Prospecting & Detecting
Breaking Rock the Old School Way
June 2013 by Chris Ralph
Prospectors have many reasons why they might want to break rocks. These include dividing up a specimen too large to carry.Blackberries and Gold
There were iron stains all over and even a few places where I could see iron trash sticking out of the bedrock. These would be ideal spots to start with as the gold travels with the iron and lead.
Mining for Gemstones and Mineral Specimens
It is better in a gem and mineral mining operation that the driller, blaster and mucker be the same person in order to be able to predict placement of the desired mineral enriched pockets.
A Return to Silver City, Idaho
...we were able to pull out close to another 3+ ounces of small, angular Silver City gold. This also included several more small nuggets, pieces of wire gold and some quartz-gold pieces—not bad for 4 days with a small sluice.
Dredging Safety: Don't Ignore The Warning Signs
At first, I tried to shift things around, but then a hand with a rock would appear, so I would stop trying to adjust my gear and grab the rock to keep things moving.
Our 29-Troy-Ounce Golden Blessing
I picked up a noticeably heavy, fist-sized chunk of what I thought was a heavy piece of iron. After wiping some of the dirt and clay off, I still didn't know what on earth this object was.
The Mineral Range Districts of Utah
Most of the commercial mineral deposits are on the south and southwest part of the range between Minersville and Milford, though small amounts of gold and silver have also been found in iron-rich outcrops in the basalt to the south of Milford.
Advantages of Modern Prospectors
Modern-day placer miners have many advantages over the prospectors of the gold rush days. Our prospectors can reap many benefits from accumulated knowledge of the last 100 to 150 years, which is a long and impressive list.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• My Lucky Month of March
• Gold Rush in the Congo—Part II
• A Journey Into the Silver Peak Range
• Ancient River Channels of Trinity County
• Which Nugget Detector Should I Get?
• Liberty and the Phoenix Mine
• Confluence Placers
• Spanish Gold Ledge Still Producing Gold
• Nevada Mining Tax Cap Repeal Clears Committee
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
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Legislative and Regulatory Update
• The Birimian Greenstone Belts of West Africa
