Prospecting & Detecting
A Day On The Yuba River
February 2020 by Alan J. Chenworth
There weren’t as many pieces of gold, but what I did find was bigger. As I worked my way down towards the spot that I had been working the first three days, I noticed a large crack that crossed the river.
Addressing EPA Overreach: What Dredgers Need to Know
A High Country Patch
As he was working near the extreme low end of the ground sluicing, I heard a yell through my headphones. Making my way down to him I could see the smile from a long distance.
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The Hunch
The mysteries of this spot were only just starting to develop. There is nothing but very bland granite-type rocks here, meaning no bold, favorable indicators.
Ask the Experts
• Using drywashers to work desert gravels
Residual Placers: An Often Overlooked Gold Source
Because the forces of erosion and gravity tend to carry lighter materials like quartz away more easily, the heavy minerals like gold or silver will tend to be concentrated in the general area around the vein outcrop. These concentrations are what make residual placers so attractive.
The Life of an Independent Prospector

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The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts - Can you explain how caliche forms?
• Ask The Experts - How does gold form?
• Ask The Experts - Do you think it’s realistic for a detectorist to recover a couple of ounces per week if working full time?
• Ask The Experts - Can you suggest proper discrimination settings for my detector?
• Time to Stake Your Own Mining Claim
• Determining The Optimal Crushing Size for Gravity Recovery
• Gold Prospecting for Better or Worse: The Pains of Prospecting
• To Foam or Not to Foam
• Following Man-Made Ditches to Recover More Gold
• Sixteen to One Gold Mine: Going Underground - Pt II
• All About Native Silver
• Internet Forum Gold
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices