Prospecting & Detecting
Tips for Detecting Old Hydraulic Pits
October 2012 by Ray Mills
There are several counties around Shasta County that offer very good gold detecting. Many of these locations are old hydraulic pits. While detecting these old pits over the years I have come up with some ideas on how to go about hunting them.
Feather River Gold
I didn’t think too much of our dredge hole and we were both considering a move when we hit bedrock. There was a good quantity of flakes and fines, but no nuggets.
All About Garnets
I get a lot of questions from prospectors about garnets, their value and what they tell us about the geology of some types of mineral deposits. So I thought it would be a good idea to take a closer look at the lowly garnet and learn a bit more about it.
Time for a New Approach: Detecting Float Gold
The first pieces found were in a spot that most gold hunters would not even detect, right in the middle of a downslope meadow.
Placer Gold Deposits of Utah
The placer deposits of Utah occur in two distinct types of environments. These are 1) placers found adjacent to, and derived from, gold, silver and base-metal deposits; and 2) placers found in major rivers and derived from unknown, distant sources.
Sierra County Gold—Part I
...this county contained some of the richest placer ground found in all of California and still produces some pretty impressive finds to this day.
The Madonna Nugget
It was down deeper than I expected for surface trash. It wasn't until I was down six inches that the target screamed from my scoop.
Just Another Ordinary Weekend
There was no evidence that anyone else had ever worked this gully with the exception of some old sample piles near the foot of the ravine.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Our Readers Say
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Cold Alaskan Gold—Part II
• Dredging Backwards?
• The Verde Copper-Gold-Silver-Zinc District, Jerome, Arizona
• Recluse Died with $7 Million in Gold
• California State and US National Panning Championships
• A Data Miner Builds A Power Sluice
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
Free:
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• DNI's Black Shale Metals Projects







