Gold Prospecting: For Better or Worse

September 2018 by Joe Chmiel

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.

Chasing Float Gold—The Starry Night Wash

June 2018

The sun was beginning to set, which put the light at just the right angle against the hillsides to where I believed that I spotted a very small dig and tailings pile up the hill near the top of the second wash.

Prospecting for Pegmatites

July 2015

…in some cases pegmatites have produced individual mineral crystals that are enormous, attaining lengths of over 40 feet long, and many of the world’s largest mineral crystals are examples that were found within pegmatite deposits.

Prospecting for Liberated Gold

November 2015
Some will doubt its value given the ultra-fine particle size… Some will become encouraged about not having to incur significant time and expense to break rock.

A Trip Down the Yukon River

April 2013
My girlfriend Beth and I decided to take our canoe down the Yukon and do some gold dredging...

Crushing Quartz in Calaveras County: A Placer Miner Learns New Tricks

June 2014
I had never run an impact mill before, but anything involving rocks, water and a big electric motor sounded great.

What is a Valid Mineral Discovery?

February 2013
One of the greatest opportunities afforded to the citizens of our country is the right to stake and hold mining claims on federal lands. One doesn’t need to be a lawyer to stake mining claims, but a little bit of knowledge about mining claim laws can be helpful.

The Underground Mining Adventure Continues

January 2019

Our group of independent miners have been busy crafting a uniquely designed ladder/ore cart track from the bottom of an 85-foot mine shaft in a historical hard rock mine.

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