History & Geology
The Golden Days of Julian, California
October 2011 by Frank Lorey III
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.All About Quartz—Part II
In our May 2013 issue, we took a look at the mineral quartz, a mineral very commonly associated with gold. However, gold is not the only reason prospectors are interested in quartz. Quartz can also be very valuable as a gemstone
SS Central America Gives Up Millions in Gold Rush Era Gold
A treasure-seeking young man whose name will forever remain anonymous made the months-long journey either over land or by sailing ship to California after word spread about the gold strike in 1849.
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.
Gold Deposition and Gradients of Placer Streams—Part I
When placer miners from the gold rush era began experimenting with the slope of their sluices, they must have pondered the ideal slope for trapping gold in a creek bed too. Logic suggests the same is true for streams...
Benches and Fossil Placers
Unfortunately for us mortal humans, we have a poor perspective on geologic time. When we look at a landscape such as a stream valley, we see it only in two, or at the most, three dimensions. We have poor comprehension of the valley’s fourth and most important dimension—time.
Understanding and Prospecting Benches
The most obvious benches are usually near the valley floor, but they can be thousands of feet above the valley floor. Since benches were made by streams, they can contain placer deposits.
All About Quartz—Part I
One of the first minerals most prospectors learn to recognize is quartz, because, in the right circumstances, it can be an excellent indicator mineral for prospectors. Quartz is common, easy to identify, and is often associated with gold and other valuable metal deposits.
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The Bawl Mill
• Legislative And Regulatory Update
• Ask The Experts—Separating platinum from sands using bubbles
• Ask The Experts—Extraction of micro gold from black sands
• Ask The Experts—Difference between a Geiger counter and scintillator
• Then and Now: Is Gold Really Money?
• Gold, Quartz & Chalcedony—Part I
• Prospecting Australia—Part I
• Oregon Dredge Permit Litigation Update
• Gold From Black Sand Tailings
• The Fine Art of Panning Heavy Sands
• California State Gold Panning Championships
• An Expensive Lesson
• Judge Denies Request To Delay Michigan Mine
• Melman on Gold & Silver
