How to Interpret Assay Values

January 2018 by Don Robinson

This assay system of ounces per ton sounds simple enough, but the use of the metric system and the additional measuring terms of “grams per ton” and “parts per million” (ppm) has created some misunderstanding of ore value.

Route Planning Using GPS

January 2019

My intention was to end this discussion with waypoints and routes, then I found USGS maps of the Plainfield Quadrangle.

How to Make a Rock Sled for Dredging

August 2017

When my “anonymous” friend told me the rock tub was probably a hundred miles from where he safely stashed it, I decided to build another sled and improve on my old design.

So You Want To Be A Full-Time Prospector?

March 2011
The high price of gold and the poor economic conditions here in the US have created an unusual situation—a large number of folks are thinking seriously about getting into prospecting and digging for gold on a full-time basis.

Extracting & Smelting Your Gold

February 2013
Unfortunately, not all the gold that we prospectors find is pretty, or appealing to the eyes. They are not all nice, bright, shiny nuggets with lots of character that carry high collector value.

Ask The Experts

February 2016
Designing my own dredge...

Prospecting for Diamonds

January 2013
Let’s take a look at diamonds and diamond mining and see how they form, how they are used beyond just jewelry, and what leads geologists to find diamond deposits.

What Have You Got to Lose?

November 2016
It’s accepted knowledge that wet methods will recover more fine gold than dry methods and processing the gravel as a whole will get more gold than only using a metal detector. The question is how much more?

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