Prospecting & Detecting
Research Tools for The Modern Prospector
August 2019 by Michael Greyshock
Much more information can be gained from that single source and gives you ideas on the gravels for dry washing or where the nuggets may lie for metal detecting
Third Largest Nugget in Existence Returns to Dallas
While the bullion value of the nugget is already substantial, the size and rarity of the Ausrox Nugget combine to make its worth invaluable in the collector market.
Detecting Clay Seams
Because the old timers were so good at locating the better paying deposits—most of them along clay seams in this particular area—it makes good sense to try and locate these clay lines at old mining sites.
Fall Drywashing—Just the Right Time of Year
I could see lots of quartz, both loose on the hillsides and in the numerous small prospect diggings. There was a small gold rush here more than a century ago.
Prospecting Underground: Use Caution
In underground placer work, the contact point of the bedrock tunnel and the gravel is a very weak point and always has to be timbered. The bedrock here is thin, fractured, and the gravels loose from many years of oxidizing.
The Half-Mile Claim
We dug and extracted for two more hours. This time, as I dumped the concentrates, I saw a piece of gold three-fourths of an inch long and as big around as a pencil.
Proper Assaying of Placer Samples
The whole purpose of sampling mineralized ground is to measure the values in a small volume of material that would be representative of a much larger volume of similar material. The key word is representative. Chemical and fire assaying will not accurately represent placer deposits by themselves.
Prospecting With a Detector: Lessons Learned
That is the course and intention for this article—to wander through some of the lessons I have learned in my thirty-two years of metal detecting and prospecting.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Our Readers Say
• Ask The Experts - What is a 'wissbanger'?
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Papa's Got A Brand New Dredge!
• Selecting A Low-Risk Region To Explore, Mine or Invest
• Resurrecting An Old Hard Rock Mine--The Saga Continues
• Silver Peak, Nevada: A Little of Everything
• Vindication for Montana Veteran Joe Robertson
• Green Returns And Opportunity Is Almost Gone
• Vehicles Equal Moving Deductions for Mining Operations
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
