Prospecting & Detecting
Gold Prospecting for Better or Worse: When a Gold Prospector Goes to a Diamond Mine
July 2021 by Harry Griffin
As a gold prospector for the past ten years, I thought that I had a fair understanding of the steps necessary to find gemstones.
Hidden Value in Old Tailings
The 15 rare earth elements were discovered long after the gold rush began to wane, but demand for them only took off over the past 10 years...
Excavator Testing Wet Placer Ground
The excavator or backhoe has become the tool of choice for testing placer ground. These machines are the best way to explore and sample a placer deposit if the ground is not too wet or frozen and bedrock is not beyond the reach of the machine.
Trail to Treasure
We are both very experienced working this type of ground, and we quickly found the pay layer where we would focus our efforts. The bedrock has good gold, but so does the red hard pan.
Uphill Battle Continues for California Dredgers
There are currently three controlling agencies or entities over suction dredging in California—and you can make that four if the state legislature decides to further muddy the waters with additional legislation to block suction gold dredging in the state.
Arizona Prospector Rescued from Mine Shaft
“I heard him hollering down in the hole as soon as I got there,” he said. “I was just glad to see him alive.”
Pot Hole Gold
It was early in the 2008 season on the Mokelumne River near Pine Grove, California. Considering the potential for high water through the month of June, my wife Fran and I set our sights on investigating some of the pot holes in...
Weathering, Erosion and Placers
The big interest to prospectors thinking about the effect of erosion is not what might happen long into the future, but what they might find in the rivers later this summer when the water levels go down.
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The Bawl Mill
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Ask The Experts - What percentage of the gold price can I get from a buyer?
• Ask The Experts - Is a hookah battery setup legal in California?
• Ask The Experts - Are friends and relatives regulated like employees?
• Ask The Experts - What do you use for flux for melting gold?
• Ask The Experts - Why Isn't There A Dual Coil Detector?
• Ask The Experts - Who has the rights to a vein that goes under a neighboring claim?
• Ask The Experts - Is platinum usually magnetic?
• Ten Detecting Tips for the Savvy Desert Prospector
• All About Hard Rock Drills
• Why So Much Gold in Nevada?
• A Golden Past
• Fire Assay Finish by Silver Nitrate Fusion for PGMs
• Do Gold Nuggets Come Out At Night?
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
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Judge Rules Against Dredger in Idaho Civil Case
• PLP Update
