Prospecting & Detecting
Revisiting The Old Mini Patch
April 2019 by Michael Greyshock
Today, the greatest gold rushes occur due to technological advances capable of discovering gold where it once was extremely unlikely or difficult.
Bedrock
I am going to break bedrock down a bit and explain my view of the varying scenarios I come across in the field.
The Challenge of Winter Dredging
Dredges actually do pretty well in freezing conditions. There are a few tips you should know, however.
Dredging Safety: Don't Ignore The Warning Signs
At first, I tried to shift things around, but then a hand with a rock would appear, so I would stop trying to adjust my gear and grab the rock to keep things moving.
Gold: Is It Everywhere?
Gold, on the other hand, is super rare, and is one of the rarest elements in the earth’s crust. It averages only 0.000004 percent of the earth’s surface. That is four parts in a billion.
Extracting & Smelting Your Gold
Unfortunately, not all the gold that we prospectors find is pretty, or appealing to the eyes. They are not all nice, bright, shiny nuggets with lots of character that carry high collector value.
Commercial Placer Mining: Alaska Style
There are currently about 170 commercial-scale placer operations in Alaska. Most of these are small operations with just a few people working; they are often family affairs that operate seasonally only during favorable weather.
Detecting Old Pocket Diggings
Looking around, I could tell that this was an old hand-digging. As I walked around the perimeter of the digging I could see shovel and pick marks scratched on the clean, hard clay and bedrock.
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