History & Geology
The Golden Streams of Butte County, California
May 2011 by Frank Lorey III
Even though these were some of the earliest placer deposits to be worked, there is still plenty of gold left today—it just takes more work to recover. Knowing about the old locations where gold has been found is the first step to success.Ask The Experts
Q: Is this gold or some other metal?
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.
Critical Metals: Copper
From time to time I’ve been doing a series on critical metals and how important they are to our complex and technological society. This month we are going to take a look at copper, and how important that metal is to our modern lives.
All About Minerals
There are several common ways that new mineral crystals form and grow. Perhaps the simplest is when minerals form through the cooling of molten rock and the atoms bond together into mineral crystals.
Electrum: Gold and Silver Together
...if you are out prospecting and find something that looks very much like a nugget but has an odd greenish-gray cast to it, don’t be too quick to simply toss it aside as junk.
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.
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The Bawl Mill
• Why Haven't They Mined This Claim?
• Ask The Experts—Where can I find information on the Abby mine?
• Ask The Experts—Is it possible for a mountain range to have good lode gold deposits and yet the area streams not carrying like deposits of gold?
• Ask The Experts—How do you amend a placer claim?
• Ask The Experts—What happened to the BLM web site geocommunicator.gov?
• The Ups and Downs of Geologic Faults
• Fountain of Youth Gold
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Suction Dredging Update for California & Idaho
• The Disappearance of State Mining Departments
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes & Mineral and Metal Prices
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One Question, Forever Unanswered—Did He Really Find the Gold?
