History & Geology
Mineralized Faults and Contacts in the Search for Gold
January 2016 by Chris Ralph
The Wild Rush to Find More Cobalt—Part I
While some future cobalt will come from recycling lithium batteries and other products, the coming huge need for cobalt is virtually a perfect storm of heavy demand and insufficient supply.
Heavy Sands Mining
Lately my mind has been involved with group 4 of the transition elements, namely titanium, zirconium, and hafnium. They all have similar chemical properties. Of greatest interest to economic geologists and miners is that these valuable elements often occur together in sands.
Gangue Minerals - What Do They Tell Us?
There are a large number of different kinds of gangue minerals, and each of them has its own tale to contribute to the story of the chemistry and geology of a deposit.
One Question, Forever Unanswered—Did He Really Find the Gold?
This was one of those stories where you have no doubt that the person telling it believes it to be true. But was it?
Mineral Deposit Trends: Real and Imaginary
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.
Detector Brings New Life to An Old Lode Mine
…it was immediately evident the previous owner had not been using a detector. During just a few months of working the dumps part-time, he recovered gold in quartz specimens valued in excess of $40,000.
The Rush to Treasure Hill
There were some exceptional times in the far-flung history of the West. Rich finds of minerals that set men’s souls ablaze. From the rich gold fields of California, men who arrived too late to find riches went searching in every direction. The trail that we will follow leads east, past the shining silver district of the Comstock Lode.
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The Bawl Mill
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• A Successful Trip Through Gold Basin
• Oregon Miners File for Summary Judgment
• The Significance of Nuggets in Placers
• The Strange History of the Utica Mine
• Forest Service Seeks to Lock Miners Out in South Dakota
• Maitland Bar Nugget to Go On Display
• Company Says Central Idaho Project Feasible
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices







