Prospecting & Detecting
Prospecting Australia—Part III Anatomy of a Nugget Patch in Western Australia
December 2011 by Chris Ralph
One of the most memorable nuggets I found in Australia was detected on the very last day that I was out prospecting. I was going along swinging my coil and I came across a blaring loud signal that almost blew my ears off.Dry Washer, Wet System or Metal Detector?
I love to dry wash old nugget patches found by detector operators, and I have found my fair share of gold dry washing those areas. I have also found a few nuggets using a detector on the bedrock exposed by dry washing the patches.
Cold Water Gold
It was June 2011, and my wife Fran and I with Grandson Lucas and good friend Ernie Cruz were attempting to get to our gold mining claim on the Middle Fork of the Feather River about ten miles from Quincy, California. Rain had poured down in the previous few days and the road in a large number of low places was under water. Following two hours of slugging through the mud...
Sniping for Gold
Sniping for gold… what does it mean to you? To me, sniping is taking a mask and snorkel along with a screwdriver and squeeze bottle to search for gold lying on or in bedrock.
Pickers and Nuggets
Mike and I each selected a side of the creek and started to work our way upstream. We both worked the water and sides of the creek, and better than half the gold found in this area is in the water.
Alaskan Gold Adventure
In Chicken I had my first experience with the famous Alaska blue clay, sometimes called the blue layer. The blue layer is where the best fine gold was to be found.
From Vietnam to Wedding Bands
It’s a common symptom of gold fever for miners to be very hesitant to let go of gold they’ve found or even have it made into jewelry. I confess, I suffer from the same incurable disease!
Are Permits Needed For Highbanking In California?
...this contradicts the fact that mining claimants are considered landowners with exclusive rights to possess and use that claim, and miners have “riparian rights” on mining claims that do not require permitting.
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The Bawl Mill
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