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Throw-Away Gold: Back to Basics
February 2002 by T.D. LaRune
Placer mining, whether for profit or recreational purposes, involves separation of free gold from the gold-bearing sands (gangue) of alluvial deposits by methods using specific gravity. The free gold can vary from 17 to 19.3 in specific gravity terms, depending on the alloy mix, which is usually silver, but can be copper, lead, sulfur, tellurium, antimony, or mercury.How to Utilize Assays and Evaluate Results
Ask the lab manager how your ores will be tested, and ask to see the equipment that will be used. If you are told it’s a secret that can’t be explained, you need another assayer.
Ask The Experts
What are the steps for filing a mining claim?
New Rules to Impact the Lease/Buy Decision
Whether to buy or lease is a question facing many small-scale operators and prospectors even as credit becomes more readily available. While there is no one correct answer that fits every mining operation or business, compared to the simplicity of buying, leasing is far more complicated and may be getting more complex.
Gangue Minerals - What Do They Tell Us?
There are a large number of different kinds of gangue minerals, and each of them has its own tale to contribute to the story of the chemistry and geology of a deposit.
Hardrock Mining Accidents Claim Four Lives
Hardrock mining in the US has been hit by a tragic streak of mining accidents in recent months.
Sulfides and Intergrain Gold Wire Nuggets
...these nuggets have not traveled far from the lode because the golden wire lattices would have been torn apart or flattened during weathering of rock and deposition by violent stream action.
The Art of Finding Coarse Gold Part II—Pocket Hunting for Residual Placers
It is a fact that many of the well-known placer districts of the Western US have small veins that contain sparse pockets of coarse gold as their source. This is the main reason why many rich placer districts have seen little or no hard rock mining...
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• Picks & Pans: Arizona Desert Drywashing Adventure
• 2001 World Gold Panning Championships
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• The "Drumstick"
• Company Notes
• Editorial
• Looking Back
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
