Small Mining Operations
The Basics of Exploration Leases and Contracts—Part II
March 2019 by Chris Ralph
This is the point where you might ask, “What do these types of contracts typically look like and how are they negotiated?” Well, that is the topic of this month’s article.
The Mysterious Telluride Minerals
…let’s dive in and take a closer look at these rich gold and silver-bearing minerals to find out what they are, where they form, and how to identify them.
High Sulfidation Epithermal Deposits
They tend to be big, coming in large to extremely large sizes. They can also be amazingly rich and produce huge amounts of very high-grade ore.
Good Assays and Bad
The high prices for gold and silver are exciting and certainly have revolutionized the prospecting and mining scene. New interest in gold and silver mining is springing up from every corner, from individual prospectors armed with gold pans to exploration and mining companies working to set up multimillion dollar commercial operations producing hundreds of thousands of ounces per year. The idea of getting riches from rocks is one that motivates a lot of folks all over the globe. It’s an exciting time, but this excitement brings out another side...
Wyoming's Billion Dollar Nugget—The Trilogy Ends
With eight loads processed, a pumpkin-size rock fell into the hopper, stopping the whole operation until I could lift it out.
Finding Gold in Tailing Piles
Old mine workings and tailing piles can represent opportunities on many levels, from the chance to simply find a nugget on up to the commercial reworking of the old tailings for profit.
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.
The Miner’s Switchback
Common thought is the switchback slows the velocity of the rushing water and gold drops out from the cut bank to a fill gravel bar within or below the switchback. I am not going to disregard that model; however, I hope to improve upon it.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts - Any references on gold formation?
• Ask The Experts - Finalizing an agreement with a mining company
• Pumping Water With Solar Power
• My Introduction To Gold Prospecting
• Resurrecting An Old Hard Rock Mine—Safety Is No Accident
• Mining Claims: Breaking All The Commandments
• The Importance Of Mining Critical Minerals In The USA
• Gold Prospecting for Better or Worse: Gold Is Where You Find It
• Detecting for Gold: A Return to Familiar Ground
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
