Prospecting & Detecting
Recent Prospecting in Plumas County
November 2010 by Chris Ralph
Plumas has been historically rich in gold because of its favorable geology. The Melones Fault trends north-south through the county and many rich gold-bearing districts lie along its course.
How to Stake Your Own Mining Claims—Part I
Many new prospectors start out prospecting in public areas and club claims, and this is perfectly fine, but the next step in the progression of becoming an experienced prospector is to locate and stake your own mining claims. Metal Detecting Old Hard Rock Mine Dumps
The type of mine dump that is best for metal detecting are the ones that consist of mixed sizes of rock and are located near some sort of excavation, commonly a shaft or adit. Sometimes the piles located along a trench dug by the miners can be productive as well.
Growing Up Gold
If you’re going to successfully detect nuggets you must not only know a little about finding gold and detecting, but you also need to know your own limits, have a dash of luck and a lot of persistence.
One Potato, Two Potato...
Normally the detector he was using would sound off with a definitive high-to-low tone when passed over a piece of gold, which distinguished the gold from the many high iron content "hot rocks," but this one was different...
Gold Dredging on Oregon's South Umpqua
Familiarizing oneself with an unfamiliar part of the country is often a requirement of successful gold prospecting. In the pursuit of gold, it may become necessary for a prospector to branch out into new hunting grounds.
Watch Out for Split Estates When Filing Your Claim
The only thing that saved me was talking to a local miner who gave me a “heads up” that private individuals owned all the mineral rights in that section.
The PIGMI—a DIY Crevice Tool
I’ve had great success using it to gather gold from crevices. I’d like to share the design with all of you gold miners reading this article and hope that you get as much satisfaction building and using it as I did.
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The Bawl Mill
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• The Jenkins Mine Project, Conclusion—Recovery Operations & Summary
• Gold of Plumas County
• Prospecting for Nickel Deposits
• Detecting My Way Across Australia—Pt II
• Detectors Versus Pans
• Check The Box For Tax Savings
• Mining Stock Quotes & Mineral and Metal Prices
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Undiscovered Placer Deposits in Alaska
• Melman on Gold & Silver
