Small Mining Operations
Mining for Gold and Sapphires in Montana
April 2014 by Chris Ralph
Fascinated by the sapphires—and the gold that occured with them—he was soon buying parcels of property and setting up his own commercial-scale gravel processing plants.
Prospector's Guide to Rock Breaking and Blasting
The holes were overloaded with explosives, but I didn’t know it. I was just a green mining engineer fresh out of school and told to watch as the experienced miners set the charge.
Exploring Placers with Auger Drills
Augers can be used effectively for placer exploration with certain limitations.
Excavator Testing Wet Placer Ground
The excavator or backhoe has become the tool of choice for testing placer ground. These machines are the best way to explore and sample a placer deposit if the ground is not too wet or frozen and bedrock is not beyond the reach of the machine.
The Batteries Metal Rush
There is a major change coming in the economy of the world and now is the time for prospectors and miners to grab a ticket and get on board.
Evolution Of A Gold Prospect
The adage of, “The harder I work, the luckier I get,” has profound meaning, but it doesn’t always apply to prospecting.
Hard Rock University: Expensive Hobby or Real Business?
Improper sampling techniques lead to more avoidable heartache than almost anything else in micro mining.
Proper Assaying of Placer Samples
The whole purpose of sampling mineralized ground is to measure the values in a small volume of material that would be representative of a much larger volume of similar material. The key word is representative. Chemical and fire assaying will not accurately represent placer deposits by themselves.
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The Bawl Mill
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• Using Structural Clues to Locate Buried Placer Channels
• Gold Deposits of the Ivory Coast
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• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices







