Small Mining Operations
Cyanide-Free Gold Separation
February 2011 by Chris Ralph
Some ores—mostly those with a high free gold content—are very amenable to gravity concentration. Well oxidized ores containing coarse gold are usually best for non-cyanide processes. Ores with significant sulfide content may require the...
Dredging The Outside Bend
This stringer was where it was not supposed to be, and it contained nuggets that were not supposed to be there.
The Significance of Nuggets in Placers
Chances are better that both types of gold did not come from the same source. Let's look at the probable conditions to cause two types of gold in a placer.
Drywashing Arizona Gold
His findings were not exaggerated—after running 82 buckets of gravels in two days we had a remarkable 27.8 grams of gold!
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.
Good Assays and Bad
The high prices for gold and silver are exciting and certainly have revolutionized the prospecting and mining scene. New interest in gold and silver mining is springing up from every corner, from individual prospectors armed with gold pans to exploration and mining companies working to set up multimillion dollar commercial operations producing hundreds of thousands of ounces per year. The idea of getting riches from rocks is one that motivates a lot of folks all over the globe. It’s an exciting time, but this excitement brings out another side...
Modern Mining Reclamation
A study showed that between 1930 and 1980, only a quarter of one percent of the land in the United States was used in all mining applications combined, including surface mining, tailings disposal, underground mines, and all mineral processing facilities.
Ophir—Possibly the Best Kept Secret in Alaska—Part II
I knew the nuggets got into the nugget patch somehow, I just had to figure out how and from what direction they came.
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The Bawl Mill
• Our Readers Say
• The Basics of Crushing and Milling Operations
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• Rediscovering Placerville, California
• Eastern Arizona: Gold and Base Metal Deposits—Part I
• Over The Divide—Daryl J. Nelson
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Mining Stock Quotes & Mineral and Metal Prices
• Melman on Gold & Silver







