History & Geology
Mineral Deposit Trends: Real and Imaginary
December 2012 by Chris Ralph
One of the most important things prospectors do is work to figure out where to go prospecting. Along with understanding the basic geology and putting yourself in a favorable area, one of the things a prospector might consider in finding a location to search is the existence of mining belts also known as mineral deposit trends.The Ups and Downs of Geologic Faults
Faults are fractures, breaks and broken zones in the Earth’s crust where one side of the break has moved relative to the other, and they come in many different varieties.
Critical Minerals: Titanium—Part II
There are both hard rock and beach sand types of titanium deposits, but the hard rock deposits need to be at least 10 percent titanium while the beach sands often are economic with only two or three percent titanium.
The Verde Copper-Gold-Silver-Zinc District, Jerome, Arizona
When I was a student in the College of Mines at the University of Utah, the Verde district was used as an exploration model for “submarine volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits.” So I looked forward to visiting this district and the town of Jerome in central Arizona in the spring of 2012.
Gold and Rare Earth Elements in New Mexico
We import nearly all of our REEs from China, so it’s critical that we find and continue to develop domestic resources of these elements.
Prospecting for Diamonds in Kimberlite
Kimberlite is very difficult for geologists to find, let alone prospectors and rock hounds. This is because kimberlite is rarely exposed on the surface and few people know how to identify the rock.
Critical Metals: Antimony
I’ve been taking a look at the mining and uses of a number of critical metals in series of articles, and it’s time to take a look at antimony.
The Preacher of Sheeps**t Flats
It seemed that the preacher always gave the same answer to anyone who asked where his gold had come from. His answer was, “If you know your gold, you can find it. However, you will have to find it the hard way, the way I found it.”
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