Prospecting & Detecting
All About Native Silver
February 2020 by Chris Ralph
Some of the wire forms are strange and fantastic, with wires sticking out in twisted, seemingly random directions. Others have deformed crystals and all of them have significant value to collectors.
How to Research Prospecting Locations and Mining Claims
If you are interested in researching mining claims for any purpose, you will first have to decipher the BLM’s LR2000, a Rube Goldberg database seemingly designed by a 1980s Soviet-era computer hacker.
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.
My Introduction To Gold Prospecting
At the end of the day, Jerry showed me how to clean out the sluice box and then how to pan out the concentrates. As we finished panning, there it was—a little tiny smile of gold...
How Long Does It Take to Find and Recover An Ounce of Gold?
Some ask if a prospector can collect an entire ounce in a day. It is possible; I’ve done it before.
Key to Successful Prospecting: Confidence
The one undeniable truth in prospecting is that the more time you spend in the field, the more gold you will find. Here are a few keys I use to help build my confidence.
It's Hard to Find Gold!
...even the best prospectors have times when they do not find gold. It is all about taking chances against tough odds and succeeding.
Thinking Outside The Creek
Imagine for a minute the year is 1850. You’ve read and heard that gold was discovered in California and the creeks are so rich you can just scoop it up with your hands.
Subscription Required:
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
• A Day On The Yuba River
• 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
• Internet Forum Gold
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
