Prospecting & Detecting
Turning Hobby Mining into Business Mining
March 2013 by Steve Herschbach
The first thing a person should do is seriously consider whether they want to go mining as a hobby or a business, and the tax implications of the choice.How Rich Must My Ore Be?
How rich does a hard rock ore have to be for it to be worthwhile to process and extract the gold?
Sluicing and Detecting Downstream
…early last fall, I found my first gold-rich patch along a few crevices in the same river and found five grams of gold nuggets in one outing.
It's Hard to Find Gold!
...even the best prospectors have times when they do not find gold. It is all about taking chances against tough odds and succeeding.
Who Says You Have to Own a Claim to Find Gold?
Most of us know making a profit as a small-scale miner is difficult; however, sometimes we combine luck with a little skill and bring home a few ounces of the yellow stuff.
Fall Drywashing—Just the Right Time of Year
I could see lots of quartz, both loose on the hillsides and in the numerous small prospect diggings. There was a small gold rush here more than a century ago.
Lessons Learned From Geologists
Not long after this, I was camped out with the geologist beside the Similkameen River where he showed me the evidence that an ancient channel existed on our claim.
Finding Gold With A Simple Sluice Box
…the sluice is a normal first step up from a gold pan for many prospectors. They are simple to use, easily portable, can capture a lot of gold, and can process gravel 10 to 20 times faster than a person can pan…
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