Prospecting & Detecting
Prospector's Guide to Rock Breaking and Blasting
December 2016 by Chris Ralph
The holes were overloaded with explosives, but I didn’t know it. I was just a green mining engineer fresh out of school and told to watch as the experienced miners set the charge.
Detecting: Small Creek Yields Good Gold
Most of our gold recoveries have been in the cracks of the bedrock. Hot rocks in the form of dikes cross the creek at various locations, causing us to skip those areas.
The Alaska Highway and Beyond
My first clean-up showed that my efforts were not in vain. There was considerable color with some good-sized nuggets in the riffle trap.
Who Jumped Whose Claim First?
At this point, stress raised my blood pressure and I was figuring out escape routes through the brush, but thought it best to continue the conversation.
Becoming a Successful Detectorist
During my adventures I’ve learned a few key best practices that help me to consistently find gold nuggets with my detectors. You can apply many of these best practices to any type of prospecting. These best practices are really common sense; however, they are easy to neglect.
The Gold of Plumas de Oro
Their rewards were far better than they had anticipated, resulting in one of the best clean-ups they had ever seen.
Uphill Battle Continues for California Dredgers
There are currently three controlling agencies or entities over suction dredging in California—and you can make that four if the state legislature decides to further muddy the waters with additional legislation to block suction gold dredging in the state.
Sierra County Gold—Part I
...this county contained some of the richest placer ground found in all of California and still produces some pretty impressive finds to this day.
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• Pros and Cons of Big Detector Coils
• Prospecting and Mining Old Mine Sites
• Detecting Strategies for Heavily Forested Areas
• Mining Districts and Community Outreach
• Alaskan Gold Adventure
• Learning the Game and the Power to Change It
• Central Idaho Federal Employees Back to Work With Local Help
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• Melman on Gold & Silver
