Metal Detecting Old Hard Rock Mine Dumps

May 2018 by Chris Ralph

The type of mine dump that is best for metal detecting are the ones that consist of mixed sizes of rock and are located near some sort of excavation, commonly a shaft or adit. Sometimes the piles located along a trench dug by the miners can be productive as well.

Jim Madden's Gold

July 2016
Maybe we could find a few pieces of ore from that tunnel? It was worth a try. The old timers didn’t have that stamp mill for looks, so we set off to get some samples.

Imagining the Ultimate Prospecting Adventure

May 2019

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?

Twenty Minutes on a Five-inch Dredge

September 2013
The first thing I realized was this was not a toy—this thing had power and I needed to really pay attention. I got into position, took a deep breath, and pushed that monster into the hard pack.

Addressing EPA Overreach: What Dredgers Need to Know

March 2016

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been attempting to extend their authority and intimidate miners and other public land users for decades. Suction gold dredgers are no exception, and we want to highlight a recent example of how to deal with this federal overreach.

Gold Prospecting: For Better or Worse

September 2018

We all love to see that first glimmer of gold when it peeks out from under the black sand in our pan, or feel the weight of a nugget in our scoop when we dig a good target. But sometimes things don’t go quite so smoothly.

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.

Sampling Placer Stockpiles

August 2013
Sampling other people's stockpiles or dumps has some inherent risks that sampling undisturbed ground does not have.

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