Prospecting & Detecting
Excavator Testing Wet Placer Ground
April 2013 by Jim Halloran
The excavator or backhoe has become the tool of choice for testing placer ground. These machines are the best way to explore and sample a placer deposit if the ground is not too wet or frozen and bedrock is not beyond the reach of the machine.The Dredge Report
As a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits, I’m not allowed to talk about specifics in the court-ordered negotiations currently underway in San Bernardino. However, I do want to let you know we are making progress…
Are There Any Good Prospects Left?
This type of thinking will get you discouraged pretty fast, and soon all of your mining equipment will be found gathering dust in your garage.
Uncovering the Find of a Lifetime
• The 75-ounce Butte County nugget is the largest found in California since the 156-ounce Mojave nugget in the 1970s...
Detecting the Fringe Areas
One prime example is an area that I have talked about in many of my articles. This is a very large area and I will actually describe its location again.
Divide and Conquer—Detecting Old Placer Grounds with Friends
He no sooner had turned around and started moving when I hollered again that I had another nice one.
Detecting Alluvial Bench Deposits -- Pt II
Walking around the gulch and exploring the upper drainage, picking up different rocks and inspecting them with a good loop, and looking them up in a field guide of rocks and minerals of your region will help you understand how the gold got there.
Get The Lead Out!
If you do the math, it equates to about $1,500 of heavy metal value per three-hour dive. This is good wages, and you are doing a service to the environment by removing this toxic metal.
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask the Experts - processing plants that can extract rare earth metals
• Ask the Experts - what does MDB&M stand for?
• Ask the Experts - proper mining claim procedures
• The Hughes Creek Placers, Montana
• Benefits of a Detecting Partner
• Hard Rock Milling: A Matter of Scale
• Paperwork Guy—A Cautionary Tale
• ICMJ Online Forum Now Available
• Detecting For Gold—Are You Up For It?
• A Trip Down the Yukon River
• Selenium, Mercury and Suction Dredging—Studies Contradict CA State Water Resources Board
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices







