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10-15-2007, 1:16 PM jkrem Joined on 10-16-2007 Posts 3 Hearther Grove - Marion, NC Oct 12-13, 2007 I had a great trip to Heather Grove in Marion, NC on Oct. 12-13.  I rented their large cabin and high banked both days using their equipment.  On Friday I managed to finish two “loads” of material.  Each “load” is two (2) of the front buckets of a Case backhoe.  I cleanup at the end of the day, then classified the smaller stuff out with a kitchen strainer.  I found 5 pickers in my cleanup from Friday, and then ran the classified material through my bluebowl and panned it out.  I ended up with a nice amount of flakes and fines from the concentrate.  On Saturday I finished 3 loads, and found 10 more pickers.  I was too darn tired to sort out any of the smaller gold from that day, and brought all of my concentrates from both days home.  I’ll try to post a picture of the pickers and the fines from Friday later this week, but it’s going to take me some time to get to the fines from Saturday.  Kev NC stopped by on Saturday, and it was really great to see him and talk.  I had a great time, and enjoyed meeting and talking with the owners.  I am definitely going back again.        Report

10-15-2007, 3:17 PM Kev NC Joined on 01-25-2006 Lexington NC Posts 1,406 Re: Hearther Grove - Marion, NC Oct 12-13, 2007 jkrem, Welcome to the NUT HOUSE.  It was nice meeting you this past weekend. I can't wait to see the final cleanup from your highbanking. I know the pieces you showed me sure looked nice. Can't believe you stopped after just 3 loads Saturday. LOL Kev    Report

10-15-2007, 4:15 PM C-17A Joined on 01-30-2006 Posts 374 Re: Hearther Grove - Marion, NC Oct 12-13, 2007 JKREM, Thanks for the trip report! We as readers need more stories how everyone is doing out there. I went to Heather Grove early in 2006, which was my first real common dig and got to run all the equipment and such. Very instructive and very fun. Did you get any sense the dirt they brought was salted? We were a bit concerned the bucket loads dumped for us may have been salted based upon how much we got, how it looked and where we found it in the dirt pile vs. the gold we dredged in the stream. Anyways, glad you were finding gold and had a great time, and a nice bed! I slept in a tent in a bag on the hard ground... :) Randy    Report

10-15-2007, 5:07 PM Kev NC Joined on 01-25-2006 Lexington NC Posts 1,406 Re: Hearther Grove - Marion, NC Oct 12-13, 2007 Hey Randy, I watched Mike the owner, scoop the dirt out of a pile with his tractor and dump it at the highbanker. He never got off the tractor at all or touched the dirt. They have dug a new pit of old river bed and have it piled right where you run the highbankers. So the answer to your question is no it was not salted unless I missed something but i don't see how. I saw him put piles at 3 different highbankers while I was there and the dirt was never touched by anyone but the people highbanking. I saw some nice looging gold that they were finding, large pickers to small nuggets. Kev    Report

10-15-2007, 6:46 PM C-17A Joined on 01-30-2006 Posts 374 Re: Hearther Grove - Marion, NC Oct 12-13, 2007 Kev, That is actually great news. Although I am no where as experienced or wise in the ways of the world and goldgrubbin as you, I just remember the concern at that time of actually finding "natural gold" or salted gold...folks just want to know, one way or the other... So, good news that they have an old channel that's got the metal to meet the demand and adventure for prospectors! Too bad we didn't find that many pickers when we were shoveling dirt way back then!! P.S. Nice haul looking at your last posted pics. I am envious of your proximity to the gold rivers. Rhode Island is w/o gold. Some day I'll be in the high mountains of Colorado, in the Colorado Mineral Belt, sluicing and such :) Keep showing me your gold! Randy :)    Report

10-15-2007, 7:27 PM Kev NC Joined on 01-25-2006 Lexington NC Posts 1,406 Re: Hearther Grove - Marion, NC Oct 12-13, 2007 Randy, After you move to Colorado be expecting an visit!! I understand wanting to know if it is natural or salted. I see no way that it could have been salted from what I saw this weekend. Maybe in the past if people weren't finding much they would salt a little but from what I saw they are on a hot spot and the gold was looking good! Kev    Report

10-16-2007, 3:42 AM fanatic Joined on 01-25-2006 Caton NY - Finger Lakes Region - NOT from NYC!!!! Posts 207 Re: Hearther Grove - Marion, NC Oct 12-13, 2007 Hi jkrem!  Looks like you found the gold grubbers! Randy - I'll be visiting you as well.  maybe even next summer.  hehehe Pain and suffering is inevitable. Being miserable is optional.    Report

10-16-2007, 9:14 AM jkrem Joined on 10-16-2007 Posts 3 Re: Hearther Grove - Marion, NC Oct 12-13, 2007 Guys, if they were salting anything it would have had to have been when I was sleeping.  The stuff we were highbanking was excavated from the old river channel as Kev indicated above.  Our outwash from the highbankers was going back into the hole the material came from.  I'll try to post a picture of the pile.  In the cleanup I have done so far, I have only seen two tiny lead shot.  I have to believe that if we were highbanking anything other than deeply excavated material I would have been finding lead by the handful.     Report

10-17-2007, 3:24 AM fanatic Joined on 01-25-2006 Caton NY - Finger Lakes Region - NOT from NYC!!!! Posts 207 Re: Hearther Grove - Marion, NC Oct 12-13, 2007 I don't believe Heather Grove salts.  I believe they dig and sample like good prospectors then mix the dirt so everyone has a good chance of being successful.  They want you to find gold.  Thats their business.  Thermal City runs the same way. Pain and suffering is inevitable. Being miserable is optional.    Report

10-21-2007, 5:44 PM C-17A Joined on 01-30-2006 Posts 374 Re: Hearther Grove - Marion, NC Oct 12-13, 2007 GoldGrubbers, Glad everyone is having a great time AND finding some gold. When I go to Colorado and hike/work at 9,300 feet elevation and find ANYTHING I feel blessed. That's the adventure..........you..............dirt.............cons................gold. It's not at a spot price of $769.50 at the monemt for no reason. Very heavy pans, packed sluice boxes and sinking derdges bacause of the gold you are finding! Randy    Report

Gold Grubbin' C... » Administrators » Prospecting Tri... » Re: Hearther Grove - Marion, NC Oct 12-13, 2007

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