December 2010 (Vol. 80, No. 4) $3.75
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The Bawl Mill
• He did say he’d create jobs...
• Biofuels: More harm than good
• Turnpike employees get more than just a free ride
• A sinking ship... -
Ask The Experts—Iridium
Q: I believe I have found a deposit that contains iridium. What can you tell me about iridium? Are there any tests I can do in the field to confirm it is iridium? How much is iridium worth? Where can I get it assayed? Can I refine it myself? -
Ask The Experts—Highbanker legal in CA?; Best place to sell raw gold?
Q: If a high banker is outfitted with a suction hose, is it considered a dredge in CA even if it is sitting on the ground? Also, how do I find the best places to sell raw gold (flour, pickers, nuggets, gold in quartz, etc.)? -
Ask The Experts—Using classifiers
Q: I would like to know how to use a classifier when I dump my gravel into my sluice box. I would also like to know what sizes classifiers come in. I know that they are in sizes like -3/4. What does the “minus” in the size mean? Thanks for any help you can give me. -
So, Where's The Gold?—Finding Gold Detectors Miss
We decided to run a detector over each piece. If we got a decent signal we placed the piece into a high-grade pile and the rest went into another pile to be worked on later. This high-grade pile wasn’t that large—maybe 25 pounds... -
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• The good, the bad, and the ugly
• California and Oregon dredge permits -
The Oregon Claim
When I started dredging a short distance downstream from that feature I realized that I was into a major paystreak and much of the gold was coming right out of the upper gravel. I could see the chunky pieces falling out of the gravel as they were pulled into... -
Forest Service v. Michael & Linda Backlund
On Tuesday morning, August 26, 2010, my clients Michael and Linda Backlund were forced to plead guilty to a charge of violating 36 CFR §261.10(b), which criminalizes maintaining a residence on Forest Service land without authorization “when such authorization is required.” This is a new regulation pursuant to which virtually anything, even a tent, is an unlawful “residence” unless authorized in advance. -
Highbanking on the Feather River
A number of visiting gold miners were quite impressed with our operation and the amount of gold we had recovered in only three hours. No one usually likes digging and slugging buckets all day long, but we actually began to enjoy it after a few good... -
CFTC Finds Evidence of Silver Market Manipulation
This is welcome news. Many silver market commentators have stated publicly that the price of silver, currently hovering around $23.50 per ounce, should be much higher due to the scarcity of supply and the lack of faith in fiat currencies such as the US Dollar. -
Gold in Arizona
We began investigating mining districts in Arizona and nearby states within the Basin and Range province. Just like I anticipated, there are many overlooked gold and copper deposits and anomalies. -
Detecting for Gold in Australia—The Kimberley Trip
The hair stood up on the back of my neck when I saw this, especially the nice patches of wash in the bottoms of the gullies, a sure sign of an auriferous source being nearby. -
Know Your District
We have to remember that the earliest miners were not geologists, but came from a variety of backgrounds. Their survival depended on finding enough gold so they worked hard and adapted to whatever challenges these new areas presented. -
Melman on Gold & Silver
Much of the past 12 months, both in America and around the world, has been devoted to discussions of Keynesianism versus the Austrian School of economics; of the value versus risks of “Quantitative Easing,” of free markets versus government-dominated markets; and of the right of government to accede to unlimited demands on her resources, no matter the cost.
