Prospecting & Detecting
Colorado to California for Gold
January 2022 by Ray Mills
The total after a great day added with the previous days put them up to 9.07 pennyweight—just under a one-half ounce of beautiful California gold.
I Just Tripped Over A Nugget
I metal detected a number of years before I saw my first nugget peeking out from the dirt before I had scraped or dug for it. This one was in the steep sidewall of a narrow, but deep drywash.
Prospecting on the North Yuba

The Hunt for Remote Canyon Gold

Gold Prospecting for Better or Worse: Warm Buttocks and Frozen Assets
Luckily, at about that time, I buddied up with a somewhat cantankerous, but very helpful, guy named Rod. He had become a local legend for his ability to consistently find gold.
The Bucking Room

Buying a Mining Claim: Questions to Ask

Downieville: Another Gold Rush Favorite
I didn’t know what to expect because the area we were working was not close to the water, but we were pleasantly surprised when we began to pan out some nice flakes and a few pickers.
Subscription Required:
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?
• Breaking Boulders With Explosives
• 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