Prospecting & Detecting
Hidden Value in Old Tailings
March 2014 by Associated Press
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...Detectors: Past, Present and Future
Detectors were invented long before I was born, but it was in the 1960s when they started to become an item popular enough to power a fledgling industry. The key development was miniature transistor technology replacing the old fashioned tube technology of the 1950s, making lightweight, affordable detectors possible.
Detecting Clay Seams
Because the old timers were so good at locating the better paying deposits—most of them along clay seams in this particular area—it makes good sense to try and locate these clay lines at old mining sites.
Piles of Gold
These gritty clay lines were only a quarter of an inch up to three inches wide. Once the line had been laid out, they would look at the wall of gritty clay material and seek more indicators.
Chasing Float Gold—The Starry Night Wash
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.
A Few Methods for Sampling Hardrock Deposits
With a little homework and a methodical approach to sampling, a prospector can determine if a deposit is worthy of more of an investment...
Prospecting and Mining Old Mine Sites
In some places valuable ores can be found within the waste material of mine dumps, sorted ore piles, and detrital vein matter at the surface. Though many of these old mine sites can be an excellent source of gold, not all are created equal.
Drywashing Arizona Gold
His findings were not exaggerated—after running 82 buckets of gravels in two days we had a remarkable 27.8 grams of gold!
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