Prospecting & Detecting
How to Upgrade Your Pocket Plunger
November 2016 by Don Madore
These three simple upgrades, when taken together, will considerably increase a pocket plunger’s magnetic pull and make it less susceptible to breakage.
Detecting: Small Creek Yields Good Gold
Most of our gold recoveries have been in the cracks of the bedrock. Hot rocks in the form of dikes cross the creek at various locations, causing us to skip those areas.
River Dredging vs. Creek Dredging—Part I
As I started walking down to the river one chilly morning, the mist was hanging over the calm portions of the water like a white cotton blanket. This scene got me to thinking about why the river was like that—the deep pools, boulder fields, gravel bars, the effects of how much water was moving at any given time along the watercourse—and most of all the relationship all these things have on where I will be able to find gold.
A Great Day On The Feather River
Mike and Machael dug in just downriver of that boulder pile and right away found good color and a few small pickers.
The Art of Underwater Nugget Shooting
There is a surprising amount of detectable gold under the water’s surface. The right tools make it much easier to find, and with a little patience and practice you can take advantage of this underappreciated bonanza.
Gully Prospecting and Mining
This article is about our recent gold prospecting adventure, which has yielded over 20 ounces of specimen gold—with more to come.
Entry-Level Metal Detectors for Gold Prospecting
These are entry-level machines designed with gold prospecting in mind and with the ability to handle mineralized ground and see nuggets of a grain or so in size, perhaps smaller.
Our Readers Say
- Conversion charts and tables
- Solutions to anti-mining efforts
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Our Readers Say
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Detecting: Small Creek Yields Good Gold
• Ask The Experts: Is this BLM demand legitimate?
• The Challenge of Winter Dredging
• What Have You Got to Lose?
• MMAC Update
• Glaciers and Placer Gold Deposits
• What's In A Name?
• Oregon Miners Still Fighting
• Greenhorn Finds Gold in Colorado
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• Melman on Gold & Silver
Free:
