The Birthday Nugget Patch

June 2017 by Fred Mason

Down around 10 or 12 inches I hit a large cobble that appeared to be one type of hot rock for this area. I thought bad things about the new technology until I checked the rock.

A Return to Silver City, Idaho

July 2014
...we were able to pull out close to another 3+ ounces of small, angular Silver City gold. This also included several more small nuggets, pieces of wire gold and some quartz-gold pieces—not bad for 4 days with a small sluice.

Detecting Alluvial Bench Deposits -- Pt II

March 2017
Walking around the gulch and exploring the upper drainage, picking up different rocks and inspecting them with a good loop, and looking them up in a field guide of rocks and minerals of your region will help you understand how the gold got there.

Twenty Minutes on a Five-inch Dredge

September 2013
The first thing I realized was this was not a toy—this thing had power and I needed to really pay attention. I got into position, took a deep breath, and pushed that monster into the hard pack.

Benefits of a Detecting Partner

April 2013
“Metal detecting is not a social function.” So said a good friend of mine. And it’s true. But that’s not to say the benefits of having a prospecting partner don’t outweigh those of being alone.

Revisiting an Old Mine in Idaho Reaps Rewards

April 2012
Our research indicated this whole area had been claimed by Newmont mining company for several years, but when the price of gold dropped they let the claims expire, and we confirmed this with the local BLM office.

Following Clues to an Old Mill and Vein Strike

August 2012
My last update on this adventure was in the April 2012 issue and involved our search for the northern extension of the Cedarberg Mine. At that time we had found it and we were in the process of returning for some detecting when Mother Nature struck with a late rain and snow storm.

Sunshine and Gold

January 2016

His eyes were gleaming and he was smiling as he dropped his first piece of gold into my hand. It was a small, earring-size nugget, and he had found it almost immediately.

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