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.Understanding and Prospecting Benches
The most obvious benches are usually near the valley floor, but they can be thousands of feet above the valley floor. Since benches were made by streams, they can contain placer deposits.
Gold, Quartz & Chalcedony—Part II
The specific gravity of chalcedony is 2.58 to 2.64. This is slightly lower than coarsely crystalline quartz because of slight porosity in chalcedony. Being so light, it will easily wash out of a gold pan.
Alluvial Paystreaks
The gravels in contact with the bedrock or false bedrock base are often the richest. The same facts apply to the alluvial paystreaks that are formed on gravel bars; the lowest level of the gold-bearing gravel is normally the richest.
The Gold, Silver and Base Metal Mines of Eureka, Nevada
...the area around Eureka, Nevada is well mineralized and seems to have a bright potential for future production of all sorts of metals.
PGMs in the United States
Until just recently, platinum-group metals (PGMs), especially palladium, had been holding their own on the market. But, Russia has now resumed shipments and it has brought prices down.
California: The Land of Big Nuggets—Part I
The nugget sat there in plain sight, though it was covered in dirt, while hundreds of people had passed that way every day.
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