Prospecting & Detecting
Good Assays and Bad
January 2012 by Chris Ralph
The high prices for gold and silver are exciting and certainly have revolutionized the prospecting and mining scene. New interest in gold and silver mining is springing up from every corner, from individual prospectors armed with gold pans to exploration and mining companies working to set up multimillion dollar commercial operations producing hundreds of thousands of ounces per year. The idea of getting riches from rocks is one that motivates a lot of folks all over the globe. It’s an exciting time, but this excitement brings out another side...Fault Zones and Prospects
As we walked back we were just reaching the point of where the faulting should be and there, covered with deep grass, was very faint evidence of an old road going up the mountainside! What was that old road doing there?
A Successful Trip Through Gold Basin
This time we took the detectors. Roger had worked that spot very well and wanted to see if my new detector would uncover any gold he might have missed.
Detecting Basics: Lose the Bad Habits Not the Gold
I will make the assumption that when any of you take a detector in your hand and head out prospecting for gold you are probably anticipating finding some gold. That’s the general idea, right?
Large Gold Deposit Types
It is not necessary to have a PhD in geology, but you need to know the basics, so that’s what I am going to try to dig into here—the understandable basics of these gigantic gold deposits.
Detecting Alluvial Bench Deposits
The same questions you ask yourself about gold trapping features in the present stream can be applied to the benches above the stream. Just imagine the stream at a much earlier time, before it cut its way down to the present level…
Mining Claims: Breaking All The Commandments
So, I took the plunge. I decided on the maximum I would pay for the claim, then placed my bid. A day later I received a congratulations e-mail that I was the high bidder, and oh, by the way, send us your money.
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
• Southwest Alaska Gold Project Progresses
• Where to Find Gold in Indiana—Part II
• Who is a Qualified Person?
• Time Well Spent
• Reality of the Klondike
• NWMA Show
• River Dredging vs. Creek Dredging—Part II
• Pot Hole Gold
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
