Underground in the Original 16-1 Mine

August 2013 by Ron Kliewer

Trying Out the New Highbanker

February 2012
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.

Diary of a Diamond Prospector

April 2017
I couldn’t wait to get started. With no field budget, an assay budget of $100/year, a 1975-Ford Bronco that was a road hazard, a gas card, a topo map and full support of the director, I headed to the State Line district near Tie Siding along US Highway 287 to begin mapping kimberlite.

Excavator Testing Wet Placer Ground

April 2013
The excavator or backhoe has become the tool of choice for testing placer ground. These machines are the best way to explore and sample a placer deposit if the ground is not too wet or frozen and bedrock is not beyond the reach of the machine.

Take a Kid Detecting

January 2014
I thought things started off okay until I realized I had forgotten some of my gear and had to return to the house. My troubled start was not helped when my boy came up to me a few minutes after my return to show me his first nugget of the day.

Turning Hobby Mining into Business Mining

March 2013
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.

Will El Nino Move Gold for Miners and End California Drought?

August 2015
I remember in the couple of years after that 1997 flood, prospectors around California did very well, taking ounces of gold from places that had not yielded any gold for years before that.

A New Prospecting Spot

October 2016
Once indicators start showing up along or below a contact I start to get excited. When I have shale, and outcroppings of diorite with iron-red, gritty soil and some clay thrown in, I really get lightheaded. I may be a mile away from the nearest diggings but that’s okay. I just found a spot that could provide some nice nugget hunting.

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