All Articles
PLP Gets the Key!
April 2003 by Walt Wegner
I am an electrical contractor and a Board Member of Public Lands for the People (PLP). I have clients, a husband and wife, who own private property in the Los Padres National Forest. There are two ways to access their property. Both are pilots and able to fly in via small plane or helicopter, which for me was an exciting perk of working at this property.Additional articles that might interest you...
Prospecting for Copper Ores—Part II
July 2012
Copper is a critically important metal that we need to run our modern electronic society, and the long term outlook for this metal is for a steady increase in price.
Copper is a critically important metal that we need to run our modern electronic society, and the long term outlook for this metal is for a steady increase in price.
Summertime Gold Panning
September 2016
I have smaller pans for cleaning black sand concentrates, big pans for taking large samples, pans with corners for pouring out materials, and pans with lots of special riffles. This variation is why I have so many pans—they each have their specialty.

Legislative and Regulatory Update
May 2006
• Original Sixteen to One cleared
• Another court case settled
• Original Sixteen to One cleared
• Another court case settled
PLP Update & Legislative and Regulatory Update
April 2022
I’m combining these columns this month because there is an overlapping issue I wanted to address -- the new Interior Department “working group” on mining reform
Prospecting With Limited Equipment
June 2002
There are situations where small-scale miners cannot use dredges or high bankers. This is when it’s time to join the ranks of the old timers and their use of hand methods. Back when a gold pan, pick and shovel and sluice or rocker box were the...

Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
September 2014
Looking Back
January 2005
Excerpts from California Mining Journal, our original title, published 50 years ago this month.
Excerpts from California Mining Journal, our original title, published 50 years ago this month.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Impact of Habitat Designations Grossly Underestimated
• Manslaughter Charges Dropped Against Sixteen to One Mine
• A Unique Prospecting Method
• Over the Divide
• Cripple Creek, Colorado
• Picks & Pans: Virginia Prospecting
• Mariposa, California
• The Ocampo District, Chihuahua
• The Collaboration
• Mud Creek Placer Mine
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• Looking Back
• Melman on Gold & Silver