Living the Gold Life | The Relentless Pursuit Of Gold

I rush to make the necessary repairs so we can start sluicing and finally producing gold. With a passion and determination that knows no bounds, working tirelessly, always pushing to go further, dig deeper, and to never give up, we are on the brink of making history.
Through the tireless efforts and unwavering commitment to the goal, I have discovered that the true value of this journey lies not in the gold unearthed, but in the incredible experiences along the way. From the stunning beauty of the mountains to the camaraderie of fellow miners, every moment of this adventure has been an opportunity to learn, to grow, and to find joy in the pursuit of ones dreams.
As we watch this story unfold together and reflect on this incredible journey, we are reminded of the power of perseverance, determination and the incredible beauty of the human spirit. So come along and discover for yourself the true meaning of the saying "the journey is the reward".
Love You Mom😊

[@curlydave7689]

I love your videos. I am an old-time Chemical Engineer (B.S. 1967, Ph.D. 1972) and what you are doing is good, old-fashioned engineering. Any plant start-up was always a lot of work and very satisfying when it was finished, with everything up and running. It is great to watch, and every few minutes I want to pick up the phone to call and tell you how we dealt with these problems back in the day. But then you show us a solution and are on to the next issue. Not much longer and the paydirt is going to be giving up its gold.

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

I really appreciate you taking the time to write such awesome words, thank you

[@JDD-kw8ze]

Love the way you add stuff like "THE MATH" !! =-) Too Funny Man !! Way too much thinking !! ;~) I busted a gut ! Laughed so hard ! Legendary !!

[@roberthollenbeck7554]

Time to see some real sluicing, the anticipation is killing me.

[@Spudscave]

Fantastic a notification from the King of reclamation Mr Andy Thrax absolutely love your work ethic and your passion for gold mining it’s a joy to watch you at work All the best from Glasgow Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ❤

[@captureyouradventures]

AYE!!!! A Scotsmen! In North America!!! What is this wizardry! It's an honour to host someone from "the friendly city" and how fitting to be from a city that is known for its impressive Victorian architecture and rich history and be watching us over here trying to uncover some of the oldest things GOLD! From the land of David Bowie, Franz Ferdinand, and Travis we salute you. Thanks so much for being here!

[@Spudscave]

@@captureyouradventuresThanks for the kind words we also have gold mines here in gods own country about 1hour 30min from my front door. I spent 6 weeks visiting friends in Vancouver that was the first time I knew about gold claims they where in the town of Hope the scenery was outstanding ❤from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@clydea.murphy2219]

Andy, it looks like some of the natives are getting restless, don't they know good things come to those who wait patience is a virtue!!

[@aumigogold2707]

Can’t thank you enough for taking us along , my weekend isn’t complete without some andythraxx and a coffee in the morning !! Love seeing the progression and perfectionism of your operation , won’t be long now before your swimming in gold my friend !!

[@captureyouradventures]

Man, we can't thank you enough for hanging out with us. We appreciate you being here so much and are working really hard to make the best content we can given the restraints we are working within. Not everyone understands how hard it is to run a mine site solo, work full time and pay for a film crew and editor and everything else. So your support and following along is exactly why we are working so hard. We can't wait to get into the gold just like you guys. And we're really trying to do it right so get excited because it's coming. and thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.

[@RICDirector]

You're doing a fantastic job! The hot chocolate/tea/coffee bill must be astronomical. Ps...look at a bicycle flag....🤣🤪🚩

[@Smithsgold]

getting closer !!!!

[@cptnkaos5994]

this is going to be another great Video

[@joshuajackson6442]

Problem solving at it amazing best! You rock! Andy!!

[@firemanfireman7228]

Andy well hopefully everything goes smoothly around this time Maybe you'll be making gold on the next one Fireman 🔥🔥🔥

[@GlennTerlecki]

I know how problems and setbacks are not what anyone ever hopes for but I admire your calm demeanor and problem solving ability to fix issues with a positive attitude. This builds character. Keep moving forward!!!

[@JacobsBrand]

That's the way to do it, boots on the ground! Nice job, keep living the dream! Tick tock we're on the clock! JacobsBrand out!

[@cougerchris]

The stud of all studs,!!

[@josephstoermer2441]

Awesome video getting close! 👍😎❤️

[@rastaralph7154]

Hit from the bong! ❤️💛💚

[@midasmarkprospecting7698]

Your such a hard worker andy pretty rare in todays youth i hope you inspire them like you have done for me thanks for sharing and being just you

[@MayhemProspecting]

Keep after it brother! The dream will become reality before you know it!

