Small Mining Operations
Setting Up A Placer Operation
January 2022 by Don Robinson
Trommels come in two basic sections. The first section is called the scrubber unit. The second is the punch plate, where the gravels and ore of a specified size drop out into a variety of sluice box recovery units.
Resurrecting An Old Hard Rock Mine—Gold At Last!
We’ve been busy with a plethora of projects, all aimed at gathering gold into a pile big enough to brag about. We’re not there yet, but I’ll show you some of the interesting projects we’ve completed since we talked last.
Long-Term Camping Plan at Fortymile Proposed by BLM
A draft environmental assessment of a proposal to allow long-term camping by gold miners along 21 miles of the North Fork of the Fortymile Wild and Scenic River is available from the Bureau of Land Management.
PLP Update: Back to The 'Swamp' on Behalf of Small Miners
We spent the morning in a meeting with one of the higher-ups at the US Forest Service. I presented him with 412 complaints received from our readers, along with a summary of the complaints to make his job easier.
Nevada Miners: Check Your Claim Markers
The Nevada Senate introduced SB108 in 2009 to prohibit PVC piping utilized by miners to stake mining claims.
Customizing Your Dredge
I am going to suggest dozens of ways you can increase suction power, dredge to greater depths, and improve recovery methods in your sluice box.
Evaluating Gold Recovery with Mass Balance Calculations
Whether you are placer or hard rock gold mining, maximizing the efficiency of your recovery process is very important to success, and accurate testing is necessary to do so.
To Foam or Not to Foam
George was considering filling his dredge floats with closed-cell foam, ensuring that there would be no area available within each float for flooding.
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts - Geophysics or drilling? Which is best for this project?
• Ask The Experts - How closely are black sand and gold related?
• Why Is The Gold On Bedrock—Or Why Is It Not?
• Breaking Boulders With Explosives
• Colorado to California for Gold
• Historic Dredge Uncovered in North Carolina
• Grizzly Flats, California—Another Mother Lode Gold Rush Town
• Drywashing Without A Drywasher
• Late Fall Drywashing
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
