Small Mining Operations

…let’s dive in and take a closer look at these rich gold and silver-bearing minerals to find out what they are, where they form, and how to identify them.

Mining claimants who wish to retain their mining claims on Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands through the 2021 assessment year must pay a maintenance fee or file a maintenance fee waiver certificate on or before September 1…

For the prospector, knowing what oxidized hydrothermal alteration looks like in the field is an important exploration tool.

…as an academic argument, when mated to the appropriate engine, is the pump really moving water at the rate of 400 GPM?

…the process remains much the same: Drill holes, load explosives, close up the holes, blast and muck out the resulting broken rock.

Micro blasting can be used to take down hanging rock, separate minerals from overburden, and collect gemstones and other high-value product with minimal damage.

The problem is that extracting gold from hard rock is often a lot more difficult than processing placer gravels. Still, there is some very high-grade ore out there in many old mining areas.

An online video gave me some ideas, and with a lot of trial and error I developed a reliable method of panning free gold particles down below 35 microns quickly and easily.

Since we know that the secret to breaking rock is applying force from the inside out (putting tension on the rock), we will be looking at ways we can generate force using human and machine power.

One of the first things we did while looking at buying the equipment was figuring out how it would dovetail into the milling process we already had in mind.

Present conflicts and realizations having to do with dependence on China have illuminated the fact that suction dredge miners have a vital role to play and are an ignored and untapped domestic resource—until now.

…for a few hours, we fervently dug for gold. After we did a cleanup, I couldn’t believe the amount we got.

What do you do when you’ve located a promising deposit of gold or gemstones, but it’s trapped in solid rock?

The first and most important thing of the sampling process is to try to be as unbiased as possible. There is a natural tendency to select rock that looks the best—even unconsciously.

If Epd is larger, then the compressor will be spinning faster than the manufacturer’s maximum specified RPM and might destroy itself. If this happens, then the compressor again might not produce enough air to support a diver. Neither is a desired outcome.

• NEPA comments due
• Update on latest US Supreme Court suction gold dredging appeal
• Washington State tries to restrict suction gold dredging

Even if you are not ready to cash in right now, it might be good to evaluate your options and make a plan of action so when that day comes you know exactly what to do.

The same day, while two of us were heading to Vancouver to attend the mining convention, two others from our team were headed to Nevada to begin loading the millsite equipment.

All these decisions and more depend on the richness of a claim—something that is determined by sampling. But sampling isn’t cheap, and even collecting the samples can be more difficult than it appears on the surface.

So let’s dive in and see what I can do to convince you that this is the year you should be out staking your own claims.