All Articles
Picks & Pans: George Duffy Jr.—Pocket Miner Extraordinaire
September 2004 by Jim Straight
During the Miocene and Pliocene mid-Tertiary Epochs, the Great Basin, Mojave, and Sonoran deserts within parts of California, Nevada, and Arizona became the source—the genesis—of ubiquitous epithermal “precious metal” fissure-gold veins associated with extensive acidic volcanic lava flows that blanketed much of the Cordillera during this time.Four Arrested for California Mining Museum Heist
Four men believed to be responsible for a September heist of about $1.3 million in precious gems and gold from a mining museum in the Sierra Nevada foothills have been arrested, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) said.
Small Mine Selective Blasting
Drill holes in a mineralized vein often penetrate hidden layers of poor ore which, after blasting, end up diluting the production quality. Disseminated gold ores carrying two ounces per ton may be identical in appearance to adjacent vein material...
Las Médulas—The Gem of the Roman Gold Mines
This mine was a real wonder of engineering, and the water supply and drifts had to be carefully managed to keep it in operation. In fact, it didn’t close due to lack of gold, but instead closed with the fall of the Roman Empire.
Continental Drift
As soon as reasonably accurate maps were made, 200 years ago, one could not help but note the parallelism of some coastlines with those on other continents. The coastlines of Africa and South America, in particular, are strikingly similar. The first scientist to write on the subject was an Austrian, Edward Suess, who put India, Africa, and South America into a supercontinent he named “Gondwanaland.” But, it was not until Alfred Wegener, a German, came out with his “Theory of Continental Drift” in 1912, that scientists took note.
The Joy of Prospecting
I have been prospecting and mining for gold, both as a hobby and as an occupation, for nearly 30 years. From the deep green forests to the rolling sagebrush hills, few people see as much of America’s wide-open spaces as I do.
The Eagle and High Peak Mines of Julian, California
At an altitude of over 4,000 feet, in the mountainous terrain of eastern San Diego County, lies the once productive Julian Mining District. Beginning with placer prospecting in 1869, this area moved rapidly into underground quartz or vein mining for gold.
Following the Clues
It took me awhile before I finally got a nice mellow signal. My nugget turned out to weigh in about two dwt (pennyweight). Over the next few hours, we all picked up a few more nuggets apiece.
Subscription Required:
Please Note:
• The Bawl Mill
• Kerry Proposes Large Fees on Miners
• Is a Gold Rush Coming to the Iron Range?
• The Klamath Oldland
• Baker City is Defined by Gold Rush
• Coeur Alaska Hopes to Begin Work on Gold Mine This Fall
• Crater of Diamonds, Arkansas
• Company Plans to Develop Cabinet Mountains Mine
• I-147 Before Montana Supreme Court
• Diamond Exploration and Mining Heating Up in North America
• Gold in Serbia
• Looking Back
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
