Prospecting & Detecting
Dealing With Hot Rocks and Mineralization
January 2021 by Chris Ralph
What about all that noise coming from the ground? What is a prospector supposed to do about that?
Half Moons
September 2023Prospecting Australia—Part III Anatomy of a Nugget Patch in Western Australia
One of the most memorable nuggets I found in Australia was detected on the very last day that I was out prospecting. I was going along swinging my coil and I came across a blaring loud signal that almost blew my ears off.
Alaskan Gold Adventure
In Chicken I had my first experience with the famous Alaska blue clay, sometimes called the blue layer. The blue layer is where the best fine gold was to be found.
A Few Pointers About Cracks and Crevices
Because these crevices catch and hold gold so well, it's worthwhile to learn how they form, which ones are good for catching gold and which ones are not.
Moving The Big Rocks
The anticipation of finding out if the system of snatch blocks, shackles, chokers, anchor points, and the strap binding the massive slab of rock in the bottom of the river would even budge an inch was weighing on me.
Attention to Detail - Part II
Ditches almost always started in the high country and contoured the mountainsides, making a long drop, usually many miles away, to the goldfields. There are ditches in Trinity County that originate at seven and eight thousand feet in the Trinity Alps that carried water almost thirty miles.
Following the Clues
It took me awhile before I finally got a nice mellow signal. My nugget turned out to weigh in about two dwt (pennyweight). Over the next few hours, we all picked up a few more nuggets apiece.
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