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Picks & Pans: Confessions of a Small Miner—Part II
April 1999 by Wally Mieras
People always ask me how much gold I'm getting? I remind them that after 27 years digging in that same mountain, I'm still a small miner. But my wife hasn't divorced me—probably because the lawyer wants all the money up front.
Mining Boom Is Back In Northern Nevada
At the Gold Quarry open-pit mine, a massive electric shovel scoops 40 tons of earth in a single bite and dumps it into a 325,000-pound truck the size of a two-story house.
Permafrost Tunnel Shows Cross-sections of Past
A few miles north of Fairbanks stands what looks like a shack pushed back against a hill. Behind its front door dwells a distant past when saber-toothed tigers, mastodons and even camels roamed Alaska's Interior.
Melman on Gold & Silver
Who would have thought it possible? According to a New York Times editorial in late January, they predict that the terrorist attack on September 11 will not be remembered by historians as the most significant event of the last half of 2001. Their new choice is the collapse of corporate giant Enron—and they just may be right.
The Mineral Range Districts of Utah
Most of the commercial mineral deposits are on the south and southwest part of the range between Minersville and Milford, though small amounts of gold and silver have also been found in iron-rich outcrops in the basalt to the south of Milford.
Deadly Storms May Expose Gems in Sri Lanka
Floods and landslides that struck Sri Lanka several months ago, killing 266 people, may bring a windfall for miners. The movement of tons of soil and rock is believed to have unearthed new gems according to local industry workers.
A New Prospecting Spot
Once indicators start showing up along or below a contact I start to get excited. When I have shale, and outcroppings of diorite with iron-red, gritty soil and some clay thrown in, I really get lightheaded. I may be a mile away from the nearest diggings but that’s okay. I just found a spot that could provide some nice nugget hunting.
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The Bawl Mill
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• Our Readers Say
• Miner Says Mining Could Return to Boulder
• Arizona Mines and Minerals Releases New Directory
• Onerous New Mining Rules Adopted in Washington State
• U.S. Sued for Failure to Guard Rare Species
• Miner Charged in Death of Downieville Miner
• Senator Warns Against Proposal to Sell Some IMF Gold
• Dry Placers in the Kamma Mountains, Nevada
• Company Notes
• MCS Index Shows Decrease in Mining Costs
• Over the Divide
• The Saga of Sand Mountain
• Nevada County Feeling Pain of Slumping Mining Industry
• There's Gold in Those Tailings
• Gold at Ragged Top, Arizona
• Increase in Silver Demand by Photography Industry
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Looking Back
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
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