Prospecting & Detecting
Twenty-Five Gold Indicators You Should Know
March 2014 by Chris Ralph
I frequently get asked, "What should I look for when I am out prospecting that will tell me there are good amounts of gold present in the ground?"
Drywashing for Fine Gold
When working fine gold placers with a drywasher, there are some natural variables that can be beneficial as well as others that can be a hindrance to achieving good recovery.
Dry Washer, Wet System or Metal Detector?
I love to dry wash old nugget patches found by detector operators, and I have found my fair share of gold dry washing those areas. I have also found a few nuggets using a detector on the bedrock exposed by dry washing the patches.
Back to Basics--Finding Gold With a Pan and a Sluice
Don’t hunker down and just keep digging in one spot where there is very little or no gold—if you don’t find it, you’ve got to get up and move on!
Good Assays and Bad
The high prices for gold and silver are exciting and certainly have revolutionized the prospecting and mining scene. New interest in gold and silver mining is springing up from every corner, from individual prospectors armed with gold pans to exploration and mining companies working to set up multimillion dollar commercial operations producing hundreds of thousands of ounces per year. The idea of getting riches from rocks is one that motivates a lot of folks all over the globe. It’s an exciting time, but this excitement brings out another side...
The Value of Evidence
That prospecting effort you are about to spend your time on...is it worth your effort? If you are going to devote your time to it, you will need all the facts you can get.
California State and US National Panning Championships
Over 200 panners competed in this two-day event to decide who was the best of the best.
Metallic Trash—Scourge of the Prospector
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.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Prospecting Hard Rock
• Reese River Silver Mining District, Nevada
• Alaska: Large-Scale Mining Can Be Done Right
• Gold of the Iditarod Mining District, Alaska
• Bedrock
• Natural Gold Alloys
• Government Takes Land for Open Space
• Comments on Gold Rush and Bering Sea Gold Series
• Hidden Value in Old Tailings
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
