Small Mining Operations

The water instantly dropped though the screen, leaving a pile of mud behind! I was so excited that I replaced it with a 150-mesh screen, and the same thing happened!

This new map-based tool is far superior to the old version with lots of potential layers and information that a prospector can use in research.

I have been finding nuggets all my life, beginning in Sierra County 50 years ago, and believe me they don’t pop up out of the ground like mushrooms when they see me coming and say, “Here I am and take me home.”

The right speed accumulates only the heavy materials and allows all of the lighter stuff to flow through. This optimum speed is dependent on the size of the gravel you need to move through the system.

I didn’t follow-up on this opportunity at that time, as I already had as much on my plate as I could handle, but the potential for this property has never left my mind.

Once I started dredging with heated water pumped into my wetsuit, I never went back to not having heat except late in the summer when the water is very warm.

The critical metals are essential to the modern lives we lead. The prices of critical metals are moving up even faster than government published rates of inflation, with little sign of slowing down.

…the excitement passed so quickly that little work was done, but they still have good potential, and I find they are not as well-known and not hit so hard by most prospectors.

Working underwater certainly has its challenges, but since I wanted to learn how to blast underwater, I just  needed to dive in headfirst and take charge of the operation.

Gold specimens that include visible crystal formations are among the rarest, most attractive and most valuable forms of gold to be found.

Let’s examine why your placer gold looks the way it does and what you can tell about its journey based upon its appearance.

The process we will be using is called “blockholing,” and it is commonly used at mines and in construction projects to break up oversize material into sizes that can be easily handled.

Trommels come in two basic sections. The first section is called the scrubber unit. The second is the punch plate, where the gravels and ore of a specified size drop out into a variety of sluice box recovery units.

Through the milling process, the rock must be crushed and the values extracted. Let’s break down our discussion into the different parts and elements of the mill…

Whatever system you plan to use will require a way to safely initiate the explosives from a distance. In this article, we’re going to learn the basics of electric blasting and get a hands-on example…

Prospecting may not be as much fun as it once was. If that sounds like you and you want to figure out what to do to get back on the gold and be successful, I’ve got the answer: Research.

I have seen many samples taken originally with an eye toward getting the highest grades possible, but later someone claims that those results represent an average grade of the whole gravel deposit.

There are currently about 170 commercial-scale placer operations in Alaska. Most of these are small operations with just a few people working; they are often family affairs that operate seasonally only during favorable weather.

In this article, we will talk about how emergency response works in back country areas and go over some different ways to improve your chances of obtaining a good outcome should you get into trouble.

Located 23 miles south of Libby, the land surrounding the Libby Creek area has been of interest to prospectors since the early 1860s, when it was home to up to 600 miners working at a camp known as Libbysville.