Prospecting & Detecting
Gold: Is It Everywhere?
July 2022 by Chris Ralph
Gold, on the other hand, is super rare, and is one of the rarest elements in the earth’s crust. It averages only 0.000004 percent of the earth’s surface. That is four parts in a billion.
Prospecting for Liberated Gold

Scams, Scammers and Schemes
Gold mining has received many black eyes from many scams, scammers and schemes throughout the years. Unscrupulous scammers have swindled naive people for millions of dollars in the past and will, no doubt, continue into the future.
Mom Finds 3.72-Carat Yellow Diamond
“Much of the ground where Ms. Hollingshead found her diamond is made of unweathered volcanic rock. When it rains, flowing runoff often leaves loose gravel, and sometimes diamonds, on the surface in these areas.”
Procuring Mine Owner Permission at a Mine Site
The first experience involved an overgrown gold mine operated during the 1880s. A razed mill adjoined the mine and could be glimpsed from the isolated public dirt road I was traveling.
Quit While You’re Goin’ Good
Then I came to a section of recently exposed gravel that looked unworked. Water seeped out all around, making the ground beneath a sea of slick mud.
Preparing For The 2021 Mining Season
On my final prospecting day of 2020, I went up to a spot where I had found gold years before and had my best day of the year—four nuggets for nearly one-quarter-ounce of gold.
Out of the Ashes—New Access to Gold
As I arrived at my detecting location, I got all my gear and headed up the trail. I had to stop and take in the devastation all around me.
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• Ask The Experts - Micron gold: how much to equal an ounce?
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• The Forms of Crystalline Gold
• Evolution Of A Desert Wash Plant
• Gleaning for Gold
• Making the Jump to Electronic Prospecting
• The Info Is Out There
• Blast From The Past: Gold of the Common Man
• Thieves Make Off with Tons of Gold & Silver Ore
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• Gold, Silver & Stocks—How Do I Decide Where to Invest?
• New Mexico Reaches $32M Settlement Over 2015 Gold King Mine Spill
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