[@ronheflin7848]

Another cool video. Just waiting to see the beast running and getting that gold

[@danielfmyers]

Lol the “calculating” scene 😂

[@mrpreparedallthetime1099]

You Crack me up man, I love this video! 😂 Not to mention you're working in the snow in short sleeves you're a maniac!

[@jbprospector3638]

I'm glad that you are showing the ups and downs of mining ⛏️👍😎

[@rolspentlow7656]

Love watching your endeavours, cant wait for it all to gel together, which I am sure it will. All the best from the UK.👍🤞

[@DodgeI]

you can tell the man is working by wearing a t-shirt in the snow. keep up the hard work, it will pay off just keep grind away and solving the problems as they come!

[@hoborobprospecting]

I agree that a "story line" with a "finish" would be good. Obviously someone with 2 subs and no videos probably doesn't understand how difficult and time consuming it can be to find the right spots for tripods and cameras where they are out of the way, but are still able to film the content wanted. Keep the videos coming Andy

[@PowRKord]

Nice job, Andy. The positive and tense change both shine through, ^5!

[@Antonowskyfly]

Thank you Andy. 👍👍🤟🤙🤘

[@micsmarvelousmusic8686]

Living the dream, wishing you huge success👍

[@GoldVP...]

I almost forgot tonight's Lotto649, ran at 725pm to my coop minutes away, got my $58,000,000.00 ticket, ran back, and no sluicing. If I win that cash, I'll invest, and we'll make a show of actually running the trommel and getting gold. Kinda glad I didn't force myself to wake up at the time, after the beers last night...this would've been way more entertaining then. Let's get this thing running

[@mrpreparedallthetime1099]

I did not know you needed one inch of fall for every foot length of your sluice. Thank you for that. Hoping to see you this summer.

[@iSTAYuGO]

Andy, lead on ! A hard dream job.

[@jackattack70]

Andy, I'm so glad that you are knowledgeable about all of the proper way the plant should be set up. Most of us would have cranked it up and would have been loosing good gold from the start.

[@GoldVP...]

It's called trial and error, live and learn. He's halfway there

[@leaversj]

Love it once again an amazing vid, keep it up and cant wait till the next one!

[@zak-a-roo264]

50 yrs of trades, we all got the ringing, always carry a pair of foam ear plugs in your jeans key pocket, it'll save your hearing longterm . Your job I would just put them in at day start, wear the earmuff style for added protection. Rock on!!!

[@7chillywilly7]

I love the filming and editing! Great work and good to see things moving along!

[@captureyouradventures]

Hey @7chilly. We appreciate you brother. Bianca and I thank you so much for your kind words. We are trying hard to make it enjoyable. We will keep looking for your feedback and if you want anything let us know directly in the comments here and we will do our best to make it happen for you.

[@7chillywilly7]

@@captureyouradventures hey good to hear that you guys are looking at the audience. I hope you both are able to grow with Andy on covering the story. If it is not too much to ask, what camera are yall using and what microphone?

[@captureyouradventures]

@@7chillywilly7 Not at all glad you are engaging and asking. Feel free to ask anything. We use a Sony A7S3 with sigma 24-70mm 2.8 DG DN 82 art series lens on a ronin RS2 gimbals with a Peter McKinnon filter. The Drone was a DJI Mavic Pro (the OG) but that's my backup drone just having an issue with Amazon sending me another one I bought DJI Mavic 3 Cine it's lost and been taking months for them to fix the issue. But going forward we will have a DJI Air 2s. 4k60p 10bit for the time being. Hope that helps.

[@captureyouradventures]

@@7chillywilly7 Are you asking because you are looking to buy? Because I would not go with this setup now with that's out... This was the best at the time but 3-4 years later or now... there are some amazing products out that are a bit more affordable

[@adventureswithgoat8515]

I just had to resub you. Great video brotatorchip. Thank you for sharing

[@miningwithminions8883]

So sick brotha love every one of these videos!! ur busting ur ba11s out there man and its very knowticeable keep up the amaizing work

[@WheelieShinyGold]

This kind of stuff deserves way more views. KZbin must be managed by bud light

[@nathancarmichael7050]

Awesome Andy, have a wonderful day!

[@samallbutt5410]

Killing it. Love watching the journey

[@ijones79]

Great video Andy! I love the trouble shooting and problem solving.

