Prospecting & Detecting
Sierra County Gold—Part I
December 2013 by Chris Ralph
...this county contained some of the richest placer ground found in all of California and still produces some pretty impressive finds to this day.
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.
Which Nugget Detector Should I Get?
The most commonly asked question in metal detecting is, “Which metal detector should I get?” People worry a lot about not getting the right machine. They do not want to waste their money and their time with the wrong metal detector.
The Smell of Gold—Part I
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.
The Gold Of Horseshoe Bend
And we eventually reached gold. It was a winding crevice of beautiful white quartz lined with small nuggets and loaded with fine gold. There were flakes and small granular pieces—there had to be a hundred or more.
Want to Go to Australia?
Every year there are large nuggets found by the diligent, and occasionally by the lucky newbie.
Out of the Ashes—New Access to Gold
As I arrived at my detecting location, I got all my gear and headed up the trail. I had to stop and take in the devastation all around me.
A Generous Lesson on Detecting Bedrock
The signal I was hearing was coming from a vertical bedrock crack on the bank of the creek. I removed my backpack, took out my crevicing tools and started to clean out the crack when I saw a glint of gold.
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