Small Mining Operations
Breaking Boulders With Explosives
January 2022 by John Norman
The process we will be using is called “blockholing,” and it is commonly used at mines and in construction projects to break up oversize material into sizes that can be easily handled.
The Seven Troughs Mining District
The favorable geology of the northeastern and central parts of the Seven Troughs Range are the parts most interesting to prospectors. They are underlain by a thick sequence of Tertiary volcanic rocks, mostly rhyolites and andesites.
High Sulfidation Epithermal Deposits
They tend to be big, coming in large to extremely large sizes. They can also be amazingly rich and produce huge amounts of very high-grade ore.
Blast from the Past: Jeff Casserly Tells His Own Story
I have been finding nuggets all my life, beginning in Sierra County 50 years ago, and believe me they don’t pop up out of the ground like mushrooms when they see me coming and say, “Here I am and take me home.”
Sampling for Success—Part I
All these decisions and more depend on the richness of a claim—something that is determined by sampling. But sampling isn’t cheap, and even collecting the samples can be more difficult than it appears on the surface.
Bering Sea Gold—Part II
In last month’s issue we covered the initial discovery of gold, the subsequent gold rush that occurred around Nome, some of the geology of the area and past production. We’ll conclude the article in this issue with a further examination of the geology and deposit types, discuss the resources...
Hard Rock 101: Blasting With Kinepak Explosives
Fortunately, there are products on the market that can address these problems and make a small-scale mining operation feasible.
Ask the Experts
Setting up a gravity dredge
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts - Geophysics or drilling? Which is best for this project?
• Ask The Experts - How closely are black sand and gold related?
• Why Is The Gold On Bedrock—Or Why Is It Not?
• Colorado to California for Gold
• Historic Dredge Uncovered in North Carolina
• Setting Up A Placer Operation
• Grizzly Flats, California—Another Mother Lode Gold Rush Town
• Drywashing Without A Drywasher
• Late Fall Drywashing
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
