Ask The Experts: Is there a safe DIY alternative to cyanide or mercury for extraction?

September 2016 by Chris Ralph

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?

Advancements in Non-Toxic Gold and Silver Leaching

January 2019

The non-toxic thiosulfate is actually the medical antidote given to people for cyanide poisoning. By accomplishing both neutralization and metals recovery, this process creates an economic and environmentally attractive process.

Explosives and Mining

July 2011
Explosives used correctly will save you both time and money being one of the best and most productive tools you can use.

Ask The Experts

September 2015
What are the steps for filing a mining claim?

Enrichment of Mineral Deposits by Weathering—Part I

March 2016

The exact minerals formed in the concentrated supergene deposits depends much on the type of country rock around the deposit and the chemistry of the deposit itself, but if conditions are right, this process will form some rich patches of bonanza ore, in some places valued at thousands of dollars to the ton.

Customizing Your Dredge

January 2013
I am going to suggest dozens of ways you can increase suction power, dredge to greater depths, and improve recovery methods in your sluice box.

Moving The Big Rocks

October 2016
The anticipation of finding out if the system of snatch blocks, shackles, chokers, anchor points, and the strap binding the massive slab of rock in the bottom of the river would even budge an inch was weighing on me. 

Geobotany: Plants Associated With Mineral Deposits

November 2014
Science has shown, over the past few centuries, that there is a direct correlation between certain plants and their geophysical surroundings.

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