Detecting Wet Ground Yields More Fun Than Gold

June 2019 by Ray Mills

We all continued over to another location at the top of a massive placer operation. Arriving at the draw, I showed everyone where gold had been found before and we all began detecting.

Trail to Treasure

July 2015
We are both very experienced working this type of ground, and we quickly found the pay layer where we would focus our efforts. The bedrock has good gold, but so does the red hard pan.

Commercial Placer Mining: Alaska Style

September 2021

There are currently about 170 commercial-scale placer operations in Alaska. Most of these are small operations with just a few people working; they are often family affairs that operate seasonally only during favorable weather.

Bedrock

March 2014
I am going to break bedrock down a bit and explain my view of the varying scenarios I come across in the field.

What Have You Got to Lose?

November 2016
It’s accepted knowledge that wet methods will recover more fine gold than dry methods and processing the gravel as a whole will get more gold than only using a metal detector. The question is how much more?

Green Valley's Fine Gold Patch

October 2019

Once across, I panned a couple of spots around some old grass roots and the fine gold was amazingly heavy. Every pan I ran after that had lots of color.

Detecting During Summer Heat

August 2015
This concept of detecting does not always work as we sometimes get a week or so where the temperatures rise to 116°—sometimes more.

Replacing Your 12-Volt Pump

May 2012
In the “toolbox” of most every prospector there are certain tools that we tend to use consistently for a variety of reasons. Have you ever noticed that tools and equipment tend to wear out, rust and fall apart whether we use them or not?

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