All Articles
An Unusual Death in Downieville's Gold Rush
May 2000 by Richard H. Peterson, PhD
While women were extremely rare in the early California gold camps, their relative absence did not always guarantee their safety or protection if they happened to be of Mexican nationality. The most memorable, graphic example of this tendency took place in Downieville, seat of Sierra County located on a fork of the Yuba River.Additional articles that might interest you...
Legislative and Regulatory Update
February 2020
- Comments needed regarding proposed NEPA improvements
- Efforts underway to fix the ESA
Mining on the Comstock Lode
July 2014
Even with the decades of mining and exploration, much of the Comstock is still underdeveloped and its potential not fully tapped.

There's Gold in Those Tailings
April 1999
If you're really serious about finding gold, you must commit yourself to the search. The odds are against success if you depend upon luck.

The Highs and Lows of Drywashing
August 2016
We were met with a plethora of mechanical problems with the dry washer and even a few with the excavator that were at times frustrating, but we were in this for the long haul, so we needed to solve these problems and move forward.

Melman on Gold & Silver
May 2008
Anyone who thinks that investing in, or writing about junior mining shares is easy hasn’t lived through the last month! What we have seen is a virtually endless parade of dynamic and frequently contradictory events. Here are just a few that have occurred in the past thirty days.
Anyone who thinks that investing in, or writing about junior mining shares is easy hasn’t lived through the last month! What we have seen is a virtually endless parade of dynamic and frequently contradictory events. Here are just a few that have occurred in the past thirty days.
The Green Land-Grabbers: It's Not Just the Feds Who Are After Your Land
January 2002
Major environmental organizations such as the Nature Conservancy are working closely with the federal government to buy large tracts of private land, frequently at the expense of private property owners’ rights.

Q&A With Detector Designer Dave Johnson
September 2011
...it’s been a little known secret that one man was involved in designing many of the most respected very low frequency (VLF) nugget detectors on the market. Dave Johnson has designed gold-oriented detectors for Tesoro, Whites, Fisher and others for more than 25 years.
...it’s been a little known secret that one man was involved in designing many of the most respected very low frequency (VLF) nugget detectors on the market. Dave Johnson has designed gold-oriented detectors for Tesoro, Whites, Fisher and others for more than 25 years.
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The Bawl Mill
• Guest Editorial—Sentaor Craig of Idaho Looking Into MSHA Complaints
• Guest Editorial—Changing the Rules
• Gold Prospecting on Sixmile River
• Serpentine in California
• Town Hall Meeting in Sierra City, California
• Picks & Pans: Tips for Nuggestshooting—How to Increase Your Gold Finds (Part II)
• Metals and Precious Stones in Wyoming
• Looking Back
• Gold at Dale, California
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• Melman on Gold & Silver