Prospecting & Detecting
Prospecting on the North Yuba
December 2011 by Don Robinson
The research I did for “Gold in the Slate Creek Basin” (September 2011 issue) found me chasing a channel out of the LaPorte territory headed towards the old mining town of Brandy City, California.
The Heavy Minerals in Your Concentrates
The fact that mineral deposits can contribute specific types of heavy minerals is why the analysis of the heavy mineral concentrates in the streams of an area can be an important prospecting technique for finding undiscovered mineral deposits.
The Hunch
The mysteries of this spot were only just starting to develop. There is nothing but very bland granite-type rocks here, meaning no bold, favorable indicators.
Big Rock Gold
Fran, and I had made a practice of turning big boulders in gold producing areas to find some great rewards. Sometimes it was slow and frustrating, but in the end “We got the gold!”
Detecting at the Sixteen to One Mine
A while back I was given a very special opportunity to take my metal detector to one of the most famous gold mines in all of California, the Original Sixteen to One mine in Alleghany.
The Subsurface Suction Dredge
The problems of the submersible dredge tube are addressed by the subsurface dredge, where the enclosed sluice recovery tube is suspended from a flotation assembly...
The Value of Old Patches
Nuggets make for the best memories and this patch was just adding to mine. In the hours of daylight I had left, I worked from that nugget to the bottom of the patch, collecting eight more nuggets.
Twenty Minutes on a Five-inch Dredge
The first thing I realized was this was not a toy—this thing had power and I needed to really pay attention. I got into position, took a deep breath, and pushed that monster into the hard pack.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Our Readers Say
• Ask the Experts—Looking up mining claims on the Internet
• Ask the Experts—Access to mining claim across private land
• Ask the Experts—Best way to identify calaverite and sylvanite
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• WSGS Releases New Geologic Maps
• Yesterday's Gold—Today's Mine
• Where to Find Gold in Indiana
• Prospecting Australia—Part III Anatomy of a Nugget Patch in Western Australia
• Nevada Miners: Check Your Claim Markers
• Managers at Fault for Two Deaths at Meikle Mine
• Cold Water Gold
• River Dredging vs. Creek Dredging—Part I
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
Free:
Ask the Experts—How do you determine how far a piece of gold has traveled in a stream?
• Testing Ores for Free Gold
