Prospecting & Detecting
Gold From Black Sand Tailings
October 2011 by Tom Leftwich
The pile up on the small hill had to be a couple yards of black sand. I’m not one to ignore a little gold even if it is small in size—I have always believed that gold fever comes in all sizes.
Endurance Is Golden
Feeling through the mud, I felt the weight and shape of what could only be gold. Throwing my hand in the water revealed a sixteen-gram nugget oozing with character.
Proven Strategies for Detecting Gold
I’m sure we all have, at some point in time, gone out detecting and ended up not having the success we thought we would have. Here are some helpful game-changers that work for me and may work for you, as well.
Gold Dredging on Oregon's South Umpqua
Familiarizing oneself with an unfamiliar part of the country is often a requirement of successful gold prospecting. In the pursuit of gold, it may become necessary for a prospector to branch out into new hunting grounds.
Potholes and Other Bedrock Traps
Potholes in bedrock can trap placer minerals and even be glory holes. They are, at least, interesting geologic phenomena, and at best, a treasure trove of gold nuggets.
Detecting Wet Ground Yields More Fun Than Gold
We all continued over to another location at the top of a massive placer operation. Arriving at the draw, I showed everyone where gold had been found before and we all began detecting.
Find of a Lifetime
My metal detecting hobby began about ten years ago when I bought a used metal detector for about $300. I got it specifically to look for meteorites. It was pretty much worthless, not user friendly, and I did not find anything with it.
Twenty Minutes on a Five-inch Dredge
The first thing I realized was this was not a toy—this thing had power and I needed to really pay attention. I got into position, took a deep breath, and pushed that monster into the hard pack.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Legislative And Regulatory Update
• Ask The Experts—Separating platinum from sands using bubbles
• Ask The Experts—Extraction of micro gold from black sands
• Ask The Experts—Difference between a Geiger counter and scintillator
• Then and Now: Is Gold Really Money?
• Gold, Quartz & Chalcedony—Part I
• Prospecting Australia—Part I
• Oregon Dredge Permit Litigation Update
• The Fine Art of Panning Heavy Sands
• California State Gold Panning Championships
• The Golden Days of Julian, California
• An Expensive Lesson
• Judge Denies Request To Delay Michigan Mine
• Melman on Gold & Silver
