Out of the Ashes—New Access to Gold

November 2018 by Ray Mills

As I arrived at my detecting location, I got all my gear and headed up the trail. I had to stop and take in the devastation all around me.

Drywashing for Fine Gold

October 2017

When working fine gold placers with a drywasher, there are some natural variables that can be beneficial as well as others that can be a hindrance to achieving good recovery.

Tyrie's Roadway Nugget

November 2011
I will have to admit, I actually was brought to tears just thinking about what I had just done. I knew the gold was there, but I never thought I would be so fortunate to find such a prize nugget.

The Madonna Nugget

October 2013
It was down deeper than I expected for surface trash. It wasn't until I was down six inches that the target screamed from my scoop.

Rattler's Gold

January 2011
Rick donned a pair of fiberglass shin guards that he normally wore dredging, just in case he uncovered the rattlesnake during his digging and rock moving. I wasn’t convinced they were going to provide enough protection.

Gold Mining Boom in the Carolinas

July 2012
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.

Lost Sally's Gold

December 2015
She said a few thoughts did cross her mind at the time; she thought maybe she should have looked more thoroughly for that hand-drawn map to the claim that we had given her the previous year.

California: The Land of Big Nuggets—Part I

December 2017

The nugget sat there in plain sight, though it was covered in dirt, while hundreds of people had passed that way every day.

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