Prospecting & Detecting
The Gold Of Horseshoe Bend
November 2011 by Tom Leftwich
And we eventually reached gold. It was a winding crevice of beautiful white quartz lined with small nuggets and loaded with fine gold. There were flakes and small granular pieces—there had to be a hundred or more.
Digging It Dry
I believe dry washing is an underappreciated prospecting method. There are plenty of places where there is some pretty decent gold to be had, but the spot is a long way from any water and dry processing may well be the best way to go.
Hunting Down Paystreaks
When I teach people about finding gold, I often explain that it is helpful to think of any river or stream that carries gold as being something like a sluice box.
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.
Extracting & Smelting Your Gold
Unfortunately, not all the gold that we prospectors find is pretty, or appealing to the eyes. They are not all nice, bright, shiny nuggets with lots of character that carry high collector value.
What Have You Got to Lose?
It’s accepted knowledge that wet methods will recover more fine gold than dry methods and processing the gravel as a whole will get more gold than only using a metal detector. The question is how much more?
I Finally Made It to Northern Nevada
After a while I got a very nice signal and out came a sweet kidney-shaped bit of gold weighing about three grams.
Using Vegetation and Soil Conditions as Prospecting Aids
Wouldn’t it be great if you could know if there is gold in the ground without setting foot on the ground? Well you can, to a certain extent, if you can recognize mined ground from unmined.
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• Legislative And Regulatory Update
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• Evolution Of A Gold Prospect
• Gold, Quartz & Chalcedony—Part II
• Alaska to Target Rare-Earths
• Minnesota Delays Decision on Mineral Leases
• Alaska's Cripple Creek Mining District
• Tyrie's Roadway Nugget
• Melman on Gold & Silver
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