Prospecting & Detecting
Sierra County Gold—Part II
January 2014 by Chris Ralph
...we will continue our examination of the rich streams and mining districts, and then take a look at some of the big nuggets that have been found here.
Gold Rush in the Congo
It all started with a phone call from my friend and prospecting partner Pat Keene. He told me that he knew of an investor who was just starting out in the gold industry and was looking for a gold consultant to go to Africa to prospect and analyze a 400 sq. mile concession in the middle of the Congo rainforest. I waited for the “just kidding” line...
Using Vegetation and Soil Conditions as Prospecting Aids
Wouldn’t it be great if you could know if there is gold in the ground without setting foot on the ground? Well you can, to a certain extent, if you can recognize mined ground from unmined.
Arizona Prospector Rescued from Mine Shaft
“I heard him hollering down in the hole as soon as I got there,” he said. “I was just glad to see him alive.”
Moving The Big Rocks
The anticipation of finding out if the system of snatch blocks, shackles, chokers, anchor points, and the strap binding the massive slab of rock in the bottom of the river would even budge an inch was weighing on me.
Endurance Is Golden
Feeling through the mud, I felt the weight and shape of what could only be gold. Throwing my hand in the water revealed a sixteen-gram nugget oozing with character.
Determining the Amount of Gold in Rich Ores
This is just the type of specimen that could have been easily ignored by the old-time miners. It felt a little heavier in my hand than a chunk of quartz of that size ought to have been.
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