Sampling, Hydro-Shocking & Cleaning Quartz-Gold Specimens

May 2017 by Reese Townes

Many specimens have a small amount of gold and are not pretty to look at. There is a nifty way to give them a makeover and make them much prettier than they were when you found them. 

The Smell of Gold—Part I

June 2015
Some claim they can smell gold. This may be, but when I take a whiff of gold, I smell dirt, rotten eggs, garlic or just nothing: my nose is everything but sensitive.

Lode or Placer: What Difference Does It Make?

September 2014
This explains the large difference in particle sizes between placers and hydrothermal lode deposits, but also means that while the mining may be similar in some cases, the sampling and recovery techniques are usually quite different.

Ask The Experts

January 2016
Viewing details on Google Earth

Refractory Gold Processing

February 2013
After your excitement peaks when you first receive the high gold assay from the vein you just exposed, you ponder how you will extract and sell your gold. You will need to develop a flow sheet for your process to optimize your recovery and minimize your costs and permit requirements.

Ask the Experts

December 2012
What is the best type of mat to use in a high banker set up?

Gold Recovery with Centrifugal Bowls

July 2014
Centrifugal bowls are very efficient, and with proper operation they can consistently achieve gold recoveries above 95% with gold of about 50 mesh size.

Hard Rock Milling: A Matter of Scale

April 2013
Most prospectors understand placer mining a lot better than hard rock mining and don’t realize the amount of work that goes into processing different types of hard rock ore.

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