Small Mining Operations
Putting Together A Small Free Gold Mill—Part II
June 2018 by Chris Ralph
There are many smaller old hard rock mines out there—more than you might think. There are some small hard rock properties that are even open to be claimed if one does the right amount of research to find them.
Prospecting Hard Rock
We panned out maybe three gold pans of the material and we were shocked at the gold that was there. This rock appeared to be rich.
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.
Hard Rock 101: Micro Blasting
Micro blasting can be used to take down hanging rock, separate minerals from overburden, and collect gemstones and other high-value product with minimal damage.
21st Century American Gold Rush: Rare Earth Elements
The burning question I needed answered was why didn’t the deposit ever get mined of at least one of the valuable minerals? A couple of reasons have come to light.
Finding Gold in Tailing Piles
Old mine workings and tailing piles can represent opportunities on many levels, from the chance to simply find a nugget on up to the commercial reworking of the old tailings for profit.
Gold Recovery with Centrifugal Bowls
Centrifugal bowls are very efficient, and with proper operation they can consistently achieve gold recoveries above 95% with gold of about 50 mesh size.
Memories of Shirttail Creek, Northern California
…for a few hours, we fervently dug for gold. After we did a cleanup, I couldn’t believe the amount we got.
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