Small Mining Operations
The Basics of Froth Flotation
June 2015 by Chris Ralph
I thought it might be worthwhile to take a look at the basics of this important mineral separation technique and how a miner can use it to recover the values out of an ore.
Prospecting Hard Rock
We panned out maybe three gold pans of the material and we were shocked at the gold that was there. This rock appeared to be rich.
Gary It's There
This year was a test. We had never done anything like this before, yet we grossed $30,000 in the short time we had to mine.
The Highs and Lows of Drywashing
We were met with a plethora of mechanical problems with the dry washer and even a few with the excavator that were at times frustrating, but we were in this for the long haul, so we needed to solve these problems and move forward.
Mining on the Comstock Lode
Even with the decades of mining and exploration, much of the Comstock is still underdeveloped and its potential not fully tapped.
Persistence Leads to Over a Pound of Gold
I have figured out over the years that the winning combination is hard work, persistence, knowledge, and a little luck. This leads me to describe one of my best finds ever, a “honey hole” of placer gold, if you will.
Evolution Of A Gold Prospect
The adage of, “The harder I work, the luckier I get,” has profound meaning, but it doesn’t always apply to prospecting.
Small-Scale Concentrating and Recovery Methods
The first step in my recovery process after milling the ore to the desired size is to table it. On this particular ore, I get good results milling it to minus 100 mesh.
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