Prospecting & Detecting
The Basics of Permitting and Bonding Your Mining Operation
December 2020 by John Norman
With the recent surge of interest in gold projects, it’s about time to revisit a subject that strikes fear into the hearts of small-scale miners: Permits.
Nice Specimen Gold Recovered in Northern California
Each specimen is carefully examined to determine if it would be beneficial or not to use an acid treatment to reveal more of the gold.
Selectable Frequency vs Multi Frequency Detectors
I like to think in terms of “conductive mass” because it is a combination of both the conductivity of the metal and the size of the target that determine how a detector sees conductivity.
Detecting: Getting Away From The Heat And Into The Gold
Within a very few minutes, I had my first nice sounding target. It turned out to be a nice earring-size gold piece that was about a half a gram.
Bedrock Nugget Hunting: Tools of the Trade
As a guide to those who are thinking of taking up this activity or those who currently practice this trade, I have created a listing of the primary tools and equipment I use when nugget hunting.
The Dredge Report
As a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits, I’m not allowed to talk about specifics in the court-ordered negotiations currently underway in San Bernardino. However, I do want to let you know we are making progress…
Gold Geochemistry: Where Does Gold Come From?
Prospectors often wonder why gold deposits in veins like it does. Why is one vein rich while another is barren, even though they are only a few hundred feet apart?
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.
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The Bawl Mill
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Ask The Experts - Is this prospect worth sampling?
• Ask The Experts - Can you recommend resources for southeast Alaska?
• Ask The Experts - Can I pay someone to research a claim for me?
• Ask The Experts - Do larger detector coils see deeper nuggets?
• Reading A River: Understanding Erosion and Gold
• Plotting and Persistence Lead to Big Gold
• Using Countercurrent Material Flow to Improve Gold Recovery Efficiency
• Gold Prospecting for Better or Worse: The First Year Is The Hardest
• Mining In The El Paso Range of Southern California
• Tips and Tricks: A Dredging Tip for Clearing the Tailings Pile
• The Kern River
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
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