Small Mining Operations
The 10-Ton Boulder: Expanding Grout Demolition
April 2021 by John Norman
Imagine you have located a source of virgin placer ore containing immense gold value. Now imagine that there is a 10-ton monolith of extremely hard gneiss in between you and payday.
Mining for Gold and Sapphires in Montana
Fascinated by the sapphires—and the gold that occured with them—he was soon buying parcels of property and setting up his own commercial-scale gravel processing plants.
Placer Channel Sampling

Wealth Beyond Your Wildest Imagination
“Wealth beyond your wildest imagination.” Those were the words that were used to inform me of how much gold was in a paleo channel that exists beneath the present channel of the Similkameen River in the State of Washington; words that have echoed in my mind for the past sixteen years.
Reality of the Klondike

Pumping Water With Solar Power
Solar energy can be used for any size placer or hard rock mining operation. It is most practical for small and longer-term operations provided your mine is not located in a dense forest.
Lode or Placer: What Difference Does It Make?

Our Readers Say
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts - What is the “blue lead?”
• Ask The Experts - Can an Ohm meter find gold in pyrite?
• Ask The Experts - Can you tell me about this mining district?
• How Deep Can That Detector Go?
• Simple Mine Surveying With Basic Hand Tools
• Dredging Do's and Don'ts
• Emails Confirm--FBI Was Looking for Gold at Pennsylvania Dig Site
• Gold Prospecting for Better or Worse: Tuck and Roll
• Preparing For The 2021 Mining Season
• Drywashing for Desert Gold—Part III
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
Free:
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• PLP Update
• Administration Offers Up Conflicting Goals and Executive Orders