Prospecting & Detecting
What Equipment Do I Need?
October 2014 by Chris Ralph
Getting started in prospecting often requires the purchase of some equipment, but one can spend as little as $10 and be finding gold or spend thousands and also be finding gold—yet you will probably have many more opportunities and possibilities with more and better equipment.
Backwards Find
I furiously started pulling material out of the side wall and putting it in my scoop. It didn't take long to discover that the source of the scream was from a one-ounce chunk...
All About Quartz—Part I
One of the first minerals most prospectors learn to recognize is quartz, because, in the right circumstances, it can be an excellent indicator mineral for prospectors. Quartz is common, easy to identify, and is often associated with gold and other valuable metal deposits.
A Break in the Weather
Back at the entry point of the mine, we took turns slowly crawling down the slope leading into the mine portal with our metal detectors, hard hats and flashlights. The mine was hand dug and is about 75 yards long.
Detecting Basics: Lose the Bad Habits Not the Gold
I will make the assumption that when any of you take a detector in your hand and head out prospecting for gold you are probably anticipating finding some gold. That’s the general idea, right?
Mud Men: Pocket Miners of Southwest Oregon Part II
How many more clays seams lie adjacent to known shear zones and quartz veins in the pocket areas of southwestern Oregon?
Detecting Alluvial Bench Deposits
The same questions you ask yourself about gold trapping features in the present stream can be applied to the benches above the stream. Just imagine the stream at a much earlier time, before it cut its way down to the present level…
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.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Ganes Creek After The Flood
• Operation And Application Of Magnetometers
• A Trip to Morgan-Monroe State Forest of Indiana
• The Pedro Gold Dredge
• Detecting Alone -- What to Look For
• Over the Divide: John A. Miscovich
• Why Did This Silver Mine Close?
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
Free:
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Wake Up Voters! Oregon SB 838 Study Group Update
