Prospecting & Detecting
My Lucky Thirteen Nuggets
May 2017 by Fred Mason
Even with my favorite top-of-the-line gold detector there were several false digs. Many of the hot rocks gave a solid signal that was too much like a nugget to ignore. After trying several tests I just dug everything because it is better to be safe than leave a big, deep nugget for a more diligent gold hunter.
Q&A With Detector Designer Dave Johnson
...it’s been a little known secret that one man was involved in designing many of the most respected very low frequency (VLF) nugget detectors on the market. Dave Johnson has designed gold-oriented detectors for Tesoro, Whites, Fisher and others for more than 25 years.
Pinpointing for Gold
This rock had been with a family for many years and they were cleaning up an old workshop that had lots of minerals and miscellaneous “ore” samples.
Carr Fire Gold
After burning more than 350 square miles, the Carr Fire near Redding, California, was finally out. Luckily our home was spared, and I had the opportunity to go metal detecting in burned areas previously too overgrown to access.
Volume is the Key to Success
While recovery rates are important, they must necessarily be secondary to the volume of material processed. Running more material at lower recovery rates is generally preferable to increasing the efficiency of the system.
The Hill of Gold
I was amazed and surprised, and I took a moment to admire how beautiful this coarse chunk of gold was. It later weighed exactly one-half ounce.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Ask The Experts: How many claims can I file in Arizona?
• Ask The Experts: What should I do with a large amount of old placer concentrates?
• Shaker Tables for Processing Hard Rock Ores
• Becoming a Successful Detectorist
• Hand Panning Micro-Fine Gold
• Sampling, Hydro-Shocking & Cleaning Quartz-Gold Specimens
• Crushing, Grinding and Pulverizing
• A Break in the Weather
• From the Editor
• Prospecting Knowledge -- Pass It On!
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• Over The Divide: Miles John Mitchell
Free:
MMAC Update