Ask the Experts - proper mining claim procedures

April 2013 by Chris Ralph

Sampling, Hydro-Shocking & Cleaning Quartz-Gold Specimens

May 2017

Many specimens have a small amount of gold and are not pretty to look at. There is a nifty way to give them a makeover and make them much prettier than they were when you found them. 

A Few Pointers About Cracks and Crevices

October 2013
Because these crevices catch and hold gold so well, it's worthwhile to learn how they form, which ones are good for catching gold and which ones are not.

Dry Washer, Wet System or Metal Detector?

April 2016
I love to dry wash old nugget patches found by detector operators, and I have found my fair share of gold dry washing those areas. I have also found a few nuggets using a detector on the bedrock exposed by dry washing the patches.

Fine Gold Panning Without Using Mercury

March 2012
The technique I will describe is a much safer alternative and it works. It’s a fine-gold panning technique that eliminates the need for mercury amalgamation of most placer samples.

What Have You Got to Lose?

November 2016
It’s accepted knowledge that wet methods will recover more fine gold than dry methods and processing the gravel as a whole will get more gold than only using a metal detector. The question is how much more?

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.

Extracting & Smelting Your Gold

February 2013
Unfortunately, not all the gold that we prospectors find is pretty, or appealing to the eyes. They are not all nice, bright, shiny nuggets with lots of character that carry high collector value.

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