Prospecting & Detecting
Gold Deposits of Montana
March 2013 by Chris Ralph
Historically, Montana has been an important gold producer, in terms of both lodes and placers, and it still produces gold for the prospector today.
The World of the Simple Gold Pan
There are so many, many different types of gold pans on the market that I thought it would be worthwhile to take a look at the world of the simple gold pan.
Sierra County Gold—Part I
...this county contained some of the richest placer ground found in all of California and still produces some pretty impressive finds to this day.
Habits, Procedure, and Where Is The Gold?
In my early days of nugget hunting things were fairly simple. Just headphones, a pack, a detector and a small pick were all I needed for my search for great wealth.
Gold Prospecting: For Better or Worse
We all love to see that first glimmer of gold when it peeks out from under the black sand in our pan, or feel the weight of a nugget in our scoop when we dig a good target. But sometimes things don’t go quite so smoothly.
The Gold Of Horseshoe Bend
And we eventually reached gold. It was a winding crevice of beautiful white quartz lined with small nuggets and loaded with fine gold. There were flakes and small granular pieces—there had to be a hundred or more.
Ask the Experts
• Using drywashers to work desert gravels
A Break in the Weather
Back at the entry point of the mine, we took turns slowly crawling down the slope leading into the mine portal with our metal detectors, hard hats and flashlights. The mine was hand dug and is about 75 yards long.
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The Bawl Mill
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• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Benches and Fossil Placers
• Turning Hobby Mining into Business Mining
• Buying a Mining Claim: Questions to Ask
• Looking for that Hidden Placer
• The Many Facets of Iron
• And the Survey Says...
• $50 Million Swiped in Diamond Heist
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
