Prospecting & Detecting

Excited for this first notable evidence, I returned to that riverbed, looking for another paystreak and obviously more jade.

What about all that noise coming from the ground? What is a prospector supposed to do about that?

People always ask me what is so important about locating contact zones. The answer to that: Gold.

At first we decided to see what the flat by our camp would produce where the old-timers had worked it with their Pelton wheel and dragline buckets.

Selecting the wrong coil can potentially cause you to miss nuggets, so you want to be sure to select the best option for the situation at hand.

…what adjustment can I make to my dredge that will enhance its gold-catching ability?

Rivers are not just random and accidental; streams and other drainages are what they are because of the forces of erosion acting on the bedrock.

With the recent surge of interest in gold projects, it’s about time to revisit a subject that strikes fear into the hearts of small-scale miners: Permits.

When he got home that night, he looked at the plotted points of gold and trash he had dug and saw that there was a distinct line where the gold nuggets were being found.

There is a material processing principle widely used in large milling operations to improve recovery that is poorly understood by most of the micro-mining and prospecting community...

While none of the historical mining camps are active, the area is still a hub of activity for the modern prospector, and claims still blanket the hills and gulches.

After a short time, the tailings pile can get very large, and can actually block the downstream end of the sluice box.

There are clubs with claims in the area and there’s a section of the river open to the public, but the rest of the area is claimed up so do your research first.

Due to the lockdown, I spent lots of time indoors this spring and I decided to add a drone as a faithful mate in my research.

Fortunately, there are products on the market that can address these problems and make a small-scale mining operation feasible.

The small-scale miner has reasonable opportunity to exploit some of these small, rich placer gold deposits. 

This was “pocket” country. All around were “pockets” that had been hand dug by old and new miners.

I poked my head out of the water and said, “You won’t believe what I am going to show you!”

They… create negligible fumes and much less fly rock than blasting. Below are some tips on maximizing your effectiveness with these tools.