Understanding Skim Bar Placers

September 2018 by Chris Ralph

Perhaps the most notable thing about skim placers is that they form on the top surface of gravel bars, as opposed to coarser gold placers where the weight of the gold particles allows the gold to settle down on or near bedrock.

Proper Spacing of Placer Sample Sites

September 2013
The zone of influence of each sample must be carefully considered when deciding how far sample sites should be spaced from each other.

Revisiting the Rocker Box

August 2016
The first location we worked was a small, dry ravine cutting through many mineralized zones in an area where some hard rock mining had taken place in the past.

Sulfides and Intergrain Gold Wire Nuggets

March 2018

...these nuggets have not traveled far from the lode because the golden wire lattices would have been torn apart or flattened during weathering of rock and deposition by violent stream action.

Tucson Show Marketing

May 2012
Normally we do not cover gem and mineral shows, but this one is a little different. The Tucson (Arizona) Gem and Mineral show is the sales source for so many small mining operations, I felt I had to address this show and its possibilities for the small miner.

Tips on Crevicing for Gold

November 2012
When everything is still dry, one of my favorite methods of prospecting is using a straw to blow out small cracks and crevices that dot the exposed bedrock along a stream.

California: The Land of Big Nuggets—Part I

December 2017

The nugget sat there in plain sight, though it was covered in dirt, while hundreds of people had passed that way every day.

Detecting for Gold in Nevada

April 2014
Within a few minutes I got my first signal and dug out a small flake about three grains.

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