Prospecting & Detecting
Prospecting Tales: Forest Service, Fires and Bears—Oh My!
October 2013 by John McPherson
I woke up on Sunday morning, August 10, to heavy smoke. I saw where it was coming from, but it seemed like it was a long way off so I thought I was okay for the time being.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.
Bedrock Gold: When It’s There and When It Isn’t
Has your experience ever led you to wonder why some gold is deposited on bedrock and in crevices, while other gold is not? We’re going take a deeper look at this and see what we can figure it out.
My Lucky Thirteen Nuggets
Even with my favorite top-of-the-line gold detector there were several false digs. Many of the hot rocks gave a solid signal that was too much like a nugget to ignore. After trying several tests I just dug everything because it is better to be safe than leave a big, deep nugget for a more diligent gold hunter.
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.
The Life of an Independent Prospector
“JP, is it possible to make a living looking for gold with a metal detector?” I get asked this question a lot...
The Rest of the Story—Detecting With Ray Mills
Ray followed up by detecting the same area and I was happy to see that he did not find any good targets in the same line. So far so good.
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.
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The Bawl Mill
• EPA Tries to Intimidate Alaskan Miners
• A Few Pointers About Cracks and Crevices
• Hunting for Gold in the Quartzsite Area of Western Arizona
• The Madonna Nugget
• The Alaska Highway and Beyond
• It's Hard to Find Gold!
• Partner Withdraws from Pebble Project
• Highbanking at the 144
• Potential Gold at Old Hydraulic Sites
• California State Panning Championships—Foresthill, CA Heritage Celebration
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
Free:
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Research and Fieldwork Yield Some Promising Gold
