Speed Prospecting for Hard Rock Gold

July 2020 by Keith Bowen

An online video gave me some ideas, and with a lot of trial and error I developed a reliable method of panning free gold particles down below 35 microns quickly and easily.

Piles of Gold

September 2015
These gritty clay lines were only a quarter of an inch up to three inches wide. Once the line had been laid out, they would look at the wall of gritty clay material and seek more indicators.

Deep Nuggets From The Strange Little Patch

April 2018

I began detecting at the bottom of the gully and started making my way upstream. About mid-way there was a nice, flat stretch for about ten feet.

ICMJ Visits Downieville, California

January 2023

Mud Men: Pocket Miners of Southwest Oregon—Part I

February 2011
Rocks and minerals associated with clay seam gold deposits in southern Oregon are often in sedimentary rock units at least partially metamorphosed into argillite. They are also associated with mafic volcanic rocks, basalts and gabbro that...

The Pothole Patch

January 2015
"Suh-wheet!" I exclaimed as I sprang to my feet and quickly pumped my detector coil high overhead to alert Smokey that I had just found a nugget.

All About Quartz—Part I

May 2013
One of the first minerals most prospectors learn to recognize is quartz, because, in the right circumstances, it can be an excellent indicator mineral for prospectors. Quartz is common, easy to identify, and is often associated with gold and other valuable metal deposits.

Why So Much Gold in Nevada?

July 2021

Nevada produces about 75% of all the gold mined in the US. This means that all the other 49 states combined only produce 25%, and this includes California, Alaska and Arizona.

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