History & Geology
Researching Mineralized Areas
December 2015 by Chris Ralph
There are a load of ways to do research, and I’m going to talk about how I do it—maybe you’ll get some ideas that will work for you, too.Gold, Quartz & Chalcedony—Part I
Gold has always been noted to have an affinity for quartz to such a degree prospectors almost always dig on quartz veins in a search for the precious metal.
What Are Those Rocks In My Pan?
The placer mineral identification key is designed to answer this question. It attempts to recognize all the minerals in your gold pan concentrates.
Detecting for Gold in Australia—The Kimberley Trip
The hair stood up on the back of my neck when I saw this, especially the nice patches of wash in the bottoms of the gullies, a sure sign of an auriferous source being nearby.
California: The Land of Big Nuggets—Part II
There are a number of Tertiary river channels in the area, most of which trend south-southwest. They tend to be steep, narrow, and rich with coarse gold.
Know Your District
We have to remember that the earliest miners were not geologists, but came from a variety of backgrounds. Their survival depended on finding enough gold so they worked hard and adapted to whatever challenges these new areas presented.
Benches and Fossil Placers
Unfortunately for us mortal humans, we have a poor perspective on geologic time. When we look at a landscape such as a stream valley, we see it only in two, or at the most, three dimensions. We have poor comprehension of the valley’s fourth and most important dimension—time.
Gold of the Iditarod Mining District, Alaska
It was the middle of winter and the valley was covered in snow, making prospecting a matter of sinking shafts in the ground.
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