Prospecting & Detecting
Commercial Placer Mining: Alaska Style
September 2021 by Chris Ralph
There are currently about 170 commercial-scale placer operations in Alaska. Most of these are small operations with just a few people working; they are often family affairs that operate seasonally only during favorable weather.
Trying Out the New Highbanker
The 2011 gold season had finally got underway on the Middle Fork of the Feather River near Quincy, California. Cold weather and high water had pushed gold mining into mid-summer, but things were looking up.
An Early Christmas Gift
The larger nuggets were all old channel gold, smooth and water-worn. I guessed that a few of them would push a bit under one-half-ounce apiece.
Key to Successful Prospecting: Confidence
The one undeniable truth in prospecting is that the more time you spend in the field, the more gold you will find. Here are a few keys I use to help build my confidence.
Achieving Accurate Metal Detector Discrimination
Your odds of going home with gold will be higher using the discrimination mode, even if you might have misread one of the targets you rejected.
Continuing Hard Rock Exploration
We had been picking away at it, but the going was mightly slow. Why not use some explosives to advance a little quicker?
Sold: 87-Ounce Nugget
A gold prospector in central Victoria, Australia stumbled across an 87-ounce gold nugget in early February 2015, after his wife told him to head outside to get some air. He had given up smoking a few weeks prior and was getting a bit “grumpy,” she told him.
Endurance Is Golden
Feeling through the mud, I felt the weight and shape of what could only be gold. Throwing my hand in the water revealed a sixteen-gram nugget oozing with character.
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The Bawl Mill
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