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.
Resurrecting An Old Hard Rock Mine—Safety Is No Accident
Now it was time for the nerve-wracking part of the job: actually removing anything from the hanging wall we deemed to be in need of removal because it was either loose, could be loose, looked loose, or we felt it was just downright dangerous
Good Assays and Bad
The high prices for gold and silver are exciting and certainly have revolutionized the prospecting and mining scene. New interest in gold and silver mining is springing up from every corner, from individual prospectors armed with gold pans to exploration and mining companies working to set up multimillion dollar commercial operations producing hundreds of thousands of ounces per year. The idea of getting riches from rocks is one that motivates a lot of folks all over the globe. It’s an exciting time, but this excitement brings out another side...
Dry Washer, Wet System or Metal Detector?
I love to dry wash old nugget patches found by detector operators, and I have found my fair share of gold dry washing those areas. I have also found a few nuggets using a detector on the bedrock exposed by dry washing the patches.
A Few Methods for Sampling Hardrock Deposits
With a little homework and a methodical approach to sampling, a prospector can determine if a deposit is worthy of more of an investment...
The Basics of Exploration Leases and Contracts—Part I
Let’s take a look at these important property aspects individually, because they all affect the value of a property and how much mining companies might or might not be interested acquiring it.
Crushing Quartz in Calaveras County: A Placer Miner Learns New Tricks
I had never run an impact mill before, but anything involving rocks, water and a big electric motor sounded great.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Contrary to Rumors, Couple Will Keep the Saddle Ridge Hoard
• Finding Gold with a VLF Detector—Part I
• Creating Your Own Luck
• Over the Divide—Robert Michael “Mike” Corbley
• Continuing Hard Rock Exploration
• Recovering Fine Gold with Oleophilic Adhesion
• Detecting for Gold in Nevada
• Using Structural Clues to Locate Buried Placer Channels
• Gold Deposits of the Ivory Coast
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices







