Prospecting & Detecting
Finding Gold in Tailing Piles
December 2014 by Steve Herschbach
Old mine workings and tailing piles can represent opportunities on many levels, from the chance to simply find a nugget on up to the commercial reworking of the old tailings for profit.
An Early Christmas Gift
The larger nuggets were all old channel gold, smooth and water-worn. I guessed that a few of them would push a bit under one-half-ounce apiece.
The Hunch
The mysteries of this spot were only just starting to develop. There is nothing but very bland granite-type rocks here, meaning no bold, favorable indicators.
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.
Prospecting After Winter Storms
So, how much rain does it take to cause a major movement of gravels in a stream and redistribute the gold? The technical answer is enough water to move the bed load of the river.
Explosives delivery Goes Wrong at Australian Mine
February 2023On October 24th, 2022, a Massive Explosion Occurred in Western Australia, About 600 Miles From Perth.
Summertime Gold! Northern & Southern California
September 2023Selenium, 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.
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