Residual Placers: An Often Overlooked Gold Source

December 2021 by Chris Ralph

Because the forces of erosion and gravity tend to carry lighter materials like quartz away more easily, the heavy minerals like gold or silver will tend to be concentrated in the general area around the vein outcrop. These concentrations are what make residual placers so attractive.

Off to the Sierra Again

November 2022

Our Readers Say

February 2014
• Prospecting for Diamonds in Kimberlite by W. Dan Hausel
• Miners referring to their activity as “recreational”

That First Nugget

January 2017
After getting all the gear together we headed up the old road that led us to an old ground sluice site. George and Kaleb were using lightweight VLF (very low frequency) detectors. I carried a newer technology unit that is just a tad coil-heavy in the front.

The Potholes—California’s Oldest Known Mining District

March 2020

Every time we prospected here we found gold, sometimes some really coarse flakes, but no large nuggets (yet).

Metal Detector Testing Methods

February 2015

It will not be any easier than on your table at home, and so testing a very small test target like the ballpoint pen can tell you immediately if a detector is suitable for looking for tiny gold nuggets.

ICMJ Visits The Northstar Mining Museum

November 2022

'One of the Gems of Nevada County"

Finding Gold in Tailing Piles

December 2014
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.

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