A Test Grid Dredged for Gold Values

June 2018 by Bill Bohan

The evaluation must also consider the gold fineness or purity. The purity of the Sugardaddy nuggets is estimated at 850 fineness, meaning 85% is gold (Au), 12% is silver (Ag) with 3% being other gangue alloyed metal.

Conductive Minerals and Your Metal Detector

August 2014
...most prospectors don't even think about the conductivity of minerals, but there are some that do conduct electricity to a certain degree, so metal detectors will respond to them.

Ophir—Possibly the Best Kept Secret in Alaska—Part II

December 2013
I knew the nuggets got into the nugget patch somehow, I just had to figure out how and from what direction they came.

Reality of the Klondike

January 2012
I saw gold this summer. The kind of gold that I haven’t seen since ‘81. The kind of gold that rattles in the pan. The kind of gold that would start a stampede—even in 1898.

Addressing EPA Overreach: What Dredgers Need to Know

March 2016

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been attempting to extend their authority and intimidate miners and other public land users for decades. Suction gold dredgers are no exception, and we want to highlight a recent example of how to deal with this federal overreach.

Gold Rush in the Congo—Part II

June 2013
We needed something to cook on, so we brought most of our kitchen with us including our full-size oven, which was pretty funny to see in the middle of a rainforest. Food was always a concern, but fortunately for us...

Lode or Placer: What Difference Does It Make?

September 2014
This explains the large difference in particle sizes between placers and hydrothermal lode deposits, but also means that while the mining may be similar in some cases, the sampling and recovery techniques are usually quite different.

Gold Dredging on Oregon's South Umpqua

November 2012
Familiarizing oneself with an unfamiliar part of the country is often a requirement of successful gold prospecting. In the pursuit of gold, it may become necessary for a prospector to branch out into new hunting grounds.

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