Prospecting & Detecting
The Bucking Room
October 2015 by Hank Chapman, Jr.
Since this position was the least desirable due to the hard physical labor, the bucking room was used as punishment. Do you have a mediocre worker? Bad attitude? Off to the bucking room!
Detectors Versus Pans
Mike scored the best with a total of one-half ounce of gold nuggets. Tom, Brian and Greg each had pieces in the one and a half pennyweight range. The rest of us had small gold and nothing like these three.
Selenium, Mercury and Suction Dredging—Studies Contradict CA State Water Resources Board
Federal and state regulatory agencies often cite mercury and methyl mercury in our waterways as a major factor for further restrictions on placer mining, and on suction gold dredge mining, in particular. However, these regulatory agencies are minimizing selenium and its neutralizing effects.
The Mole
My wife Dorothy has always enjoyed tent camping. She thought she was really roughing it at established campgrounds until I convinced her to take a trip with me to drywash for gold in a remote corner of an arid desert wilderness...
Beach Mining for Placer Gold
What I saw was a beach area that was just completely covered in black sand. Rubbing my hands close together like a kid in a candy store, I could not wait to get set up.
Underground in the Original 16-1 Mine
These days they employ the use of metal detectors and carefully scan the shattered rocks, hoping to hear that sound we detectorists love to hear.
Cold Alaskan Gold—Part II
I decided to focus my attention on some exposed bedrock that was along a little stream only about 100 yards from our cabins. My very first pan full of gravel showed several nice small flakes that were just big enough to be picked up with my fingers. That first pan showed that indeed there was some very nice gold to be had here...
Drywashing in Black Canyon, Arizona
May 2016After the hike and a quick snack break we gathered a few buckets of material to really dial in the drywasher for the most efficient recovery. This involves leveling the unit, setting the riffle box drop angle and regulating the speed in which the material is processed.
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The Bawl Mill
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• California State Gold Panning Championships
• From Curiosity to Mine Owner - Pt II
• 2016 Gold Prospecting and Mining Summit
• Growing Up Gold
• Rock and Formations of the Mother Lode Gold Belt
• 2015 World Gold Panning Championships
• Melman on Gold & Silver
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