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Fire Agate in Arizona
June 2002 by Edgar B. Heylmun, PhD
Agate, a banded form of chalcedony (cryptocrystalline quartz), has been used as a gemstone for over 7,000 years. Romans cut and polished agate, and this practice was taken to new heights in Germany in the 16th century.Basic Geology for the Independent Miner—Part I Recognizing and Understanding Minerals
Many individual prospectors would like to know a little more about the geology of gold deposits. There is no doubt that in the final analysis, no matter how well you operate your equipment, unless you can find the places where gold is...
Tales of California Gold Discoveries 1st in a Series—Yankee Jim's
Most everyone has heard the term “gold is where you find it’” and probably have read how James Marshall, in 1848, while inspecting the mill-race ditch that had been dug to supply water for the saws at the sawmill that he was building for John Sutter, ended up finding the first pieces of gold within the ditch along the South Fork of the American River...
Stillwater Recovers Without GM’s Business
Stillwater Mining Company previously warned of possible layoffs after General Motors Co. canceled a major contract, but higher platinum and palladium prices have made up for the lost business.
Potaro District, Guyana
Guyana is a former British colony on the north coast of South America. The capital, Georgetown (pop. 250,000), is 2,200 miles southeast of Miami. The country is 83,000 square miles in area, depending on who does the counting.
The Fire Assay of Carbon
Carbon, activated charcoal, or “char,” as some old timers refer to it, can be an assayer’s nightmare.
How to Make a Rock Sled for Dredging
When my “anonymous” friend told me the rock tub was probably a hundred miles from where he safely stashed it, I decided to build another sled and improve on my old design.
The Pay Streak: Redefined With Metal Detectors
The time-honored objective in recovering gold from placers has always been to discover and recover gold from the detritus of both known and unknown lodes. The traditional method to recover gold from desert dry placers was to locate and work the enriched gravels known as the “pay streak.” This pay streak was usually found directly over false or true bedrock and within the upper few inches of the bedrock itself.
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The Bawl Mill
• ICMJ Elected Prospecting Magazine of 2002
• Mining Investment—Or Fraud?
• Gold in Suriname
• Golden Age of Gold Dredges
• Prospecting With Limited Equipment
• Looking Back
• Beryllium in Utah
• Company Notes
• Picks & Pans: The Gold of "Eldorado Canyon"—Mariposa County, California
• The Canton Lead
• NAS Agrees to Review Superfund Science
• Tight Budgets Force Forest Service to Cut Back
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices







