Prospecting & Detecting
Finding Gold With A Simple Sluice Box
March 2022 by Chris Ralph
…the sluice is a normal first step up from a gold pan for many prospectors. They are simple to use, easily portable, can capture a lot of gold, and can process gravel 10 to 20 times faster than a person can pan…
Sniping for Gold
Sniping for gold… what does it mean to you? To me, sniping is taking a mask and snorkel along with a screwdriver and squeeze bottle to search for gold lying on or in bedrock.
Gold Prospecting for Better or Worse: Man vs Paydirt
As I laid in my Jeep and tried to get some rest, I began to realize how tired I was. I felt like a little kid who walked around Disneyland for 12 hours with his parents.
I Just Tripped Over A Nugget
I metal detected a number of years before I saw my first nugget peeking out from the dirt before I had scraped or dug for it. This one was in the steep sidewall of a narrow, but deep drywash.
Fine Gold Panning Without Using Mercury
The technique I will describe is a much safer alternative and it works. It’s a fine-gold panning technique that eliminates the need for mercury amalgamation of most placer samples.
Becoming a Successful Detectorist
During my adventures I’ve learned a few key best practices that help me to consistently find gold nuggets with my detectors. You can apply many of these best practices to any type of prospecting. These best practices are really common sense; however, they are easy to neglect.
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.
A Day On The Yuba River
There weren’t as many pieces of gold, but what I did find was bigger. As I worked my way down towards the spot that I had been working the first three days, I noticed a large crack that crossed the river.
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• Detecting A Trashy Area
• Winter Prospecting
• Are You Being Followed?
• Critical Minerals Update
• Overcoming Repeated Skunks
• Butte County: Another Mother Lode Favorite
• Welcome to Nothing
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
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• Crisson Gold Mine Robbed At Gunpoint