[@freedomprospecting9034]

Nice set up. Thanks for showing us.

[@minerjim1531]

Andy, use redundancy to your advantage, add some riffles to that wooden trough! just as a back up. only clean it once in a while. If anything got past sluice you will be able to adjust accordingly by doing it,and checking it. Love the videos, your learning everyday!!! Great job!!

[@johnharrop5530]

Yeah I reckon that the sluice box is way too short

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Such a great idea, I can’t wait to try that and see what slips past.

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

@@johnharrop5530 we did some research and from what other miners say this should be enough sluice for 25 yards per hour, but I think adding a second sluice would be really easy and very gratifying to see if it does catch any more gold.

[@ninefingermining8694]

Awesome Andy so true you think you have it figured out & well it’s modification time 👍🏻

[@steveh9677]

Great to see you getting close!! Get the GOLD!!

[@OregonUnearthed]

Proud to see how far you are coming! Thank you for bringing us along for the ride! I think you and I both can’t wait for a little bit more sunshine 😂

[@dirtyminerapparel]

Glad to see you are getting this figured out. Can’t wait to see what the recovery is at this site.

[@RICDirector]

Andy, keep an eye out for a sheet of tin or galvanized metal. Scoot the tailings chute away a bit and make that uphill edge a curve; im thinking you're going to have material piling up in the angle you have now. Other thing....use the foam insertable earplugs all the time on the site. Add the earmuff style like you do now, but it really helps cut down the incidental noise exposure. Tinnitus sucks, trust me. Large fans in my barn for decades, without ear protection, has made me seriously ringy-dingy and it is ZERO fun. Another contributor can be anti inflammatories like aspirin, ibuprofen, celecoxib, naproxen.....so if you take those, make sure you are stretching out and drinking lots of plain water.

[@boneyardmilitia1836]

Andy..You are gonna have a solid summer up at your claim..weather gonna be epic

[@timberlinegoldprospecting2358]

Good idea on the ear protection while your younger. I learned the hard way. Even driving with your window slightly open for fresh air puts a lot of noise on your left ear that you may not realize. Mine ring constantly!

[@akope]

All little things to sort out sure take a minute when you're a one man army. Thanks for taking us on the adventure

[@tattoedmat]

Superb Andy. I would happily be the new guy waving a flag though it might hitch a ride on a deer to confuse things 🤫😉🤣 Hope the Tinitus sorts itself or it will be a trip to the hearing centre. I'm lucky I don't suffer though do have to wear hearing aids ,lost 7&15% total hearing to to mostly industrial noise and music. Absolute nightmare out in the field as they not waterproof so I can't wear.

[@WrenchRepairsAndProspecting]

Cant wait to see it in action

[@DontBeAKumquat]

Really want to see the dirt moving. Set up is cool and all but ready to see some action!

[@AllAroundTube50]

longer episodes mate. Keep em coming.

[@MrJayrodge]

Can't wait to see your first clean out! Looking good!

[@karenkoontz4248]

Stellar!

[@triple_A_rockhound]

Nice gonna be nice see how the fixs find cold

[@williamelliott]

Great video. Really like seeing you sharing your building experience.

[@photoadventures]

Yuss a new episode! Always stoked when one of this hit the tube!!! Watching now.

[@waynelacroix8870]

I'm loving it! All the nuts and bolts of fine tuning your system. It makes no sense to just rip into the ground without working equipment. Your tailings trough is going to clog in less than ten minutes of run. If it all goes south on you just pull out that wooden trough and dig a channel and stake in a blue tarp until you can build a metal tailings trough. Good luck to you out there!!!

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Great suggestions, thank you very much

[@waynelacroix8870]

If you are like me and you worry about losing gold I would suggest using a tarp on the tailings but dig little 1 inch ruffles before laying the tarp and then scooping a couple of those out for a quick test.

[@buckmusky2201]

I cant wait till august when we get to see you sluice, these tinkering videos are fun but become redundant

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Just trying to document the whole process, we’re going to show everything, but once we’re actually mining it won’t be so “one day at a time” I know it drags on but in reality this video was only day 10 of opening the mine.

[@lawrencerenew8668]

That ringing in your ear could also be high blood pressure my friend. I too have some tinnitus from being on an aircraft carrier. Youth is feeling invincible. But we soon find out we were wrong. Love your show buddy. I linked to you from our mutual friend Dan Hurd.

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Oh wow that’s such a good point, I notice when I bend down the blood pressure in my ears and head increases and that does add to the ringing, I heard even a professional ear clean can fix it sometimes.

[@lawrencerenew8668]

@@ANDYTHRAXX yes, it does. The bending over and feeling it, may suggest it 🥲 but that just means you can’t eat good food anymore🤣🤣

[@EAGL3Y3S2]

Love it

[@cut--]

I use an angle level. You can set the angle and use the bubble like a regular level. ~5-7 degrees. Great vid 😉👍

[@SMoore-js6fy]

Hope to see a full days run when the set-up is complete!!

[@rayon3383]

Your still living my dream Andy! Hey bud just a thought I haven't watched your video all the way through yet but I was thinking when you were screwing your little wooden box together!! I think if you screwed like some thin sheet metal to the bottom and sides your waste rock would probably slide and go down a little better, just a thought! Love your video's, I have operated Heavy Equipment all my life and love it! Working on finding some decent land to claim and man it is hard to find right now! Keep the video's coming we love them!!

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Great ideas !! I hope you find a claim soon, and cheers to operating heavy equipment, I’m in love with it.

[@josephknowlton7246]

Liked, shared and commented 🍻

[@captureyouradventures]

[@glentimmins7560]

Sweet ⛏️⛏️

[@jasonaucolorado5111]

Last option for tailings is rubber sheeting like a pond liner or heavy duty reinforced plastic sheeting

[@marckrummenacher9446]

It's looking good, Andy, and it's really starting to come together. I to have the dredded ear ringing 30 yrs of diesel fitting and military service. It's great that you highlight the importance of PPE because in your situation, it would be so easy to do whatever you wanted on your claim, seeing you are the only one there. Great vid mate, thanks

[@brettscott4064]

C’mon dude hurry up with the next vid. All the suspense has me hooked asf, I don’t ever go looking to see if a vid is up yet😆🇦🇺

[@allanpaulson8888]

good video great tips

[@psilver063]

Love your stuff Andy. You and I think very much alike always problem solving on the fly

[@brentsmith981]

Interesting information on things golden!... you gonna show us some?

[@frankbowman22]

Andy in that wood sluice that you built I think what I would do is line it with deep V so that way if you're losing any gold at all that deep V in the wooden sluice will catch it and it won't slow your water flow down

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Fantastic idea !!

[@TheMiningChannel]

Excellent work Andy, great problem solving. All the small things you spend time fine tuning will save you headaches later down the road. Good job.

[@justindeberry9102]

I forgot to mention it last time but invest in a heat blanket or a box oven for pvc pipe we use them all the time in the electrical feild to make bends on the fly. I think a company called greenly makes them. Im sure there are others.

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Great ideas Justin, thank you so much

[@gerardvriend729]

Just turn it on! 1 pump 4 inch is more than enough! Remember in New-Zealand they burn $20,- a day fuel to run the trommel!

[@derkaderka5910]

Can’t wait to see the results!! Your work with the square shovel was top notch.. makes me think of the old timers doing the same work, more than a century ago with flumes and gravity

[@allaraaver8432]

Hehehe. These types of little mishaps are why I've taught myself to think the whole process through in my head first. I've noticed that often times when "figuring things out in the process" type of thing often tend to lead to similar results of forgetting or realising some things too late and having to redo some of it. So nowadays I usually go through the process in my head by literally just standing around the work area and visualising and making a mental list of the process requirements, and set everything I need up before I start. Many people think that you would be wasting time just standing around thinking but eventually 9 times out of 10, you finish things faster because you are not making up for mistakes or things you forgot.

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Very true and great advice, I know what you mean about pausing and thinking in the work site, I have a very visual mind so I can move things around in my head lol. Thank you so much for taking the time to write

[@samroberts8365]

We run our sluice boxes at 9 degrees Andy. It catches every speck of gold.

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Great to know, thanks for taking the time to share this

[@TalRohan]

awe Andy the suspense is ........are we nearly there yet. And I can tell its there in your mind too if you are spotting nugget illusions. Great stuff but you took the $90 part out anyway

[@workaholic5318]

Ready for another trial run. Hopefully this one balances all the low flow issues and the need for throughput to make maximum recovery happen.

[@TrapperScottyAlaskan]

I think it's best to build your own washplant to be most familiar with its workings. Once your dialed in and washing, its critical to keep it producing. Breakdowns can be fixed quicker knowing where your components came from and knowing your plant intimately, you have to own it. Trapper Scotty, Alaskan

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Very good points Scotty, I agree, it certainly makes repairs faster when you have had it all apart before

[@skazztheterrible]

Cypress hill lol nice

[@captureyouradventures]

Grandma's boy - "It's like Cypress hill concert in here" throws bong! Lol.

