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.
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.”
PLP Update: Back to The 'Swamp' on Behalf of Small Miners
We spent the morning in a meeting with one of the higher-ups at the US Forest Service. I presented him with 412 complaints received from our readers, along with a summary of the complaints to make his job easier.
A Test Grid Dredged for Gold Values
The evaluation must also consider the gold fineness or purity. The purity of the Sugardaddy nuggets is estimated at 850 fineness, meaning 85% is gold (Au), 12% is silver (Ag) with 3% being other gangue alloyed metal.
The Mystery of the Grand Summit Mine
I didn’t follow-up on this opportunity at that time, as I already had as much on my plate as I could handle, but the potential for this property has never left my mind.
Care and Lubrication of a Model 13 Laboratory Wilfley Table
A Wilfley table works best when all of the mineral being run across it (the pulp) is about the same size. For this reason, I took a good look at each of the samples.
21st Century American Gold Rush: Rare Earth Elements
The burning question I needed answered was why didn’t the deposit ever get mined of at least one of the valuable minerals? A couple of reasons have come to light.
Gary It's There
This year was a test. We had never done anything like this before, yet we grossed $30,000 in the short time we had to mine.
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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
