Procuring Mine Owner Permission at a Mine Site

October 2017 by Don Madore

The first experience involved an overgrown gold mine operated during the 1880s. A razed mill adjoined the mine and could be glimpsed from the isolated public dirt road I was traveling.

Finding Streams of Gold

September 2014
Without knowing or even thinking about it, I had put together a map that showed me a pattern of the ancient Sacramento River channel. I also had a distinct picture of where the ancient channels of several other creeks and rivers were running.

Maitland Bar Nugget to Go On Display

January 2016
The box sat in a hallway and employees began using it for impromptu cricket games, no knowing what it contained.

Searchers' Dreams

May 2013
The story began in a southern Arizona mountain range...

Detector Prospecting Accessories

January 2016

One of the first things to consider but that many people ignore is ergonomics. Prospecting for gold can involve long hours, often for days or weeks on end.

Detecting Nuggets—Overcoming New Challenges

September 2015
Depth is not an issue unless the site is thoroughly cleaned of shallow trash, and it is far easier to isolate and remove targets using a small coil in a target rich location.

Highbanking at the 144

October 2013
My third sample location proved to be my last and most interesting. I needed to look no further.

Pros and Cons of Big Detector Coils

December 2016
Years later I returned with a new detector with a smaller coil and detector technology more sensitive to smaller nuggets. I found my first nugget within five minutes. I had a second five minutes after that.

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