Gold Prospecting Ain’t So Hard

The Wildhorse River in the East Kootenays of BC was historically one of the better gold producers in the province. Placer mining – panning or sluicing of gravels to separate “alluvial” gold – took place up and down this rugged waterway starting in the 1860s. In the first couple decades a rush was on and it boomed, with a huge quantity of the yellow stuff being exacted from the narrow valley where it’s located. The largest nugget found here weighed over a kilo. Into the twentieth century, in fact well into the 1940s and 1950s, the gravels kept on giving.

And still they search, with small scale mining and hobby prospecting taking place to this very day. Total production so far has been some 9000-32500 kilos (estimates, BC Ministry of Mines).* For those who use the traditional measurement of weight when referring to precious metals like gold, that’s between 290000-ish to around one million troy ounces!** We’re talking anywhere from about four hundred and fifty million to one point five billion dollars worth of the stuff today (CAD, Sept 28th 2018 Spot Price).*** That’s a lot of AU. Cha-frick’n-ching!

*Records were spotty in the old days and not everyone reported their gold take for any number of reasons which explains why the numbers are all over the map. My contact at the Ministry, who’s an expert in these things, seems to thinks that even those totals are a tad conservative. Yikes! No matter how you slice it a boat load of gold was pulled from the Wildhorse. Incidentally the Moyie River and Perry Creek, and their respective tributaries, were also good gold producers in the general area. But the Wildhorse was king.

**Troy ounces are used to measure gold (and silver and many other “noble” metals) with one being about ten percent heavier than the more commonly used avoirdupois ounce. There is however only twelve ounces in a troy pound, verses sixteen for avoirdupois. With that being said, an ounce of gold is heavier than an ounce of feathers, where as a pound of feathers is heavier than a pound of gold. Confused yet?

***Gold back then, with the Wildhorse Rush on and even for some after, was rarely higher than $20-25CAD in value, per troy ounce. That’s based on the current US/CAD exchange rate. The metal, almost without exception, is usually quoted in US Dollars, even outside that country. Native gold is always somewhat impure, so there is a bit of a $$ penalty for that.

And on the road up the Wildhorse, along that narrow shelf, a vertical wall of rock to the north and a drop off with a deep, deep canyon, the river far below, to the south…it’s here we find a nugget. And it’s a big one! On this spot, an homage to the history of the area and the riches it produced. It’s a reminder back to those crazy gold rush days, with nature serving up its incredible bounty and where with nothing more than a pan and some gravel, a man could become king. We’re not sure who the mischievous person is that painted it up but we know it wasn’t that way a few years back when we last visited.

The Wildhorse Nugget (more a boulder really), if the real deal, would be a record holder.**** And then some! It’s about the size of one of those “doughnut” spare tires found on smaller cars. Gold, being dense, would mean you’d need a crane to lift it. By the way, it glows most brilliantly in the East Kootenay sun.

****Your author visited the World Exposition in Vancouver BC in 1986 (the much celebrated “Expo ’86”). On display there was a gold nugget, not the traditional record holder but I understand one of largest then in existence. Or at least it was noteworthy. It was enclosed in a bullet-proof/hammer-proof/tamper proof display case, You could even reach in through hand sized holes and touch and move it. No it was too big to pull back out – I tried! Recall it being fairly flat and lumpy, about the size of both of my hands if placed side by side (and I have a big ones) and about twice as thick. Further, I seem to think it was from Australia.

How many are swept up into a dream upon seeing the Wildhorse Nugget? Eyes grow wide, the body shakes, the heart races. Troubles are over, here on some mountain back road we’ve hit the jackpot. Images of of mansions, AMGs, big yachts and Cristal flowing like water. And arm candy spouses dumber than a claim post, but mighty easy on the eyes. And hard on the pocket-book…but you’re rich so who cares? We’re there! Harley-Davidisons for everyone!

Seems this gold prospecting thing ain’t so hard. Hoffmans…dudes…this is how it’s done!

But the road here is narrow and one shouldn’t stop long in case another vehicle comes upon you fast. There is little time to react and little room to pass. So move on, heading upstream into history and realize it was just a fantasy. You don’t have wheelbarrows full of cash.

Anyway, there’s things to see just up the road: Kootenay King Mine Concentrator, and taking in the former town at the centre of the Wildhorse Rush: A brief visit to Fisherville. Look for remains of the Dewdney Trail along here, an 1860s tote-road built to allow prospectors into the area. The whole Wildhorse valley is a wonder, scenic and with a storied past. Go back to those crazy days and picture yourself a grizzled prospector circa a hundred and fifty years ago, hitting it big.

In the 1980s your author had a friend with a claim on the Wildhorse. He’d allow me to pan there and once in a while I’d find some colour. Nothing much, but still exciting. Pulled out an ounce or two from the river, over a long summer (and it was a lot of work), which helped put some food on the table. Gold then was worth about a quarter what it is today.

More…
Fossil Prospecting @ Dino Provincial Park – speaking of prospecting.
Scenes of a Modern Farm – a fly on the wall experience.
The Clearwater – an old school Drive-In Theatre.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: July, 2018.
Location: Near Cranbrook BC.
Article references and thanks: BC Ministry Of Mines, National Mining Association (NMA.org).

It ain’t so hard…