History & Geology
What Are Those Rocks In My Pan?
June 2011 by Jim Halloran
The placer mineral identification key is designed to answer this question. It attempts to recognize all the minerals in your gold pan concentrates.Greenstone and Gold
Contacts, faults and zones of weak rock are all places that can act as a pipeline to convey gold-bearing fluids, leading to valuable deposits.
Gold in the San Francisco District Oatman, Mohave County, Arizona
I suspect detailed geological mapping and prospecting would lead to discovery of one or more overlooked gold deposits in the district even though it has been heavily prospected in the past.
All About Quartz—Part II
In our May 2013 issue, we took a look at the mineral quartz, a mineral very commonly associated with gold. However, gold is not the only reason prospectors are interested in quartz. Quartz can also be very valuable as a gemstone
Can You Recognize Valuable Ores?
The process of recognizing ores all starts with being able to recognize some basic minerals and knowing what hard rock ore looks like in the districts where you prospect.
Ask The Experts
Gold in clastic black shale
Understanding Large Gold Deposit Types: Discovering New Mines
The other opportunity that I see is in seeking unusual types of deposits. Specifically, the prospector would be searching for the stuff no one (or almost no one) is searching for. These deposits are effectively hiding in plain view.
The Oquirrh Mountains, Utah
...we will visit three dormant mining districts that lie in the Oquirrh Range in Utah. Some major activity that transformed the lives of thousands of people occurred here from the mid 1860s to the late 1990s.
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The Bawl Mill
• Dredge Mining—Current Situation in Idaho
• Fault Zones and Prospects
• "Gold Rush: Alaska" in the Porcupine Mining District
• Wyoming's Billion Dollar Nugget—The Trilogy Ends
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes & Mineral and Metal Prices
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Gold Prospecting and Mining Summit
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