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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.
The Bawl Mill
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Many of the calls and letters I have received from our readers lately have expressed frustration and outright anger at the Clinton Administration.
Take it to Bedrock
Picking the right spot to placer has to do with years of experience, and a little luck. The textbooks can tell you where it should be, but sometimes the rules just don’t seem to apply.
Picking Our Way Through Bedrock
Once again the coil was put over the spot but the target was in the pile now. I pinpointed, grabbed a handful of dirt and began sprinkling it over the coil until I heard that mild thud.
Identifying the Noble Metals Simple Tests That Work
Using a porcelain evaporating dish, place concentrates or head ore, equal to a tablespoon, in 60cc of aqua regia. Boil almost to dry, then add 10cc HCl (hydrochloric or muratic acid) and heat for a few minutes, and then add 30cc of water and bring to boil. Let cool while the solids are being allowed to settle. Using a pipette...
Cherry-Picking for Gold Nuggets
We have a location where nuggets over an ounce have been detected over the past twenty years. This location is a small hilltop on which an ancient river channel once flowed.
Paleoplacers in the Black Hills
The Black Hills of western South Dakota are domal mountains that rise to 7,242 feet near Mt. Rushmore National Monument. Annual precipitation reaches 28 inches, enough to support winter sports and pine forests.
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The Bawl Mill
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• 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
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• The Saga of Sand Mountain
• Nevada County Feeling Pain of Slumping Mining Industry
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• Increase in Silver Demand by Photography Industry
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• Looking Back
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
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