How To
Ask the Experts
November 2012 by Chris Ralph
How do I set up a small placer operation?How to Field Evaluate A Placer Property

Crushing Quartz in Calaveras County: A Placer Miner Learns New Tricks
I had never run an impact mill before, but anything involving rocks, water and a big electric motor sounded great.
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.
Detecting Basics: Lose the Bad Habits Not the Gold

The Basics of Exploration Leases and Contracts—Part II
This is the point where you might ask, “What do these types of contracts typically look like and how are they negotiated?” Well, that is the topic of this month’s article.
Ask The Experts: Is there a safe DIY alternative to cyanide or mercury for extraction?
Q: With safety as a given, what can the average miner, or Joe-blow greenhorn do to identify and extract some metals or minerals with off-the-shelf products or natural ingredients?
The 10-Ton Boulder: Expanding Grout Demolition
Imagine you have located a source of virgin placer ore containing immense gold value. Now imagine that there is a 10-ton monolith of extremely hard gneiss in between you and payday.
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• The Portable XRF Gun
• Gold Dredging on Oregon's South Umpqua
• The Struggle to Reopen Alaska's Largest Gold Mine
• Prospecting With a Detector: Lessons Learned
• The Rush to Treasure Hill
• Tips on Crevicing for Gold
• Using Google Earth and Other Maps
• Proper Assaying of Placer Samples
• Mining, Health Care & Taxes
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices