Imagining the Ultimate Prospecting Adventure

May 2019 by Chris Ralph

I recently found myself wondering what would be the ultimate prospecting adventure. What would be the most amazing thing if I had no restrictions or limitations?

Weathering, Erosion and Placers

April 2017
The big interest to prospectors thinking about the effect of erosion is not what might happen long into the future, but what they might find in the rivers later this summer when the water levels go down.

Detecting During Summer Heat

August 2015
This concept of detecting does not always work as we sometimes get a week or so where the temperatures rise to 116°—sometimes more.

Metal Detector Testing Methods

February 2015

It will not be any easier than on your table at home, and so testing a very small test target like the ballpoint pen can tell you immediately if a detector is suitable for looking for tiny gold nuggets.

Mining Pegmatite Deposits

July 2018

With successively lower temperatures as the water mixture cools, new sets of minerals are formed and many of those stable at a higher degree of heat became subject to alteration as the temperature progressively moved lower.

Ophir—Possibly the Best Kept Secret in Alaska—Part II

December 2013
I knew the nuggets got into the nugget patch somehow, I just had to figure out how and from what direction they came.

Panning for Gold on Canyon Creek

August 2016
I was able to remove the gravels with the assistance of a crowbar and I scooped them up with a garden trowel. This gravel contained over a pennyweight of gold and there were several 2-grain and 3-grain pieces…

Coprolite—A Prospector's Tale

February 2014
Gold nuggets come in all forms, but I never expected that dinosaur nuggets would too, and at a decent price.

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