Prospecting & Detecting
Highbanking on the Feather River
December 2010 by Tom Leftwich
A number of visiting gold miners were quite impressed with our operation and the amount of gold we had recovered in only three hours. No one usually likes digging and slugging buckets all day long, but we actually began to enjoy it after a few good...
Finding Gold With A Simple Sluice Box
…the sluice is a normal first step up from a gold pan for many prospectors. They are simple to use, easily portable, can capture a lot of gold, and can process gravel 10 to 20 times faster than a person can pan…
The "Madonna Nugget"—A Weekend Hunt to Remember
I worked my way to a flat area along a ridge where I could see a quartz blowout. As I got within 100 feet of it, I started seeing rock that I knew to be associated with gold.
Turning Hobby Mining into Business Mining
The first thing a person should do is seriously consider whether they want to go mining as a hobby or a business, and the tax implications of the choice.
Volume is the Key to Success
While recovery rates are important, they must necessarily be secondary to the volume of material processed. Running more material at lower recovery rates is generally preferable to increasing the efficiency of the system.
A Short History of Hydraulic Mining in California
To add to the confusion, the dam wasn’t holding back a large amount of water. It was full of gravels and had a small creek running through it. I had to know more.
Taking Advantage of the Desert Rains
May 2023Getting Started
He excitedly told me he was going mining and wanted to know where he should go, how to do it, and so on. After he calmed down, I got excited. “I need to go!” was my response.
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• So, Where's The Gold?—Finding Gold Detectors Miss
• The Oregon Claim
• Forest Service v. Michael & Linda Backlund
• CFTC Finds Evidence of Silver Market Manipulation
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• Detecting for Gold in Australia—The Kimberley Trip
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