.
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Prospecting does not require a mining claim or an exact
location of the activity, an approximate location will
suffice.
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A Notice of Intent is required if the proposed activity
is located in an environmentally sensitive area (1-e, Holcomb
Valley, Lytle Creek, Horse Thief Canyon, Cactus Flats,
Santa Ana wash and Rose Mine). This includes panning for
gold, dry washing, high banking, metal detecting and suction
dredging. Call the Ranger Station if you are not sure about
the sensitivity of the area involving the proposed activity.
Members of mining clubs are encouraged to follow this procedure.
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There are several hundred abandoned mines on the forest.
The public is prohibited from entering any of these openings.
If any of these of openings are causing a clear and present
danger to the public, report the location to the local
Ranger Station for signing or fencing.
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To stake a mining claim, you need to follow Bureau of
Land Management guidelines as they are the lead agency
for minerals management. The Forest Service administers
the surface use regulations in accordance with the Code
of Federal Regulations, Title 36, part 228.
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Mining claimants are not allowed to drive off National
Forest Designated Routes to access their claims. They are
required to have an approved Plan of Operation from the
District Ranger for access.
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Back to Gold Fever Trail |
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