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.
Are You Being Followed?
These “people”—and I use that term loosely—worked together with others. What was happening to me was like scenes out of the old James Bond movies.
Hard Rock 101: Micro Blasting
Micro blasting can be used to take down hanging rock, separate minerals from overburden, and collect gemstones and other high-value product with minimal damage.
Small-Scale Processing of Hard Rock Ores
Depending on the ore and if significant sulfides are present, a hard rock miner may be able to get away with simply using a flux to digest the other minerals that may be present.
Cold Water Gold
It was June 2011, and my wife Fran and I with Grandson Lucas and good friend Ernie Cruz were attempting to get to our gold mining claim on the Middle Fork of the Feather River about ten miles from Quincy, California. Rain had poured down in the previous few days and the road in a large number of low places was under water. Following two hours of slugging through the mud...
Autumn Gold
November 2023" I went on a detecting trip in Northern California a few weeks ago. I called several friends to see who wanted to meet up with me. With an undeniable crispness in the air, I left Redding and started my drive to the goldfields."
Hunting Down Paystreaks
When I teach people about finding gold, I often explain that it is helpful to think of any river or stream that carries gold as being something like a sluice box.
The Gold of Plumas de Oro
Their rewards were far better than they had anticipated, resulting in one of the best clean-ups they had ever seen.
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• 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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