Prospecting & Detecting
New Research Tool for Miners in Wyoming
September 2018 by Scott Harn
The Wyoming Geological Survey released an online interactive map...
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.
Want to Go to Australia?
Every year there are large nuggets found by the diligent, and occasionally by the lucky newbie.
Feather River Gold
I didn’t think too much of our dredge hole and we were both considering a move when we hit bedrock. There was a good quantity of flakes and fines, but no nuggets.
An Alaskan in the Lower 48
Our destination was some old hydraulic workings where the old miners had washed literally mountains of material away to expose gold in ancient river channels.
Summertime Gold Panning
I have smaller pans for cleaning black sand concentrates, big pans for taking large samples, pans with corners for pouring out materials, and pans with lots of special riffles. This variation is why I have so many pans—they each have their specialty.
Modern-Day Claim Jumping
We soon found that our discovery post and other claim markers were gone and replaced with new posts and a notice of location with an earlier date than had been on our notice of location.
Twenty Minutes on a Five-inch Dredge
The first thing I realized was this was not a toy—this thing had power and I needed to really pay attention. I got into position, took a deep breath, and pushed that monster into the hard pack.
Subscription Required:
Ask The Experts - Why is there no detector signal with pyrite?
• Ask The Experts - Need assaying advice
• Ask The Experts - Can you tell me anything about the Cherry Creek District in Nevada?
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Understanding Skim Bar Placers
• Detecting Canyon Bedrock in The Sierras
• Mining Journal Receives Honor
• Gold Prospecting: For Better or Worse
• PLP Update
• Have We Hit 'Peak Gold'?
• Old Mine Sites and New Technology
• What Happened to The Gold Prospecting and Mining Summit?
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
