Prospecting & Detecting
Georgetown CA: A Historically Rich Mother Lode Treasure
August 2021 by Dan Stanton
The interesting thing about the Mother Lode area is that we can pretty much find at least a little gold in any creek or river (and even in some of the many dry gulches).
Dealing With Hot Rocks and Mineralization
What about all that noise coming from the ground? What is a prospector supposed to do about that?
Still Gold in Humbug, Arizona
Has anyone made it through childhood, or even adulthood, without at least one dream of finding gold or buried treasure? It is the stuff of daydreams—the kindling for the flame of hope. We so long for it that we eagerly accept stories and maps from friends and strangers alike that promise us fame and fortune.
Evolution Of A Desert Wash Plant
The water instantly dropped though the screen, leaving a pile of mud behind! I was so excited that I replaced it with a 150-mesh screen, and the same thing happened!
Weathering, Erosion and Placers

Ask the Experts
Setting up a gravity dredge
Breaking Rock the Old School Way
Prospectors have many reasons why they might want to break rocks. These include dividing up a specimen too large to carry.
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts - Are pulse induction detectors the right tech for gold?
• Ask The Experts - Why can’t I find gold with my detector?
• Ask The Experts - Are two rock crushing machines (jaw crusher and chain crusher) necessary?
• Ask The Experts - Why am I finding only coarse gold, not fines in this area?
• Ask The Experts - Is the amount of gold reserves claimed by mining companies real or just hype?
• How To Identify Minerals
• Chasing Hard Rock Gold As A Placer Deposit
• Gold Prospecting for Better or Worse: Bumbling Through A Gold Bonanza
• How Mesothermal/Orogenic Gold Deposits Form
• My Explosive Introduction to Gold Mining
• Reminder: Annual Claim Filings and Fees Due
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices