Exceptions to the Rules: Re-Thinking Prospecting Rules of Thumb

January 2020 by Chris Ralph

Looking at the exceptions to the basic rules is sort of an advanced prospecting discussion, but the readers of ICMJs Prospecting and Mining Journal are plenty able to handle it.

Gold Deposits of Montana

March 2013

Historically, Montana has been an important gold producer, in terms of both lodes and placers, and it still produces gold for the prospector today.

Finding Gold with a VLF Detector—Part I

April 2014
The very first thing to find out...is if the detector has the ability to be ground balanced.

Getting A Successful Start in Metal Detecting for Gold

March 2015
Once you have a detector, learn how to use it and get out in the field—you can’t find anything with it in your garage.

Following Clues to a Hidden Gold Deposit

March 2012
Many years ago I was in the American Canyon. I remembered a few details about a placer deposit there, so we decided to make a trip down and re-check some of these old workings.

Prospecting for Surface Flood Gold Placers on Low and Intermediate Gradient Streams

February 2015

Sample panning is a very important method used to find the richest parts of a flood gold deposit before setting up equipment and running material.

Picking Our Way Through Bedrock

December 2015
Once again the coil was put over the spot but the target was in the pile now. I pinpointed, grabbed a handful of dirt and began sprinkling it over the coil until I heard that mild thud.

Moving The Big Rocks

October 2016
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. 

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