Prospecting & Detecting
The Half-Mile Claim
December 2019 by William Hepler
We dug and extracted for two more hours. This time, as I dumped the concentrates, I saw a piece of gold three-fourths of an inch long and as big around as a pencil.
Pickers and Nuggets

Hundreds Rally in Support of PLP Octoberfest Fundraiser

Exploring The Historic Rand Mining District, Southern California
My largest nugget from this area is almost one-half ounce. I’ve found several smaller chunks and many pickers in addition to the fines and flakes that I put in my poke.
Fortymile, Alaska Prospecting Adventure

'Outer Space' Diamond Headed for Auction
Black diamonds, also known as carbonado, are extremely rare, and are found naturally only in Brazil and Central Africa. The cosmic origin theory is based on their carbon isotopes and high hydrogen content.
I Just Tripped Over A Nugget
I metal detected a number of years before I saw my first nugget peeking out from the dirt before I had scraped or dug for it. This one was in the steep sidewall of a narrow, but deep drywash.
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts - How do I obtain a map of Montana gold & sapphire gravel bars?
• Ask The Experts - How do I process this white quartz with black striations?
• Ask The Experts - Does gravel + bedrock = gold?
• Back to Green Valley--With A Sluice
• A Lesson In Underwater Sniping
• More Fiddling While Forests Burn
• Achieving Accurate Metal Detector Discrimination
• My New Passion--Crystal Hunting
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• Gold Prospecting for Better or Worse: White Knuckle Mining
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Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Unique Rare Earth Mine in Texas
• Gold in The Midwest--Part I
• PLP Update: Another Suction Dredge Case Heading to the US Supreme Court