The nugget sat there in plain sight, though it was covered in dirt, while hundreds of people had passed that way every day.

This mine was a real wonder of engineering, and the water supply and drifts had to be carefully managed to keep it in operation. In fact, it didn’t close due to lack of gold, but instead closed with the fall of the Roman Empire.

Palladium may well be an underexplored element and therefore an opportunity for prospectors and geologists. This is because they are often less than obvious and other than the native metals, a chemical analysis of samples is required to identify PGM-enriched rocks.

Bodie, California, in its heyday, was once rumored to be one of the roughest and most lawless towns in the American West.