Prospecting & Detecting
Modesto, California Man Finds 18-Ounce Nugget
October 2016 by Scott Harn

Detecting A Trashy Area
Some prospectors would have assumed it was another shotgun shell, but in this case it was 17.6-pennyweight nugget!
Sampling for Success—Part II
The first and most important thing of the sampling process is to try to be as unbiased as possible. There is a natural tendency to select rock that looks the best—even unconsciously.
The Mid-Winter Nugget
Some of the gold is placer that was beat up as it traveled; however, quite a bit of the gold is pocket gold that is running along the surface in this area.
Placer Gold Deposits in the Western States
…to see the huge differences between the gold production amounts of the Western States, let’s look at the gold production—both hard rock and placer—of these 13 states up to the present.
12-Year-Old Unearths Large Diamond
It is the eighth largest brown diamond to be found and certified by park staff.
What About Palladium?
Palladium may well be an underexplored element and therefore an opportunity for prospectors and geologists. This is because they are often less than obvious and other than the native metals, a chemical analysis of samples is required to identify PGM-enriched rocks.
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