Prospecting & Detecting
Trying Out the New Highbanker
February 2012 by Tom Leftwich
The 2011 gold season had finally got underway on the Middle Fork of the Feather River near Quincy, California. Cold weather and high water had pushed gold mining into mid-summer, but things were looking up.
Fault Zones and Prospects
As we walked back we were just reaching the point of where the faulting should be and there, covered with deep grass, was very faint evidence of an old road going up the mountainside! What was that old road doing there?
What is a Valid Mineral Discovery?
One of the greatest opportunities afforded to the citizens of our country is the right to stake and hold mining claims on federal lands. One doesn’t need to be a lawyer to stake mining claims, but a little bit of knowledge about mining claim laws can be helpful.
The Mole
My wife Dorothy has always enjoyed tent camping. She thought she was really roughing it at established campgrounds until I convinced her to take a trip with me to drywash for gold in a remote corner of an arid desert wilderness...
Metal Detector Testing Methods
It will not be any easier than on your table at home, and so testing a very small test target like the ballpoint pen can tell you immediately if a detector is suitable for looking for tiny gold nuggets.The Gold Of Horseshoe Bend
And we eventually reached gold. It was a winding crevice of beautiful white quartz lined with small nuggets and loaded with fine gold. There were flakes and small granular pieces—there had to be a hundred or more.
Prospecting Tales: Forest Service, Fires and Bears—Oh My!
I woke up on Sunday morning, August 10, to heavy smoke. I saw where it was coming from, but it seemed like it was a long way off so I thought I was okay for the time being.
My Lucky Thirteen Nuggets
Even with my favorite top-of-the-line gold detector there were several false digs. Many of the hot rocks gave a solid signal that was too much like a nugget to ignore. After trying several tests I just dug everything because it is better to be safe than leave a big, deep nugget for a more diligent gold hunter.
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The Bawl Mill
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• New "Employment" Category
• 4 Keys to Successful Nugget Hunting
• A High Price to Pay
• Eolian Placer Gold
• All the Gold Ever Mined...
• The Basics of Geophysical Exploration
• Targeted for a Tax Audit
• Feds Order Closure of Idaho Mine
• A Gold Mine on a Washington Beach?
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
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