Prospecting & Detecting
What is a Valid Mineral Discovery?
February 2013 by Chris Ralph
One of the greatest opportunities afforded to the citizens of our country is the right to stake and hold mining claims on federal lands. One doesn’t need to be a lawyer to stake mining claims, but a little bit of knowledge about mining claim laws can be helpful.Exploring Snakehead
On our fourth trip, we finally reached the top edge of the old hydraulic pit, and it was monstrous.
Detecting in the Outback
I have always enjoyed finding things. As a kid and up through college I searched for arrowheads, rocks and fossils. One day I saw an ad for a metal detector in a magazine, and a week later I was digging up everyone’s yard...
Fortymile, Alaska Prospecting Adventure
Some creeks have nuggets, while others, particulary the rivers, nothing but fine gold.
Detecting Clay Seams
Because the old timers were so good at locating the better paying deposits—most of them along clay seams in this particular area—it makes good sense to try and locate these clay lines at old mining sites.
Dry Washing to Capture Fine Gold
There may be lots of smaller gold I cannot hear with a detector, but it looks just fine in my pan once it is out of the crevice.
Getting Started
He excitedly told me he was going mining and wanted to know where he should go, how to do it, and so on. After he calmed down, I got excited. “I need to go!” was my response.
Blackberries and Gold
There were iron stains all over and even a few places where I could see iron trash sticking out of the bedrock. These would be ideal spots to start with as the gold travels with the iron and lead.
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The Bawl Mill
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Detecting Old Pocket Diggings
• Refractory Gold Processing
• Detecting in the Outback
• Over the Fiscal Cliff for Tax Savings
• Extracting & Smelting Your Gold
• Online Mining Classes Now Available at Mackay
• Heavy Sands Mining
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• Feds Challenge North Idaho Mining Claims
