Prospecting & Detecting
Gold Mining Boom in the Carolinas
July 2012 by Craig E. Redick
Not too far from the pine-filled mountains, a young boy was exploring along Meadow Creek in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, one fine day in 1799. He discovered a beautiful rock that he took home and put to good use as a doorstop. Shortly thereafter, a jeweler stopped by to visit his folks, and as it turned out, the new doorstop was actually a 17-pound gold nugget. That nugget truly did open a door as it marked the beginning of the first gold rush in America.A Long Dry Spell
Just three weeks ago one of our prospecting team members decided to go back to this location on his own. He had a new detector and wanted to try it out some.
That First Nugget
After getting all the gear together we headed up the old road that led us to an old ground sluice site. George and Kaleb were using lightweight VLF (very low frequency) detectors. I carried a newer technology unit that is just a tad coil-heavy in the front.
Our Readers Say
Digging It Dry
I believe dry washing is an underappreciated prospecting method. There are plenty of places where there is some pretty decent gold to be had, but the spot is a long way from any water and dry processing may well be the best way to go.
Gold Rush in the Congo—Part II
We needed something to cook on, so we brought most of our kitchen with us including our full-size oven, which was pretty funny to see in the middle of a rainforest. Food was always a concern, but fortunately for us...
Exceptions to the Rules: Re-Thinking Prospecting Rules of Thumb
Looking at the exceptions to the basic rules is sort of an advanced prospecting discussion, but the readers of ICMJs Prospecting and Mining Journal are plenty able to handle it.
Ganes Creek Hits 10 Years—Part II
You keep all you find at Ganes, with weekly tallies kept for a loose competition that I find helps motivate me. I seriously try to find more nuggets than anyone else in a given week, and usually make it or close to it.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Gold Depositiion and Gradients of Placer Streams—Part II
• The Life of an Independent Prospector
• Gold in Guyana—Part I: Porknocking on the Puruni River Road
• That Something Extra
• Prospecting for Copper Ores—Part II
• Metallic Trash—Scourge of the Prospector
• California Suction Dredging Update
• Mine, Baby, Mine!
• Hecla to Reopen Lucky Friday Mine
• Nova Scotia Shows It's Serious About Jobs & Mining
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
