Small Mining Operations
One of the Richest Beaches Ever Mined
April 2015 by Jim Halloran
Everyone has heard of the golden beach at Nome, but Nome did not have the richest beach.
Mining on the Comstock Lode
Even with the decades of mining and exploration, much of the Comstock is still underdeveloped and its potential not fully tapped.
The Seven Troughs Mining District
The favorable geology of the northeastern and central parts of the Seven Troughs Range are the parts most interesting to prospectors. They are underlain by a thick sequence of Tertiary volcanic rocks, mostly rhyolites and andesites.
The Oregon Claim
When I started dredging a short distance downstream from that feature I realized that I was into a major paystreak and much of the gold was coming right out of the upper gravel. I could see the chunky pieces falling out of the gravel as they were pulled into...
Gold in Guyana—Part I: Porknocking on the Puruni River Road
In part one of this two-part series on gold in Guyana, I describe artisanal mining efforts currently winning alluvial gold from small-scale placer operations located along the lower Puruni River and its tributaries.
Setting Up A Placer Operation
Trommels come in two basic sections. The first section is called the scrubber unit. The second is the punch plate, where the gravels and ore of a specified size drop out into a variety of sluice box recovery units.
Hard Rock 101: Small-Scale Blasting
…the process remains much the same: Drill holes, load explosives, close up the holes, blast and muck out the resulting broken rock.
Resurrecting An Old Hard Rock Mine—Gold At Last!
We’ve been busy with a plethora of projects, all aimed at gathering gold into a pile big enough to brag about. We’re not there yet, but I’ll show you some of the interesting projects we’ve completed since we talked last.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Our Readers Say
• Ask The Experts
• Ask The Experts
• Exploring Snakehead
• Prospecting for Gold in Baja California
• What's All This Talk About Mining Districts?
• The Power of Mining Districts
• What is a Mining Right?
• The Gold, Silver and Base Metal Mines of Eureka, Nevada
• Jadeite in California
• Tips for Detecting Nugget Patches
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• State Lends Help to County in Nevada Road Fight
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Utah Approves funds to Fight Feds
