Berm mining question

[leadbutt]

I found a berm that does turkey shoots and noticed that it never gets mined. The thing is its all shot. Whats the best way to mine it? Will it even be worth the effort? Thx.

L. Bottoms

[runfiverun]

lead is lead.
i'd get it in 5 gallon buckets and wash the dirt off/away.
dry it then smelt it down.
the best way to do it would be with a riffle box right at the berm but that requires water.

[TheGrimReaper]

lead is lead.
i'd get it in 5 gallon buckets and wash the dirt off/away.
dry it then smelt it down.
the best way to do it would be with a riffle box right at the berm but that requires water.
This is a good idea. Kinda like a sluce box for gold. Caster's gold!

[trochilids]

This is a good idea. Kinda like a sluce box for gold. Caster's gold!

The kids and I like to pan for gold on some of the Alaska streams to take a break from fishing. We know we're in a "good spot" for gold if we start panning out lead fishing weights that folks have lost. In fact, to test the kids' gold panning abilities I'll often toss in a couple small lead weights and tell them to see if they can pan down to find them... Panning is not a terribly efficient way to get product, but it's fun. Regardless, using some of the same concepts can probably help find lead at a berm since it is a very dense metal (like gold). I did see some videos a while back (YouTube) of a guy in Arizona that dry-mined for gold -- completely without water. He just altered the panning motions a bit and ended up with pure gold (and a whole lot of dust). I might have to try that the next time I go to the hillside where we shoot...

[Pb Burner]

I lucked into something similar once. Just went for the shot laying on the top of the ground. I used a square/flat nosed shovel and a broom and just swept up! After cleaning, I had about 150 -200 lbs of fairly clean shot in gallon jugs.
My impromptu method of cleaning involved a kitty litter pan and a leaf blower.....hey...it worked. Used a dust mask and made sure the wind was at my back. cleaned about 10 - 15 lbs a "batch". I just dumped some in the pan, stood upwind and blew air across top of pan. Swirl it around and repeat a few times, blew most the dirt right out. It worked better as the dirty shot dried out more in the open buckets in the garage. Probably not the best method for cleaning, was a little time consuming, but just did a little here and a little there.
I hope I get to go back there sometime!
Get what you can, its lead!

[shadowcaster]

the best way to do it would be with a riffle box right at the berm but that requires water.

This is a good idea. Kinda like a sluce box for gold. Caster's gold!

A simple trommel of appropriate size would be easy to build (hand crank or motorized) and would be very efficient by itself or used with a sluice.

Shad

[John in WI]

I got a chance to play with dry panning down in the southwest. The way it works is that the soil is sandy and very dry, with almost no vegetable matter (we were panning dry stream beds). Then it works just like regular panning (swirling to get the heavy stuff to the bottom) but letting the wind blow the dust away instead of water. I never really got the hang of it, but some old timers could locate the tiniest flake of gold that way.

[dtknowles]

In a sandy backstop I used a window screen to reclaim some shot and got some .22 bullets to boot. Like I said it was a hill of almost pure sand so it passed the screen but the shot did not. You might be able to combine the screen with some wind or blown air to get pretty good separation even in more complex soil it the soil is dry.

Tim

[dkf]

The kids and I like to pan for gold on some of the Alaska streams to take a break from fishing. We know we're in a "good spot" for gold if we start panning out lead fishing weights that folks have lost. In fact, to test the kids' gold panning abilities I'll often toss in a couple small lead weights and tell them to see if they can pan down to find them... Panning is not a terribly efficient way to get product, but it's fun. Regardless, using some of the same concepts can probably help find lead at a berm since it is a very dense metal (like gold). I did see some videos a while back (YouTube) of a guy in Arizona that dry-mined for gold -- completely without water. He just altered the panning motions a bit and ended up with pure gold (and a whole lot of dust). I might have to try that the next time I go to the hillside where we shoot...

I always wanted to try panning for gold.

[Oreo]

The only way I can think of to sift out the shot efficiently is to use water. Sleuce box, riffles, whatever. Any screen fine enough to catch shot is going to catch too much other **** to be efficient.

[trochilids]

I always wanted to try panning for gold.

It's almost as much fun as shooting. I think grand total I've probably found a buck and a quarter worth of gold :-P , but it's just a fun outdoor experience. Something to reconnect you with nature, history, and family. Again, kinda like shooting... Ya gotta try it, even if just to say you did.

[Oreo]

Only a buck twenty-five of gold!? Hell, I pulled over $500 of lead from the local berm. You're digging for the wrong stuff in the wrong spot I think.

[leadbutt]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess ill be using the riffles. The good thing about it is that there is a river 50 ft from the berm. Now i just need to figure out how to build it.

L. Bottoms

[mold maker]

Search (google) for dry washers in gold prospecting supplies. It uses air from underneath to blow away the light weight sand and dirt while concentrating gold/lead. If there is rock present it can be screaned out first, by size. Be sure to watch for those 1 oz slugs.
These have been used for over a century in desert conditions, and do a good job. I'm sure you could build one using a small DC fan and a battery.
Here in NC we don't have sandy soil. Everything is packed together in red clay that dries hard as a brick.

[trochilids]

Only a buck twenty-five of gold!? Hell, I pulled over $500 of lead from the local berm. You're digging for the wrong stuff in the wrong spot I think.

Agreed! ;-)