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    1. BC Placer Mining Club
    2. General Discussion
    3. Big Bar Ferry
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    douglaseal
    Jan 26

    Big Bar Ferry

    10 comments

    Another title that is to the north a bit but great gold at low water is Big Bar. Fantastic pans but a long way up. we mined there in the early 70s. Use to pack our equipment in with a mule. I know when I tell that story everyone says horse shi… But I got the pics to back it up. Old French Frank raised a family in there. Kids never got sick ever because they never played with any other kids in their early years. Frank built his cabin on French bar creek and everything he got in the way of building material came from the Fraser. His root cellar under the cabin had Daily Mail Tobacco tins and also canning jars full of Fraser river fine gold. Sandy his wife had to dump his gold out in the fall so she could use her canning jars for winter preserves. He was one of the founding editors of the old Georgia Straight news paper back it the day when it was an outlaw newspaper in Vancouver. They use to have to move their press at night to keep ahead of the cops. Man look at that paper now. All those hippies have grown up. Frank died a few years back but I hear from some of the locals that he and the old gray still roam the high plateau and river bottoms of the Big Bar. If your ever camped down Big Bar way where the canyon winds blow strong, look to the edge of the campfires light and you might see my friend Frank. Maybe we should write a ballad or poem eh? Lets see If your ever camped down Big Bar way

    Where the canyon winds blow strong

    Keep an eye on the edge of the camp fires light

    And no you won't be wrong

     

     

    With his mule and dog both packed down

    Black hair in a pony tail laid back

    Its just Frank looking in

    With a bit of a grin

    Any way no poem will ever do justice to this man of the river Frank. I get cabin fever every year. And this is the siren call of the old gold miners of the Fraser. The smell of sage and the thrill of the finial cleanup. Gota go... will post the pics of Big Bar in 2 places here. The old cabin is still there.

     

     

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    douglaseal
    Jan 26

     

     

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    douglaseal
    Jan 26

     

    yup thats a leg of dear hangin we lived of the land

     

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    douglaseal
    Jan 26

     

     

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    douglaseal
    Jan 26

     

     

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    douglaseal
    Jan 26

     

     

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    douglaseal
    Jan 26

     

     

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    douglaseal
    Jan 26

     

     

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    douglaseal
    Jan 28

     

     

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    douglaseal
    Jan 28

     

    good gold on both sides of river 1064538

     

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    John Mallory
    Jan 30

    What great memories! Great images as well! If anyone is heading up there in the next month please let me know...it would be great to meet up and share some stories over some pans...

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    New Posts
    • John Mallory
      Apr 24

      Anyone want to team up this weekend? (April 27 or 28 2019)

      Hi All - my membership expires May 8th. Was hoping to find some gold before my membership runs out. I am an optimist and believe there is good gold on some of these claims but all I have found so far is a few hundred fly poop sized specs (worth perhaps a few dollars).... Does any one know a good claim to explore this weekend (and where on the claim) and would anyone like to team up?
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    • byron_talbot
      Jan 26

      Been a busy Summer

      Well as we roll into winter I finally got my permit for machine working up behind Mission BC. I am doing a reclamation project in a area 30 km wide by 100 km long, with about 1000 sites. I am recovering different metals averaging 25 lbs per 4 sq feet. Also finding tons of quartz bearing veins that i am marking down for later mining.
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    • Admin
      Aug 31, 2018

      July, 2018 trip around southern BC

      Some of you guys may have seen this on Facebook, but I just realized I forgot to post these pictures on here. I did a solo trip for 8 days around Southern BC. I made it to 5 claims in 7 days, and managed to have a little bit of R&R visiting my family in the Kootneys. I started off at Thompson River the first day. Did about 8 pans. Averaged about 5 or 6 smaller colors per pan. Got down to the claim around 6 pm, stayed the night then headed over to Sailors Bar claim for the following day. Prospected many areas at Sailors, unfortunately the water was just way too high still. (I knew that already but I thought it was worth a shot. For the 3rd and 4th day I made it down to Monashee Creek, and our Kettle River claims. I camped at the Monashee Recreation Panning site. Met a couple fellow miners who really made my day. Was a little discouraged after panning a couple spots on the Kettle, when I got back to camp these 2 fellows pulled in for the night and we had a great time talking gold and old stories. The gold on Monashee was small, managed to get a little flake out of there as well as some fine stuff. The gold on the spots that I tested on the Kettle River seemed to be consistent, but mostly small stuff as well. At the end of my trip, staying in Grand Forks, I went up to Skeff Creek. Couple active mines in the area, drill holes everywhere for hard rock. Panned out a couple pans but I managed to forget to charge my tablet with my maps, so I had to stick to the only spots I knew for sure was on the claim. Got a few small colors here as well, but only spent an hour looking around. Overall, next year I will choose 2 or 3 claims, and spend a lot more time prospecting for bedrock outcrops and areas old timers may have missed in the past. As well as learning reading the geography of the claims. Too rushed I guess. Overall A great time though. Here are some photos and videos of the trip. Cheers guys! Lots more pictures just take too long to upload. On a side note, had a decent day panning on Tranquille Creek today at the panning reserve. cheers guys enjoy
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