The sun was beginning to set, which put the light at just the right angle against the hillsides to where I believed that I spotted a very small dig and tailings pile up the hill near the top of the second wash.

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.

I regularly get inquiries along the line of: “Hey, I found this rock, and I think it might be gold ore. How can I tell?” Prospectors are always on the lookout for gold-bearing rocks that may be the source of any nearby placer gold.

Two potentially important Canadian projects, which could have produced revenues in the billions and jobs in the tens of thousands, have now been officially abandoned and the reasons offered by both relate to the economic impossibility of successfully negotiating all the regulatory obstacles that have been presented.