Ask The Experts: What should I do with a large amount of old placer concentrates?
Q: I’m working with some folks who have a large amount of old placer concentrates stored on their recently purchased property.
Shaker Tables for Processing Hard Rock Ores
Most placer equipment is really made with gold in the 30 and larger mesh sizes in mind, though if carefully used can often get reasonable recovery down to the 50 mesh size.
Becoming a Successful Detectorist
During my adventures I’ve learned a few key best practices that help me to consistently find gold nuggets with my detectors. You can apply many of these best practices to any type of prospecting. These best practices are really common sense; however, they are easy to neglect.
Hand Panning Micro-Fine Gold
Once you get down to the black sands or a few tablespoons of material, the technique changes dramatically.
Sampling, Hydro-Shocking & Cleaning Quartz-Gold Specimens
Many specimens have a small amount of gold and are not pretty to look at. There is a nifty way to give them a makeover and make them much prettier than they were when you found them.
MMAC Update
... officials with BLM have been impressed by MMAC’s professional approach and consistency.
My Lucky Thirteen Nuggets
Even with my favorite top-of-the-line gold detector there were several false digs. Many of the hot rocks gave a solid signal that was too much like a nugget to ignore. After trying several tests I just dug everything because it is better to be safe than leave a big, deep nugget for a more diligent gold hunter.
Crushing, Grinding and Pulverizing
There are many different ways to get the gold out. We will take a look a few examples of crushing and grinding, and potentially which ores they may be best suited for.
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.
From the Editor
First, I want to mention our new website. For over 18 months we’ve been working on a new design to make it easier to find the articles you are most interested in...
Prospecting Knowledge -- Pass It On!
I had two of the guys go down into the creek and each one picked out a small island of bedrock. I had them detect their piece of bedrock and then gave a critique to all on how they did.
Melman on Gold & Silver
The Federal Reserve just reported that inflation exceeded their 2% target for the first time in five years and the University of Michigan reported their inflationary expectations have now risen to 2.7%.
Over The Divide: Miles John Mitchell
Weathering, Erosion and Placers
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 PIGMI—a DIY Crevice Tool
I’ve had great success using it to gather gold from crevices. I’d like to share the design with all of you gold miners reading this article and hope that you get as much satisfaction building and using it as I did.
MMAC Update
We spent our evening at some informal get-togethers at two private residences in the DC area, which provided the opportunity to talk with staff members from Congress, other agencies, and a few consultants working on public land issues. We found common ground with many of them, and found a strong ally in a former Congressman turned consultant who agreed that Mining Districts provide the smartest legal route...
Diary of a Diamond Prospector
I couldn’t wait to get started. With no field budget, an assay budget of $100/year, a 1975-Ford Bronco that was a road hazard, a gas card, a topo map and full support of the director, I headed to the State Line district near Tie Siding along US Highway 287 to begin mapping kimberlite.
The Ups and Downs of Nugget Hunting
I returned to the WSPA claim. Still smug from my previous success, I was thinking I could not fail. However, the gold gods had other plans.
Epithermal Gold and Silver Deposits
Epithermal deposits form in the ground at shallow depths. They are popular with prospectors because can yield very rich deposits and they are widespread in the Western US.
