Small Mining Operations
Small-Scale Concentrating and Recovery Methods
April 2011 by Bill McCuskey
The first step in my recovery process after milling the ore to the desired size is to table it. On this particular ore, I get good results milling it to minus 100 mesh.
Dredging The Outside Bend
This stringer was where it was not supposed to be, and it contained nuggets that were not supposed to be there.
Gold in Quartz
Because quartz and gold may be deposited together across a considerable range of temperatures, not all quartz veins are the same, and there are several different types of gold-quartz deposits.
Resurrecting An Old Hard Rock Mine
There were nice sections of vein material at the end of several drifts, like they just stopped work one day and walked away.
Refractory Gold Processing
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.
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 Subsurface Suction Dredge
The problems of the submersible dredge tube are addressed by the subsurface dredge, where the enclosed sluice recovery tube is suspended from a flotation assembly...
The Smell of Gold -- Part II
While mapping, I also found rock chips in the soil that were characteristic of the same wall rock alteration that occurs adjacent to the known lodes in the greenstone belt.
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The Bawl Mill
• Mining Claims—What to Know Before You File
• Prospecting Underground: Use Caution
• 5th Circuit Ruling May Benefit Miners
• Indicator Minerals for Gold & Silver
• Mud Men: Pocket Miners of Southwest Oregon Part III
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• Silver Mining Returning to Texas
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A New Look at Old Mines
• Proposed Regulations for California Suction Dredging
