Prospecting & Detecting
Selenium, Mercury and Suction Dredging—Studies Contradict CA State Water Resources Board
April 2013 by Scott Harn
Federal and state regulatory agencies often cite mercury and methyl mercury in our waterways as a major factor for further restrictions on placer mining, and on suction gold dredge mining, in particular. However, these regulatory agencies are minimizing selenium and its neutralizing effects.Alaskan Gold Adventure
In Chicken I had my first experience with the famous Alaska blue clay, sometimes called the blue layer. The blue layer is where the best fine gold was to be found.
Critical Minerals: Titanium
The metal is expensive, not because it is rare but because of the expense to produce and work it. The minerals mined for titanium are all oxides, unlike many base metals that are mostly mined as sulfide minerals.
The Basics of Exploration Leases and Contracts—Part I
Let’s take a look at these important property aspects individually, because they all affect the value of a property and how much mining companies might or might not be interested acquiring it.
Critical Minerals: Titanium—Part II
There are both hard rock and beach sand types of titanium deposits, but the hard rock deposits need to be at least 10 percent titanium while the beach sands often are economic with only two or three percent titanium.
Revisiting the Rocker Box
The first location we worked was a small, dry ravine cutting through many mineralized zones in an area where some hard rock mining had taken place in the past.
How to Beat the Heat--and The Bedrock
The pit was a classic one—exposed shale bedrock with all the material being washed out one end of the pit. Within a few minutes I had a nice mellow signal that was in open ground.
Pros and Cons of Big Detector Coils
Years later I returned with a new detector with a smaller coil and detector technology more sensitive to smaller nuggets. I found my first nugget within five minutes. I had a second five minutes after that.
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask the Experts - processing plants that can extract rare earth metals
• Ask the Experts - what does MDB&M stand for?
• Ask the Experts - proper mining claim procedures
• The Hughes Creek Placers, Montana
• Benefits of a Detecting Partner
• Excavator Testing Wet Placer Ground
• Hard Rock Milling: A Matter of Scale
• Paperwork Guy—A Cautionary Tale
• ICMJ Online Forum Now Available
• Detecting For Gold—Are You Up For It?
• A Trip Down the Yukon River
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
