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.
My First Carolina Nugget
On my weekends off I spent many hours dredging the Second Broad River from Cane Creek Road up to the headwaters. I used a three-inch dredge with air and graduated to a five-inch with air.
Montana Gold and Sapphires Revisited
I had a chance to visit the operation in person and talk with Neal. I was very impressed and I think our readers could learn a lot about building up a commercial placer operation from scratch…
Selenium, Mercury and Suction Dredging—Studies Contradict CA State Water Resources Board
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.
Gold Recovery with Centrifugal Bowls
Centrifugal bowls are very efficient, and with proper operation they can consistently achieve gold recoveries above 95% with gold of about 50 mesh size.
Small-Scale Hard Rock Mining With Water Recycling
Once I have established the presence of gold in the sample, I collect five-gallon bucket quantities of the rock material for processing back at my shop.
Scams, Scammers and Schemes
Gold mining has received many black eyes from many scams, scammers and schemes throughout the years. Unscrupulous scammers have swindled naive people for millions of dollars in the past and will, no doubt, continue into the future.
Crushing Quartz in Calaveras County: A Placer Miner Learns New Tricks
I had never run an impact mill before, but anything involving rocks, water and a big electric motor sounded great.
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