Prospecting & Detecting
Prospecting for Silver Deposits
August 2015 by Chris Ralph
In some ways, silver is the forgotten precious metal because it straddles both the world of precious metals and jewelry, while having many important industrial applications like a base metal. The price of silver reflects both the precious metal investment demand as well as the industrial demand.
Finding Streams of Gold
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.
Piggin' for Gold
Take a look at the picture—it’s pretty simple and you can build it yourself.
Detecting Old Pocket Diggings
Looking around, I could tell that this was an old hand-digging. As I walked around the perimeter of the digging I could see shovel and pick marks scratched on the clean, hard clay and bedrock.
Revisiting the Rocker Box
The first location we worked was a small, dry ravine cutting through many mineralized zones in an area where some hard rock mining had taken place in the past.
Thinking Outside The Creek
Imagine for a minute the year is 1850. You’ve read and heard that gold was discovered in California and the creeks are so rich you can just scoop it up with your hands.
Drywashing in Black Canyon, Arizona
May 2016After the hike and a quick snack break we gathered a few buckets of material to really dial in the drywasher for the most efficient recovery. This involves leveling the unit, setting the riffle box drop angle and regulating the speed in which the material is processed.
Tips for Effective Drywashing
Back in October I read with great interest Chris Ralph’s article on the use of a metal detector while drywashing, and I wholeheartedly agree—I wouldn’t even consider going drywashing without using a metal detector in conjunction...
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• Ask The Experts
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• A Great Day On The Feather River
• Give That Club Claim A Chance
• From Curiosity to Mine Owner
• Gold and Rare Earth Elements in New Mexico
• Will El Nino Move Gold for Miners and End California Drought?
• Melman on Gold & Silver
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