June 2002 (Vol. 71, No. 10) $3.25
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The Bawl Mill
• The Canadian exchange rate defense
• Excess vehicles are "driving" taxpayers crazy
• Dead snake delays construction -
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• California Senator proposes locking up 2.5 million acres with "Wildnerness" designation
• Battle over the rights of people versus fish continues in the Klamath Basin
• Sound science or "fairy tales" -
ICMJ Elected Prospecting Magazine of 2002
ICMJ honored with prestigious award. -
Mining Investment—Or Fraud?
The rapid fall of the stock market created a situation in which investors not only pulled back from traditional equities, assuming dot coms are traditional investments, but many recent arrivals in the world’s... -
Gold in Suriname
Suriname is a former Dutch colony on the north coast of South America, with an area of 63,000 square miles and a population of 450,000. Indians inhabited the region when Spaniards first sailed the coast in 1499. -
Golden Age of Gold Dredges
Over one hundred years ago, gold mining in California saw a radically new method tried out in the major rivers of the Central Valley. Large gold dredges floated lazily but noisily on the waters, bringing up the rich gravel from deep below. With none of today’s environmental restrictions on such methods, the landscape was reworked into a maze of patterns along the rivers. -
Prospecting With Limited Equipment
There are situations where small-scale miners cannot use dredges or high bankers. This is when it’s time to join the ranks of the old timers and their use of hand methods. Back when a gold pan, pick and shovel and sluice or rocker box were the... -
Looking Back
Excerpts from California Mining Journal, our original title, published 50 years ago this month. -
Beryllium in Utah
Much of the world’s supply of beryllium is mined by Brush-Wellman, Inc., at Spor Mountain, Utah. The district is in a harsh desert environment which receives only 6 inches of precipitation a year, barely enough to support scrubby desert growth. -
Company Notes
• Pan American Silver Corp.
• NovaGold Resources, Inc.
• Canyon Resources Corp.
• Great Quest Metals, Ltd.
• X-Cal Resources
• African Metals Corp. -
Picks & Pans: The Gold of "Eldorado Canyon"—Mariposa County, California
First, let me say that Eldorado Canyon is what we call this area, but it’s not the real name. It’s a piece of private property where we have permission to metal detect; I do not want to start another gold rush! The property is located in Mariposa County... -
Fire Agate in Arizona
Agate, a banded form of chalcedony (cryptocrystalline quartz), has been used as a gemstone for over 7,000 years. Romans cut and polished agate, and this practice was taken to new heights in Germany in the 16th century. -
The Canton Lead
As the great Australian gold rushes of the 1850s gathered momentum, hopeful prospectors rushed from all parts of the globe, not least among these were the ubiquitous Chinese. -
NAS Agrees to Review Superfund Science
The National Academy of Sciences has taken a step toward reviewing a proposed cleanup plan in Idaho. -
Tight Budgets Force Forest Service to Cut Back
Seasonal wilderness-area rangers have been among the first to go as Forest Service managers juggle budget demands. -
Melman on Gold & Silver
We are now seeing declines in gold followed quickly by rallies to new relative highs while powerful stock market rallies are met with aggressive new selling. Whether this pattern will continue into the future is debatable, but it certainly is a welcome background for the much-battered world of precious metals investing.
