The Sunbaker

July 2019 by Ray Mills

My hunch was that the gold is coming down the apron, falling off to both sides and into both gulches. I say that because the gold we found previously has the same characteristics and color across the entire area.

Hunting for Gold in the Quartzsite Area of Western Arizona

October 2013
Winters are a great time to explore the hills in the area of the Middle Camp, Oro Fino and La Cholla placers on the southern flank of the Dome Rock Mountains.

The "Madonna Nugget"—A Weekend Hunt to Remember

July 2017

I worked my way to a flat area along a ridge where I could see a quartz blowout. As I got within 100 feet of it, I started seeing rock that I knew to be associated with gold.

Metallic Trash—Scourge of the Prospector

July 2012
I had been busy representing the Prospecting and Mining Journal this spring, but prospecting season finally arrived and I’ve been out digging for nuggets—I’ve even found a few. I know a number of prospectors who are armed with new metal detectors and headed to the hills to look for that precious yellow stuff.

Buyer Beware! Counterfeit Metal Detectors

August 2013
When I was recently in West Africa, I got to see and play with my first, phony, Chinese knock-off metal detector.

2015 World Gold Panning Championships

October 2015
Every Spanish village seems to hold their pride in one unique area of expertise. Pamplona has its bulls, Barcelona its architecture, and gold panning belongs to Navelgas.

Breaking Rock the Old School Way

June 2013
Prospectors have many reasons why they might want to break rocks. These include dividing up a specimen too large to carry.

Detecting Old Pocket Diggings

February 2013
Looking around, I could tell that this was an old hand-digging. As I walked around the perimeter of the digging I could see shovel and pick marks scratched on the clean, hard clay and bedrock.

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