Small Mining Operations
The Basics of Crushing and Milling Operations
February 2011 by Chris Ralph
In processing gold, silver and other valuable ores, the minerals containing the values, such as metallic gold, silver-bearing sulfides or other minerals, must be freed from the surrounding host rock before those valuable minerals can be captured
Modern Mining Reclamation
A study showed that between 1930 and 1980, only a quarter of one percent of the land in the United States was used in all mining applications combined, including surface mining, tailings disposal, underground mines, and all mineral processing facilities.
Early Summer Mining in Wyoming
Old tailing piles extend for miles. There was still plenty of water flowing here, so WPA members set up highbankers at several settling ponds.
Ask the Experts
Setting up a gravity dredge
Papa's Got A Brand New Dredge!
It was time to prime the pump and start the engine! Dan’s priming method is to use a small, submersible, 12-volt pump. My priming method is to use a hand-operated diaphragm pump.
Proper Assaying of Placer Samples
The whole purpose of sampling mineralized ground is to measure the values in a small volume of material that would be representative of a much larger volume of similar material. The key word is representative. Chemical and fire assaying will not accurately represent placer deposits by themselves.
Time to Stake Your Own Mining Claim
So let’s dive in and see what I can do to convince you that this is the year you should be out staking your own claims.
Moving The Big Rocks
The anticipation of finding out if the system of snatch blocks, shackles, chokers, anchor points, and the strap binding the massive slab of rock in the bottom of the river would even budge an inch was weighing on me.
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The Bawl Mill
• Our Readers Say
• Ask The Experts—What minerals are magnetic? Can rare earth magnets capture platinum?
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• Eastern Arizona: Gold and Base Metal Deposits—Part I
• Over The Divide—Daryl J. Nelson
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Cyanide-Free Gold Separation
• Mining Stock Quotes & Mineral and Metal Prices
• Melman on Gold & Silver
