Prospecting & Detecting
My Explosive Introduction to Gold Mining
August 2021 by Jon Carter
My friend came walking in from the garage with what looked to me like a stick of dynamite. Chuckling, he said, “Have you ever been gold mining?”
In my head I was thinking, “Not at 3 am in the morning with dynamite.”
Desert Prospecting Yields More Than Just Gold
This wash was not far from where I once dug a half-ounce nugget, so I knew there was gold in the area.
The Potholes—California’s Oldest Known Mining District
Every time we prospected here we found gold, sometimes some really coarse flakes, but no large nuggets (yet).
Gold Mining Boom in the Carolinas
Not too far from the pine-filled mountains, a young boy was exploring along Meadow Creek in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, one fine day in 1799. He discovered a beautiful rock that he took home and put to good use as a doorstop. Shortly thereafter, a jeweler stopped by to visit his folks, and as it turned out, the new doorstop was actually a 17-pound gold nugget. That nugget truly did open a door as it marked the beginning of the first gold rush in America.
Mining Journal Receives Honor
For the 20th consecutive year, ICMJ’s Prospecting and Mining Journal was voted “Prospecting Magazine of the Year”...
Late Fall Drywashing
Part of the good thing about this spot is that it is not that far from my home in the famous Virginia City mining district. Not everyone knows this, but the first discoveries around that area were gold placers.
Green Valley's Fine Gold Patch
Once across, I panned a couple of spots around some old grass roots and the fine gold was amazingly heavy. Every pan I ran after that had lots of color.
Libby, Montana Prospectors Keep Tradition Alive
Located 23 miles south of Libby, the land surrounding the Libby Creek area has been of interest to prospectors since the early 1860s, when it was home to up to 600 miners working at a camp known as Libbysville.
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts - Are pulse induction detectors the right tech for gold?
• Ask The Experts - Why can’t I find gold with my detector?
• Ask The Experts - Are two rock crushing machines (jaw crusher and chain crusher) necessary?
• Ask The Experts - Why am I finding only coarse gold, not fines in this area?
• Ask The Experts - Is the amount of gold reserves claimed by mining companies real or just hype?
• How To Identify Minerals
• Chasing Hard Rock Gold As A Placer Deposit
• Gold Prospecting for Better or Worse: Bumbling Through A Gold Bonanza
• How Mesothermal/Orogenic Gold Deposits Form
• Georgetown CA: A Historically Rich Mother Lode Treasure
• Reminder: Annual Claim Filings and Fees Due
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
