All Articles
Historical Mining Methods
May 2004 by Frank Lorey III
The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848 started the great gold rush to California. The account that drew national and worldwide notice was a small, two-inch item at the bottom of the front page of the March 15, 1848 issue of the “Californian,” published in San Francisco. The article was attributed to B.R. Buckelew, and mentioned quantities of gold just being “gathered.”Tales of California Gold Discoveries 2nd in a Series—The Jenny Lind Mine
It is said that the richest deposits of gold at Foresthill were discovered by one of those accidents that is impossible for man to foresee, but which all are willing to take advantage of.
The Bawl Mill
• What goes up, must come down.
Melman on Gold & Silver
Strange, isn’t it, how our vocabulary has been expanding of late. Up until late 2001, the term “Twin Towers” meant either the combination of the Federal Budgetary Deficit and the National Debt or the two outstanding forwards of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. Suddenly, the only relevant meaning was the two destroyed buildings in New York City. By mid-2002, most of us who hadn’t given Afghanistan a second thought became familiar with names of towns and regions in that country.
Hand Panning Micro-Fine Gold
Once you get down to the black sands or a few tablespoons of material, the technique changes dramatically.
Small-Scale Prospecting & Mining (A Little History)
During the 49’er gold rush, because of harsh winters and adverse river conditions, the working season could be restricted for a week or more at a time. Moreover, many of the “argonauts” (a term dating back to the adventures of the early Greek gold seekers in seeking the Golden Fleece), were unprepared both mentally and physically to meet the harsh conditions.
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Funds eliminated for federal land acquisitions
• ANWR leasing
• GAO scolds Fish & Wildlife
• Red Rock wilderness proposed again
• BLM websites still down
• Karuk lawsuit update
Sulfides and Intergrain Gold Wire Nuggets
...these nuggets have not traveled far from the lode because the golden wire lattices would have been torn apart or flattened during weathering of rock and deposition by violent stream action.
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The Bawl Mill
• Economic Analysis on Critical Habitat for Bull Trout
• Prospecting for Copper
• US Mining Industry Outlook Brighter
• Gold in the Chinle Formation
• Gold Dredgers Rescue Threatened Fish
• Gold Mine Plans Upheld in Lawsuit
• DOI Computers Back Online
• Picks & Pans: Nuggets by the Dozen in Alaska
• The Elusive Mother Lode
• Clarence King, Geologist
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• Melman on Gold & Silver
