Small Mining Operations
A Third Generation Small-Scale Hardrock Revival
November 2019 by Ron Kliewer
One of his friends had 700 feet of small-gauge mine track and a hundred-year-old track bender laying out in his back 40; plus he also wanted to join the team. Perfect.
Subtle and Not So Subtle Dangers of Hard Rock Mining
I’ve been in enough mines to know better, and I mentally kicked myself several times. That was a close call…
Resurrecting An Old Hard Rock Mine--The Saga Continues
Another little gem of equipment he built was a nifty sample splitter. In order to get accurate assays, you need to have really good, representative samples for the assayer to process.
What Do You Need For A Successful Micro-Scale Mine?
For simplicity, I will assume that you wish to make enough profit so that you can comfortably pay your bills using just the profits from the mine.
Why Assaying Placer Gold Deposits Doesn't Work
Let’s set up a thought experiment: Suppose you had some material that ran one ounce per ton gold, which is generally considered high grade to fantastic grade depending on the circumstances.
Gold in Guyana—Part I: Porknocking on the Puruni River Road
In part one of this two-part series on gold in Guyana, I describe artisanal mining efforts currently winning alluvial gold from small-scale placer operations located along the lower Puruni River and its tributaries.
Speed Prospecting for Hard Rock Gold
An online video gave me some ideas, and with a lot of trial and error I developed a reliable method of panning free gold particles down below 35 microns quickly and easily.
Moore Creek, Alaska—Then and Now
The gold was very chunky and much of it had quartz attached. Even back then I knew that the gold was very close to its source.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts - Seeking advice on setting up an operation and the agreement with the landowner
• Montana Gold and Sapphires Revisited
• Gold Prospecting for Better or Worse: Respect the Angle of Repose
• The Summer of ‘81
• The “Chuck It Out” Nugget
• High Sulfidation Epithermal Deposits
• Gold and Silver Deposits of Bodie, California
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
Free:
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Crumb Hunting With A VLF Detector
• PLP Update
