Prospecting & Detecting
Cherry-Picking for Gold Nuggets
November 2021 by Ray Mills
We have a location where nuggets over an ounce have been detected over the past twenty years. This location is a small hilltop on which an ancient river channel once flowed.
My First Carolina Nugget
On my weekends off I spent many hours dredging the Second Broad River from Cane Creek Road up to the headwaters. I used a three-inch dredge with air and graduated to a five-inch with air.
Contrary to Rumors, Couple Will Keep the Saddle Ridge Hoard
Some media outlets have speculated the hoard of coins came from a theft at the old US Mint in San Francisco that was reported in 1901.
Getting Started
He excitedly told me he was going mining and wanted to know where he should go, how to do it, and so on. After he calmed down, I got excited. “I need to go!” was my response.
My Explosive Introduction to Gold Mining
My friend came walking in from the garage with what looked to me like a stick of dynamite. Chuckling, he said, “Have you ever been gold mining?”
In my head I was thinking, “Not at 3 am in the morning with dynamite.”
Moore Creek, Alaska—Then and Now
The gold was very chunky and much of it had quartz attached. Even back then I knew that the gold was very close to its source.
Modern-Day Claim Jumping
We soon found that our discovery post and other claim markers were gone and replaced with new posts and a notice of location with an earlier date than had been on our notice of location.
Think You Got It All? Guess Again!
May 2016Is your gold recovery actually 95%, 90%, or even a really poor 50%? If you are not testing to know what it really is, you just don’t know. Some do regular testing, but most do not.
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts - What is “flotation” and what type of assay do I need?
• Ask The Experts - Easier way to break down compacted clays?
• Ask The Experts - Where can I get geological maps?
• Ask The Experts - Is there gold under the old cobble piles?
• Ask The Experts - Can you help me understand the gold deposition in this area of Wyoming?
• Building A Portable Gold Mill
• Using A Blasting Machine in Rock Breaking
• Gold Prospecting for Better or Worse: Tangling With A Desert Monster
• Another Prospecting Adventure: Coulterville
• Seven Important Attitudes for the Successful Prospector
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
