The Magazine: Prospecting and Mining Journal
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 The Bawl Mill
• If at first you don’t succeed...
• Ooops!
• By the numbers...
by Staff
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 Legislative and Regulatory Update
• A bumpy ride for miners...
• Speaking of climate change...
• "Recreational" mining
by Scott Harn
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A Word From the Editor
Last year was an extreme roller coaster ride for the economy, mining companies, and precious metal prices, and 2009 looks like it’s shaping up to be another wild ride.
by Scott Harn
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Reading A River: Finding The Paystreaks—Part II
 How to read a river to find gold. In this second of a two-part series, we will take a look at how a river’s grade affects the formation of paystreaks, and how to go about reading a river to see the various catches and parts of a stream where the force slows down and gold starts to accumulate.
by Chris Ralph
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Placer Gold in the Ortiz Mountains
 New Mexico’s Ortiz Mountains rise in irregular volcanic peaks above the surrounding plains, or llano, some 30 miles northeast of Albuquerque and about 14 miles to the south of my home outside the state capital of Santa Fe.
by Jim Rocha
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The Bawl Mill
• Before you invest your savings, ask to see their hands...
• Actual tax tips from the IRS for tax year 2008
• Maybe they thought the budget deadline was 2009?
by Staff
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Our Readers Say
• Regarding US vs. Steve Hicks
• More on the Ortiz Mountains of New Mexico
by Staff
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Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Environmentalists are missing a golden opportunity
• Special-use authorization not needed
by Scott Harn
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Oldest Journal Contest - The Winners
We received entries from readers in fourteen states for our contest to find out who has the oldest surviving copy of the Journal, originally named the California Mining Journal..
by Scott Harn
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The St. Louis Gold District
 In 1848 and 1849, miners had pushed all through the western Sierra foothills making many fantastic gold discoveries. The far north end of California’s Mother Lode country, however, had received little exploration.
by Chris Ralph
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The Bawl Mill
• Forgotten words...
• Mixing words...
• Master of words...
• Traveling words...
• Fighting words...
by Staff
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From The Editor
We (finally) have the new version of our website up and running, and it seems to be a hit!
by Scott Harn
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Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Dredging bill needs your attention
• Miners take the offensive
• Cap-and-trade legislation
by Scott Harn
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Detecting Invisible Gold
.jpg) How to find gold with a metal detector: The technology certainly has improved quite a bit over the years, so when these owners are testing various types of gold on their machines and they find that some gold responds poorly or not at all, it can come as an unpleasant surprise.
by Chris Ralph
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Finding Diamond Deposits With Your PC—Part I
 One method used to explore for kimberlite pipes is aerial photographs. If a kimberlite can be found on aerial photography, there are likely more nearby that can’t be seen on photographs. Over the years, myself and others found several hundred, if not thousands of potential kimberlites pipes...
by W. Dan Hausel
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The Bawl Mill
• What the government wants the government gets...
• A drop in the ocean...
• Do we get a paycheck for this?
by Staff
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Legislative and Regulatory Update
• California suction gold dredging
• Water rights
• Wilderness
• Climate change
• Two Bush rules left intact
by Scott Harn
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How to Utilize Assays and Evaluate Results
 Ask the lab manager how your ores will be tested, and ask to see the equipment that will be used. If you are told it’s a secret that can’t be explained, you need another assayer.
by Chris Ralph
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Mining Expedition at Eagle Rock—Part II
 We spent more time that first day moving rocks than we did sending material over the sluices. Even so, our cleanup was quite respectable for having only moved down to a depth of a couple feet.
by David Shackleton
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Broomstick Gold
 We found a fairly large boulder nestled in the shoreline close to the campsite within a well-known gold drop zone. I thought that it possibly was laying on bedrock, and could very likely hide some gold. We were going to move it and have a look.
by Tom Leftwich
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The Bawl Mill
• Too little, too late...
• Beware of Argentina...just kidding!
• A million dollars just doesn’t go as far as it used to...
• Well qualified
by Staff
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Legislative & Regulatory Update
• Roadless Rule back in play
• Action needed on SB 670
• Abbey recommended to head BLM
• Capped and jobless
• S 787
• SB 796 & HR 699
by Scott Harn
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The Suction Gold Dredging Fight Continues in California
The story is similar to what has played out over the past several years. The Karuk Tribe of northern California, with the support of several environmental and fishing groups, sues the California Department of Fish & Game in an attempt to stop suction gold dredging in the state. At the same time, they find a state legislator sympathetic to their cause and persuade the legislator to introduce a bill to stop suction gold dredging.
by Scott Harn
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Gold in the South Pass Greenstone Belt, Wyoming
 To many geologists and prospectors, “greenstone belts” are synonymous with “gold belts” since they provide excellent places to search for gold.
by W. Dan Hausel
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Chinese Buy Out Australian Miners
Some Australian lawmakers object to allowing Chinese government companies to buy mining assets that they say are a cornerstone of Australia’s economy.
by Associated Press
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I don’t know what to do next. Should I get an assay of the quartz? Can you recommend someone? Should I somehow crush the rock & search for a gold vein? Am I just wasting my time?
There was an outcropping of exposed bedrock on the bank, and it again resurfaced in the river about 25’ away. I decided to start a hole near that exposed bedrock, and pointed the nozzle down into the sand and cobbles.
While most individual prospectors out there are searching for placer gold, there is a different type of prospecting being done by a handful of individuals—the search for commercially viable large-scale gold and silver deposits.
Because the gold here is not coarse enough to be recovered in a pan, the deposit was not recognized as holding any significant potential for precious metals until 1908...
The signs of copper, which the prospector most commonly sees in the field in outcrops and on the surface, are secondary minerals caused by the action of air and water on the original copper-bearing sulfides that were deposited deep in the earth.
California Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 670 on August 6, 2009, which temporarily halts suction dredging in California until a new Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is completed. This was despite a request from his staff for a report on the economic harm this bill will cause.
I stayed on the nozzle (about 25 pounds) and Dave moved rock. We worked the hole for two and a half days. Most of the time was spent moving overburden.
The Crescent Creek placers are considered to be one of Utah's few commercial grade placers, but they are marginal and difficult to work at a profit.
