It's Another 'Ben Day'

April 2020 by Ray Mills

I looked over and saw Ben on his knees, digging at the edge of the Manzanitas, almost underneath them. I thought back to the previous weekend when we were planning this trip—that day had been a “Ben day.”

The Summer of ‘81

November 2019

When it was all setup and running, you had everything coming off the dredge riffles into the boil box. At the hole section, some of the water got sucked down and pulled a lot of black sand and over heavies…

Dredging Therapy

October 2016
The big moment finally arrived. With Norm suited up, I pulled the motor to life and felt instantly better. There’s really something relaxing about the sound of a dredge running—they don’t sound like anything else.

Rediscovering Placerville, California Part II

March 2011
To get to the gold, the miners had to remove the shale pieces and stack them on the sides while sluicing the remaining material through their boxes.

Prospecting Australia—Part II: There and Back Again

November 2011
Steve got his first nugget within minutes of turning on his metal detector. It only took me about an hour to find my first piece.

The Madonna Nugget

October 2013
It was down deeper than I expected for surface trash. It wasn't until I was down six inches that the target screamed from my scoop.

Prospector Unearths Huge 'Duck’s Foot' Nugget

October 2018

A retired gold prospector spent hours digging up his fortune in the northern goldfields near Kambalda, Western Australia, after finding the target with his metal detector.

Shallow Water Crevicing Can Bring Big Rewards

May 2013
Shallow water crevicing or sniping can produce gold if you’re persistent, a hard worker and lucky. It’s nice to have a snorkel, wet suit and goggles. The best practice for success, in my humble opinion, has always been to determine the best gold location and then figure out how to capture it.

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