History & Geology
The Downieville Gold District
January 2011 by Chris Ralph
Many locals are just waiting for California to allow dredging once more, especially with the current gold prices. There are still plenty of good opportunities for prospectors in this area, just as it has been for so many years.
Can You Recognize Valuable Ores?
The process of recognizing ores all starts with being able to recognize some basic minerals and knowing what hard rock ore looks like in the districts where you prospect.
Exploring A Historic Lode Mine
Climbing up the debris, I pointed my flashlight up a shaft ascending straight up as far as my light would shine. It was the stope of the pay shoot leading to the old tunnel above!
Confluence Placers
Confluences of placer streams are well known as concentration sites for heavy minerals. The basic reason is that...
California's Mother Lode Quartz Veins
The actions of the hot, ore-bearing solutions are not limited only to the deposition of material within the walls of the fissures.
Epithermal Gold and Silver Deposits
Epithermal deposits form in the ground at shallow depths. They are popular with prospectors because can yield very rich deposits and they are widespread in the Western US.
The Golden Days of Julian, California
Some scattered reports say that gold may have been washed from streams here as early as the 1840s, but the undisputed major discovery came in 1870.
The Wild Rush to Find More Cobalt—Part I
While some future cobalt will come from recycling lithium batteries and other products, the coming huge need for cobalt is virtually a perfect storm of heavy demand and insufficient supply.
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