I Dug One Bedrock Crevice for HOURS… Here is the Result!
I Dug One Bedrock Crevice for HOURS… Here is the Result!
Every prospector has that one spot that haunts them. For us, it was a bedrock crevice in New South Wales where we had recently pulled out a beautiful 0.32g gold nugget. We were supposed to head home to Sydney, but the "Yellow Fever" won. We woke up at 4:00 AM, beat a rainstorm, and were on the river by 6:00 AM with one goal: Back to basics.
No sluices. No high-bankers. Just hand tools, pans, and 17 rounds of backbreaking work in a single crack.
1. Why We Stuck to Hand Tools (The NSW Reality)
In the comments, people always ask: "Chris, why don't you just use a shop vac or a motorized pump to clean those cracks?" The answer is simple: The Law. In New South Wales, motorized gear for fossicking is illegal. To keep our "Undertaking" legitimate and respectful of the rules, we stick to traditional hand tools. It’s slower, and it’s definitely harder on the back, but there is a certain satisfaction in earning a nugget with nothing but a picking tool and a brush.
2. The Science of the "Natural Riffle"
Bedrock crevices are essentially nature's own sluice boxes. During heavy floods, these deep cracks act as natural riffles. As the gold-bearing material washes over the bedrock, the heavy gold drops into these tight spots and gets wedged under layers of "dirty" packed-in material.
What we looked for:
- Packed Material: If the dirt in the crack is loose, the gold has likely washed through. We looked for material that felt like concrete—packed in over years, maybe even decades.
- The "Coarse" Layer: As we dug deeper, the material got heavier. This is always a good sign. The deeper you go into a crevice, the better the chances of finding the "chunkers" that haven't moved in a century.
3. The 17-Pan Grind
We decided to process as much material as possible through panning alone. By the 17th pan, my back was "fried," but the results spoke for themselves.
- The First Few Pans: These were mostly surface scrapings and "missed" material from our previous trip. Even then, we were seeing fine gold immediately [04:44].
- The Deep Stuff: Once we got into the "reef" material—the coarse, chunky dirt wedged at the very bottom—the gold transformed from fine specks to coarse, "clinking" pickers [13:06].
- The Backpack Surprise: Never forget to check your "tailings" or even the ground you're sitting on. Nick (the "Gold Hound") even managed to pull a solid picker out of a "bowl hole" after some serious dedication—including basically waterboarding himself to reach the bottom [21:55]!
4. The "Flat Earth" Interlude
Of course, it wouldn't be a Chrisundertaking adventure without the boys. While I was breaking my back, Finn and Luca were busy building an "Ant Gladiator Arena" [03:21] and debating the physics of the planet.
"If you pour water on a flat surface, it stays there. If you put it on a round surface, it falls off. This proves the Earth is flat!" — My son, the budding (and confusing) philosopher [13:50].
5. The Result: Was the Hours of Digging Worth It?
By the end of the morning, we didn't just have one nugget; we had a vial full of coarse, high-character gold.
- Final Tally: A beautiful collection of coarse pickers, medium-sized bits, and some stunning gemstones found in the mix [22:53].
- The Verdict: One single crevice can absolutely produce a multi-gram haul if you are willing to do the "back-room" work. It’s about persistence, the right tools, and knowing when to keep digging even when your body tells you to stop.
Conclusion: Lessons from the Bedrock
This trip reminded us that sometimes the most effective way to find gold is to simplify. You don't always need the "Arsenal." Sometimes, you just need to find one good crack, wake up before the sun, and outwork the river.