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The Small Hardrock Mill—Part I
July 2006 by Del Thomas, ME
Ore dressing is of prime importance to the operator of a small hardrock gold mine. No, Virginia, ore dressing has nothing to do with dressing in the latest spring dresses, or the stuff that gets forced into the turkey on Thanksgiving. It refers to the method of processing ore to extract the valuable minerals contained in the rock—in the case of this series of articles, gold and silver.Nuggetshooting Eluvial Placers in the Western United States
The future is still good for anyone wishing to use a metal detector to nuggetshoot residual and hillside eluvial placers. Since these placers are easily overlooked, the key to opening the door marked "success" is the willingness to do research.
Washoe County Balks at Black Rock Desert Plan
The Washoe County Commission raised concerns about Sen. Richard Bryan's tentative proposal to protect the Black Rock Desert...
Hard Rock Milling: A Matter of Scale
Most prospectors understand placer mining a lot better than hard rock mining and don’t realize the amount of work that goes into processing different types of hard rock ore.
Green Valley Gold District, Payson, Arizona
Most gold-bearing quartz veins found in the district were fracture fillings in faults enclosed by crushed quartz zones along their margins. Since the host rocks were often extensively weathered, portions of the veins stood out as positive, resistant outcrops. The gold-bearing veins ranged from a few inches wide to the vein at the Gowan mine that was as much as 12 feet wide. Oil Seeps in Arizona
Compared to California, Arizona has virtually no oil seeps. But, the great Permian Basin of West Texas has virtually none either. Arizona has something that neither California nor Texas have, and that is public lands that are open for leasing. The northern half of Arizona has more seeps and is thus of greater interest, but it would be foolish to disregard the southern half because giant oil and natural gas fields could underlie some of the broad desert valleys.
Legislative and Regulatory Update
PLP To Address Needs Of Small Miners With Proposed Amendment
The Senator’s office was very receptive to the small miner’s plight and was unaware of the dire problems created by the over-regulation of small-scale mining from so many different fronts. It was pointed out that S 145 may help the large mining companies a little, but falls woefully short in addressing the needs of small operators who make up 85% of domestic mines.
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The Bawl Mill
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