[@afi990203]

hopefully some big nuggets get found :)

[@au_gmentedreality]

Cypress hill!

[@full-panprospecting]

It was good watching mate, I hope you get all the setting up done, so you can get stuck into your pay, great show, I woke up just in time.

[@chrisburston1415]

Maybe a second Pronpainius for the next build. 🤔 lols

[@brandonjackson1434]

That's funny I work alone mostly and I refer to me as we too ,and my mind sounds just like that when I go into figure mode very funny and great representation ,looking good brother

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Hahah, I know what you mean, I can’t say I or me, it’s always been We lol 😆 I appreciate you writing

[@mackdickson1209]

Looking good there Andy. I'm wondering if that tailings pond will be big enough, you may have to look at putting a floating gate/baffle mid way so that the water will settle out before reaching the pumps. In regard to hearing protection, I regret not wearing it when I was young, between construction work and my military service, I now suffer from constant ringing and require hearing aids. Always wear PPE and look after yourself, it's the only body you have so make it last!!!

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Yes you are right, I’m going to double the size of the pond soon and add a primary catch area for the sluice sands, thank you so much for the tips and taking the time to write

[@goldenoutdoors]

I love the edit Andy you did a great job and getting better with every video. What program do you use to make all the extras for your videos? I loved the sluice box graphic 👍🏻

[@kimmclaughlin7752]

Grab a cheap blue tarp and replace the wood totally. Covers a greater area and stops erosion.

[@jaredput]

Andy! You are probably well into mining by now (its officially spring in your neck of the woods) Hope you have worked the bugs out and are getting that gold. Us folks in the interior are gearing up for our turn to chase that colour! If you are still having issues I can offer some simple guidelines (and if you want to see the actual math explaining the numbers I have, although much of it is available online). I am sure you have done your homework (you want to keep your operation simple and able to run off small pumps with small volumes, keeps costs down) but I am going to offer you what I have seen on plants that are running optimally with similar equipment. 1.5" (3.75cm) to 2" (5cm) drop over 12" of sluice, and occasionally up to 2.5" (6.25cm). As for water volume it depends on the depth of riffles, size of largest material that will be passing over your sluice, and velocity required to keep the riffles live/active (this depends on heavy concentrate/lighter gravel ratios and the make-up of said cons ie. Magnetite, hematite, ilmenite, scheelite etc.....). Alright getting to the point. 400L/min per 12"(30cm) of sluice width at an absolute minimum. 600L probably better (systems employing deeper riffles and larger screen sizes 1"+ may require +1000L/min per 12" width. A sample of your raw material screened to the size that passes onto the sluice can be analyzed and suggestions made. Obviously different systems work with less or more water volume/sluice slope. Folks running hand slices or high bankers will tell of their "success" with limited water and slope etc... but that DOES NOT mean you are running efficiently!!!! Sorry for the rant but my jealousy reared its ugly head as I am on "vacation" and really I just want to dig some dirt!!

[@ANDYTHRAXX]

Awesome technical information Jared, thank you so much for taking the time to write this to me. By the sounds of it my sluice needs to be a fair bit steeper and that makes so much more sense now that I think of it.

[@hunnybunnysheavymetalmusic6542]

5:20 HEH.... I've had tinnitus LITERALLY ALL of my life. The trick is to learn to filter it out because if you screw up and start LISTENING to it, it will grow SO LOUD you'll go insane!

[@davidwolf2478]

I am enjoying watching this on my TV but my TV You Tube won't allow me to watch the whole video. I have to watch it on my phone if I want to see the whole video 😢😢😢

[@insAneTunA]

👍

[@charlestipton9709]

insane in the membrane

[@jonathanschrader7881]

It's called tinnitus? Artillery... What can I say lol .. The ringing goes away with white noise they have apps and stuff. I listen to music but the silence makes the ringing ... And that isn't going away sadly they make ear pro that are Bluetooth (not earbuds lol). I usually have one earbud in and I almost never have issues.. good luck.. I enjoy watching your show and best of luck getting some gold.. I love the hand built items I hope they work really well 👍

[@ratled1]

Please, get a nut driver for those clamps. When its cold trying to keep that screw driver aligned is a PITA. Princess Auto sells sets, folding sets or a single one IF all of the heads are the same size