Small Mining Operations
Exploring Placers with Auger Drills
June 2014 by Jim Halloran
Augers can be used effectively for placer exploration with certain limitations.
The ABCs of XRF
Fast forward to present day and the XRF has come of age. Pull the trigger on the hand-held device and you get a nearly instant assay of the surface of a rock.
California Dredgers: A Step Closer to Getting Back in the Water
...Judge Ochoa ordered the parties to participate in mandatory settlement hearings starting June 24, 2014.
Cyanide-Free Gold Separation
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...
Hidden Value in Old Tailings
The 15 rare earth elements were discovered long after the gold rush began to wane, but demand for them only took off over the past 10 years...
Selenium, Mercury and Suction Dredging—Studies Contradict CA State Water Resources Board
Federal and state regulatory agencies often cite mercury and methyl mercury in our waterways as a major factor for further restrictions on placer mining, and on suction gold dredge mining, in particular. However, these regulatory agencies are minimizing selenium and its neutralizing effects.
Wyoming's Billion Dollar Nugget—The Trilogy Ends
With eight loads processed, a pumpkin-size rock fell into the hopper, stopping the whole operation until I could lift it out.
Small-Scale Concentrating and Recovery Methods
The first step in my recovery process after milling the ore to the desired size is to table it. On this particular ore, I get good results milling it to minus 100 mesh.
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• Finding Gold with a VLF Detector—Part III
• Silver and Base Metal Deposits of the Pioche District
• California Dredgers: A Step Closer to Getting Back in the Water
• Arizona's Youngest...and Oldest Prospector
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• Correction
• Crushing Quartz in Calaveras County: A Placer Miner Learns New Tricks
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Legislative and Regulatory Update
• A Few Methods for Sampling Hardrock Deposits
• Protecting Our Access to Public Lands
