Prospecting & Detecting
How To File A Mining Claim
April 2019 by Alan J. Chenworth
Filing claims is actually quite easy, though there are a number of pitfalls that you should watch out for. Over the years, I have made just about every mistake you can with a mining claim, and have learned a few things to watch out for along the way.
How Topography Affects Prospecting for Gold
Keeping in mind how the local topography affects where gold has been deposited can help you find more gold, and is certainly something the prospector needs to keep in mind.
Swing and a Miss
A very good baseball hitter might get a hit roughly one time out of every three at-bats, but for prospectors often the results are much sparser and it may take many trips before the prospector hits a home run.
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.
Tips and Tricks
Many suggestions had some pieces or parts that would work some of the time, but Dredger Dan’s suggestion was, in my humble opinion, the cleanest, cleverest, and most dependable.
Miners Fight Back When BLM Says 'Your Claim Is Too Long'
BLM stated we had 30 days to amend our claim so that it fit within one 40-acre square or we would forfeit the claim.
More Tips on How to Find Gold with A Detector
When detecting an area that has been cleaned to bedrock and you have new trees growing, always make sure you get your coil as close as possible to the tree. Why?
Finding Gold with a VLF Detector—Part III
The higher the sensitivity setting, the louder and sharper the signal from a gold nugget or other metal target.
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