Prospecting & Detecting
Mineralization, Ground Balance and Metal Detecting
May 2022 by Chris Ralph
The right ground balance setting for the conditions you are working is critical. If your detector isn’t set properly, you will lose depth of detection, sometimes to an extreme degree.
Get The Lead Out!
If you do the math, it equates to about $1,500 of heavy metal value per three-hour dive. This is good wages, and you are doing a service to the environment by removing this toxic metal.
From Iowa to Alaska—How I Became A Gold Miner
May 18, 2019, after 26 years, I had finally saved enough money. I bought my one-way ticket to Fairbanks, Alaska, and I started off by finding a new job…
Dealing With Hot Rocks and Mineralization
What about all that noise coming from the ground? What is a prospector supposed to do about that?
Feather River Gold

Continuing Hard Rock Exploration

I Just Tripped Over A Nugget
I metal detected a number of years before I saw my first nugget peeking out from the dirt before I had scraped or dug for it. This one was in the steep sidewall of a narrow, but deep drywash.
Revisiting an Old Mine in Idaho Reaps Rewards

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• What To Do With All That Gold?
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• Judge Orders FBI to Produce Records on Civil War Gold Hunt
• Strategies for Detecting Heavily Pounded Areas—Pt II
• Auburn, California
• Old Water Channels Provide Important Clues
• The Mystery of the Grand Summit Mine
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