Prospecting & Detecting
4 Keys to Successful Nugget Hunting
February 2012 by Chris Ralph
Lots of prospectors are trying out nugget detecting for the first time and finding out that it isn’t all that easy. In fact, in my opinion, metal detecting for nuggets is perhaps the most difficult form of prospecting that one can take on.
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.
Prospecting Research
These are just some of the ways I have been able to find new spots to metal detect for gold.
Small-Scale Processing of Hard Rock Ores
Depending on the ore and if significant sulfides are present, a hard rock miner may be able to get away with simply using a flux to digest the other minerals that may be present.
Guinea Africa: Gold, Ebola, and A Monkey Barbecue
Doubters be informed, yes, there is gold in Africa—lots of gold—and all the good and bad that comes with it.
Successful Detecting Requires Attention to Detail—Part I
So much of gold detecting depends on attention to detail. Every gold area offers its own distinct geological markers and as prospectors we must pick up on those markers.
An Alaskan in the Lower 48
Our destination was some old hydraulic workings where the old miners had washed literally mountains of material away to expose gold in ancient river channels.
The Birthday Nugget Patch
Down around 10 or 12 inches I hit a large cobble that appeared to be one type of hot rock for this area. I thought bad things about the new technology until I checked the rock.
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