Small Mining Operations
The Oregon Claim
December 2010 by Chuck Lassiter
When I started dredging a short distance downstream from that feature I realized that I was into a major paystreak and much of the gold was coming right out of the upper gravel. I could see the chunky pieces falling out of the gravel as they were pulled into...
The Seven Troughs Mining District
The favorable geology of the northeastern and central parts of the Seven Troughs Range are the parts most interesting to prospectors. They are underlain by a thick sequence of Tertiary volcanic rocks, mostly rhyolites and andesites.
Hard Rock University: Expensive Hobby or Real Business?
Improper sampling techniques lead to more avoidable heartache than almost anything else in micro mining.
Conductive Minerals and Your Metal Detector
...most prospectors don't even think about the conductivity of minerals, but there are some that do conduct electricity to a certain degree, so metal detectors will respond to them.
The Giant King Mine
Most gold-bearing veins in this region are controlled by fractures associated with the Melones Fault, a late Cretaceous structure that is 108 to 127 million years old.
Ask The Experts
• Making a noisy dredge more quiet
Excavator Testing Wet Placer Ground
The excavator or backhoe has become the tool of choice for testing placer ground. These machines are the best way to explore and sample a placer deposit if the ground is not too wet or frozen and bedrock is not beyond the reach of the machine.
How to Make a Rock Sled for Dredging
When my “anonymous” friend told me the rock tub was probably a hundred miles from where he safely stashed it, I decided to build another sled and improve on my old design.
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask The Experts—Iridium
• Ask The Experts—Highbanker legal in CA?; Best place to sell raw gold?
• Ask The Experts—Using classifiers
• So, Where's The Gold?—Finding Gold Detectors Miss
• Forest Service v. Michael & Linda Backlund
• Highbanking on the Feather River
• CFTC Finds Evidence of Silver Market Manipulation
• Gold in Arizona
• Detecting for Gold in Australia—The Kimberley Trip
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
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