Gold Nugget Hunting and Ratidiation in the Ground

[hymohamed68]

Hello Forum Members,

I am prospecting Gold nuggets in an area that contains huge Uranium deposits and I have heard people who were affected by the natural radiation that is assocaited with these deplosits. I have searched the web and saw some very expensive Anti Radiation Gear that cost at least $1399. I am not even sure if I need this expensive Anti Radiation Gear. My knowledge, when it comes to natural radiation, is very limited and I need something that I can wear when I am digging the ground. I am ordering geiger counters to detect radiation in the soil but I have no intention of leaving nuggets in the ground simply because the place shows increasing radiation levels since this radiation is occuring naturally.

Please advice if you are aware of anti-radiation gear / closthes which is/are not very expensive.

Thanks,

Xasan

[The Shadow]

Your kidding right?

This should be a good thread to follow.

[claim jumper]

I have an old Geiger counter from the 70's you can have.

And where is this radiation located at????

[hymohamed68]

I have an old Geiger counter from the 70's you can have.

And where is this radiation located at????

The Shadow - I am not kidding but as I said my knowledge to Uranium prospecting is relatively new and I have other laymen telling me Natural Radiation has really affected people who were digging the ground for gold. If you think this cannot happen, please say so.

Claim jumper - This is located in East Africa. We can discuss more if you can drop me your email or your phone number.

Thanks,

Xasan

[wonderer]

The Shadow always knows, and this will be an interesting thread for sure..................Sky-hooks and all

Xasan - - - - When working underground they monitured the air for radon gas(I'm buchering the name) & exposure (smoking made it worse)........................To keep exposure down in bad underground areas people were rotated in and out of these areas......................good ventilation also cut exposure

We had no protective radiation gear - - - The only gear we had underground was my identification brass - light - hard hat - rubber mine boots (because of mud and water) - dust mask ( to keep from getting rocked up with Quartize dust) & a self rescuer (carbinmonixide asorber in case of fire)

The only issues above ground I've heard about is where they process uranium ( yellow cake ) they have a higher cancer rate - - - - just taking a guess, maybe the people (workers) in the area aren't wearing dust masks and are breathing in the dust into their lungs or take it home on their cloths..............or are being exposed to higher radon gas in enclosed areas without good ventilation..............................just my dumb two cents worth.

wonderer

[montana]

Xasan. Your limited exposure to naturally occuring radiation should cause you no problems. As wonderer stated, the danger lies in being exposed for long hours underground with limited fresh air and exposure to mining dust. I would say the radiation emminating from your search coil would be more of a hazard, and I've often wondered about the effects of that on a daily basis for 20 years. They say that cell phones with their tiny amount of electromagnetic radiation may be harmful over time.----Bob

[Reg]

Xasan,

Here is a link to Hosfelt Electronics. They sell on old unit for a fairly cheap price. Once at the site, just search for radiation.

http://www.hosfelt.com/

You can also find other units at Hays Electronics.

Here is the link to his website and radiation detectors.

http://www.hayselectronics.com/radiation.htm

I hope this helps.

Reg

[hymohamed68]

Xasan,

Here is a link to Hosfelt Electronics. They sell on old unit for a fairly cheap price. Once at the site, just search for radiation.

http://www.hosfelt.com/

You can also find other units at Hays Electronics.

Here is the link to his website and radiation detectors.

http://www.hayselectronics.com/radiation.htm

I hope this helps.

Reg

Thank you all gentlemen. I will definitely follow your advice and ignore folks telling me hunting gold nuggets will kill you due to the natural radiation in the ground.

Xasan

[sawmill]

Xasan

Before you go gold digging ,in that type of soil,it would be

a good idea to find out just how strong the radiation really is.

Type Navajo uranium miners into search. There is a lot of

information on those sites.

Breathing the dust really can kill you. The Federal government

ignored the dangers for years,and played it down.

Most of the first generation uranium miners were told that it

wasn't a real problem. A large share of them died young from

cancer. The reason for the higher death rate in the mills was

more dust ,finer dust,purer grade,and for a long time they didn't

know enough about it to protect their selves.

I think that with the right equipment and a good understanding

of what you are dealing with,it could be safely done.

Radon gas will settle even in a small coyote hole operation in

large enough amounts to cause problems. Oh Yeah DO NOT

drink the water.

[whats4supper]

generally speaking, if you are working around high grade uranium orebodies, it takes years to absorb enough radiation to cause health problems. It's working around refined uranium that causes short term exposure problems.

Rather than get all panicky, it takes about 160 tons of high grade ore to produce 1-100 pounds of enriched uranium. Many ores- lead, zinc, copper and such are naturally radioactive, as well as common dirt, and other things, such as coleman lantern mantles and ingredients in white gas. for better or worse, we are all exposed on a regular basis to radiation of some sort or another, even from tv monitors and computer screens.

