Since last year’s articles on explosives for mining, several people have asked for more information about becoming a licensed blaster.

There are many smaller old hard rock mines out there—more than you might think. There are some small hard rock properties that are even open to be claimed if one does the right amount of research to find them.

There is a material processing principle widely used in large milling operations to improve recovery that is poorly understood by most of the micro-mining and prospecting community...

For the prospector, knowing what oxidized hydrothermal alteration looks like in the field is an important exploration tool.

…the process remains much the same: Drill holes, load explosives, close up the holes, blast and muck out the resulting broken rock.