Prospecting & Detecting
Weathering, Erosion and Placers
April 2017 by Chris Ralph
The big interest to prospectors thinking about the effect of erosion is not what might happen long into the future, but what they might find in the rivers later this summer when the water levels go down.
The Pothole Patch
"Suh-wheet!" I exclaimed as I sprang to my feet and quickly pumped my detector coil high overhead to alert Smokey that I had just found a nugget.
Gold Mining Boom in the Carolinas
Not too far from the pine-filled mountains, a young boy was exploring along Meadow Creek in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, one fine day in 1799. He discovered a beautiful rock that he took home and put to good use as a doorstop. Shortly thereafter, a jeweler stopped by to visit his folks, and as it turned out, the new doorstop was actually a 17-pound gold nugget. That nugget truly did open a door as it marked the beginning of the first gold rush in America.
Take it to Bedrock
Picking the right spot to placer has to do with years of experience, and a little luck. The textbooks can tell you where it should be, but sometimes the rules just don’t seem to apply.
Ask The Experts
Can a metal detector be used to find limonitic gossan material?
Ask the Experts
Breaking cemented gravels
Gold Placers in Italy
Gold is a fairly widespread mineral in the Italian Alps and in the Northern Apennines. It is found both in primary mineralization and in past and recent floods.
All About Garnets
I get a lot of questions from prospectors about garnets, their value and what they tell us about the geology of some types of mineral deposits. So I thought it would be a good idea to take a closer look at the lowly garnet and learn a bit more about it.
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The Bawl Mill
• Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Ask The Experts: Is an XRF gun useful for prospecting and mineral identification?
• Ask The Experts: Is this deposit worth working?
• Ask The Experts: Can a long range locator probe detect gold in quartz?
• The PIGMI—a DIY Crevice Tool
• Diary of a Diamond Prospector
• The Ups and Downs of Nugget Hunting
• Epithermal Gold and Silver Deposits
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
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