Prospecting & Detecting
Selectable Frequency vs Multi Frequency Detectors
March 2017 by Steve Herschbach
I like to think in terms of “conductive mass” because it is a combination of both the conductivity of the metal and the size of the target that determine how a detector sees conductivity.
A New Prospecting Spot
Once indicators start showing up along or below a contact I start to get excited. When I have shale, and outcroppings of diorite with iron-red, gritty soil and some clay thrown in, I really get lightheaded. I may be a mile away from the nearest diggings but that’s okay. I just found a spot that could provide some nice nugget hunting.
Ask the Experts
• Using drywashers to work desert gravels
A Prospecting Adventure in Mexico
There you’re expected to be personally responsible in making decisions, and yes, it can be costly. When you are responsible for your own life, you live life more, and with it you certainly risk more.
Nice Specimen Gold Recovered in Northern California
Each specimen is carefully examined to determine if it would be beneficial or not to use an acid treatment to reveal more of the gold.
Prospecting Underground: Use Caution
In underground placer work, the contact point of the bedrock tunnel and the gravel is a very weak point and always has to be timbered. The bedrock here is thin, fractured, and the gravels loose from many years of oxidizing.
Prospector's Guide to Rock Breaking and Blasting
The holes were overloaded with explosives, but I didn’t know it. I was just a green mining engineer fresh out of school and told to watch as the experienced miners set the charge.
PLP Update: Back to The 'Swamp' on Behalf of Small Miners
We spent the morning in a meeting with one of the higher-ups at the US Forest Service. I presented him with 412 complaints received from our readers, along with a summary of the complaints to make his job easier.
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts: Can you review the differences in dry washers?
• Ask The Experts: Will this detector work for me?
• Ask The Experts: Nickel assays
• Ask The Experts: Potential for developing magnesite deposit
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