Your best bet would be to contact some outfit that can offer a film badge, and subsequent monitoring or testing, that you could turn in and track your exposures and limits on a monthly or seasonal basis. this way you'll have specific information you can use, rather than some wild scares from a geiger counter that starts screaming. However, you could use those moments to stake out an uranium mining claim, when and if the USA starts wanting to buy ore.

as for sawmill's quip, the government knew but didn't care, knowing at the time that a guy couldn't sue the government. he's very right about the dust, but it's more the dust that messes up the lungs than the radioactive part.

In several parts of the NW, people actually go to old uranium mines and sit as part of a cure for arthritis and rheumatism pains. sit and play cards, sleep, what have you, for an hour or two or all day. claims the treatments works

[sawmill]

whats4supper

A whole lot depends on the type of ore,and the other nasty

stuff with it. The ore here is real hot in some mines.The dust

settles in the lungs but then dissolves creating radon gas spots

that create concentrated radiation pockets.

It is not just the radiation in one large dose,that you have too

worry about. Some ores are highly toxic too,and can cause you

to be poisoned . The water in some mines or ore bodies is very

toxic.

Some ore bodies produce high volumes of radon gas and that

is the real problem. A good radon detector is more important

than a geiger counter. Sitting in a coyote hole without ventilation

all day digging is much worse than a real mine.

Refined uranium doesn't produce as much radiation as a person

would think. But it is more concentrated,so when you breathe it,

you just get more deadly particles in a shorter time.

Some of the heavy metals and chemicals associated with uranium

ores are way more dangerous than pure uranium.

Pure uranium is a metal,and has been used for centuries for various

purposes. Just working on the surface ,you would probably die of

old age ,unless you were breathing lots of dust. The radiation from

the sun would probably be worse.

[hymohamed68]

whats4supper

A whole lot depends on the type of ore,and the other nasty

stuff with it. The ore here is real hot in some mines.The dust

settles in the lungs but then dissolves creating radon gas spots

that create concentrated radiation pockets.

It is not just the radiation in one large dose,that you have too

worry about. Some ores are highly toxic too,and can cause you

to be poisoned . The water in some mines or ore bodies is very

toxic.

Some ore bodies produce high volumes of radon gas and that

is the real problem. A good radon detector is more important

than a geiger counter. Sitting in a coyote hole without ventilation

all day digging is much worse than a real mine.

Refined uranium doesn't produce as much radiation as a person

would think. But it is more concentrated,so when you breathe it,

you just get more deadly particles in a shorter time.

Some of the heavy metals and chemicals associated with uranium

ores are way more dangerous than pure uranium.

Pure uranium is a metal,and has been used for centuries for various

purposes. Just working on the surface ,you would probably die of

old age ,unless you were breathing lots of dust. The radiation from

the sun would probably be worse.

Bsically, here is what I gather:

1. Good Radon detector. However, will this cover any thing that the Geiger counters can. This is may be a question for the Radon Gas detector suppliers.

2. Periodically test yourself for radiation. The only problem is this part of the world, I could not see any doctor who can do it, so I will have to come back to USA (Columbus, Ohio).

3. Wear dust masks to ensure that I do not inhale dust.

In case you ever travel to East Africa as a tourist, there is a mountain called Mount Kenya in Kenya and it has lots of these gold nuggests. This country is very safe and regulations are lax. Yu can bring your metal detector with you and detect it. It is legal to take the rough nuggets outside of the country. You can hire guards for $80 - 100 a month and make sure the guard can drive so you do not have to hire a driver.

Thank you all for the very informative replies.

I am back to the field chasing those yellow nuggests with my Minelab GPX - 4000.

-Xasan

[FrogMick]

Good luck and prosper Xasan. If you start glowing in the dark that would be the time to quit your radioactive nugget patch.

[whats4supper]

Granted- the advice above is good advice. however, I don't much advise anyone to go underground into an old mine. assuming the only problem is radon gas, the problem is that it is heavier than air and displaces beathing air; the same as for co2 and co, and other gases that arise from sulphide and other ore oxidation.

The problem being that when you start feeling dizzy or sick to your stomach. you'll have about 5-10 minutes to get out. kids usually are affected before adults, and there are a lot of stories about recent adults and kids, even inside, near the entrance of an old mine, that didn't make it out alive. Some mines are so treacherous, that even the rescue personnel won't enter to retrieve the body(s).

breathing air doesn't usually enter into the depths of a mine that has no draft. Even then. there are portions of a drafty mine that contain bad air pockets. bad air and breathing air smells the same. So by going into one and taking a chance can be more risky than you comprehend.

My advice arises from being both a miner, and part of certified mine rescue operations in the past.