October 2004 (Vol. 74, No. 2) $3.25
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The Bawl Mill
• House members "earn" another raise
• So how much is the national debt? -
Update: Forest Service Interim Rule
On July 9, 2004, Under Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Mark Rey, published the “Interim Rule.” By its own terms, the Interim Rule became effective on August 9, 2004, without regard to public comments. Public comments were, however, received until September 7, 2004. -
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• I-147 will be on the ballot
• Consolidation granted
• More rivers off-limits to mining
• Valley fills decision appealed
• Forest Service cites dredgers
• Time extended for roadless comments
• Newmont water permit voided -
VMS Deposits in Central Arizona
Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) deposits in the Central Arizona Precambrian volcanic belt occur within a felsic package of volcanic rocks capped by an exhalite unit comprised of cherts, iron formations and siliceous members. -
The Guyana Highlands
The Guyana Highlands referred to here are a tropical upland area that extends from French Guiana on the east to Colombia on the west, with elevations reaching 9,219 feet. It occupies a vast and remote region between the Orinoco River on the north and the Amazon River on the south. There are mountains, tablelands, mesas, and swamps, largely impassable to those on foot. -
Prospecting with a VLF-Type Gold Detector
Although I found my first detected nugget on a hard rock mine dump using an early VLF/TR coin hunter, it was by “following the dry washers” and detecting old tailing piles that I soon packed a metal 35mm canister with small sub-grain to... -
Freegold Ventures' Golden Summit Project
Massive area-wide forest fires left the air near Fairbanks, Alaska looking like a London fog and smelling like the residue of a fireplace late this August as I left the airport on a recent visit to Freegold Ventures Ltd. -
Picks & Pans: Working the Crevices
The crowbar can be a valuable mining tool. Crowbars come in all shapes and sizes. For moving large boulders and large chunks of bedrock, the longer 3½ footers work well. Then if you really get in trouble, there’s the long pry bar. -
Molybdenum
Molybdenum, referred to as “molly” by miners, is a white metal that is alloyed with iron to form hard, tough and strong steel. It was first used in World War I for armor plate on ships. Nowadays, molybdenum is routinely used to harden structural and tool steel, and to reduce corrosion. -
2004 California State Gold Panning Championships
One hundred eighty-one gold panners flocked into the old mining town of Foresthill on Memorial Day weekend, all with the objective of proving just how good they were. This was the Wild West all over again, and the shootout at OK Corral was nothing compared to the smoke and fire these contestants put up to determine who was the best of the best—and the best were there to compete, too. -
Company Notes
• Washington Group Int'l
• Robinson Nevada Mining Co.
• Little Squaw Gold Mining Co.
• Newmont Mining Corp.
• Compania de Minas Buenaventura -
Why Environmental Groups Prefer Kerry
President Bush signed Executive Order 13352, “Facilitation of Cooperative Conservation,” on August 26, 2004. The order instructs the departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce and Defense, and the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out their activities in a manner that “takes appropriate account of and respects the interests of persons with ownership or other legally recognized interest in land and other natural resources” and to “properly accommodate” local participation. -
The French Mines of El Boleo
Volumes have been written on the subject of mining in Mexico ever since the first Spanish conquistadors undertook to strip bare the newfound land in the 6th century. Gold and silver, which attracted Cortez and the Spanish Inquisition, was there for the taking, and the fabulously rich mines of Guanajuanto, San Miguel de Allende, Zacatecas, Real del Monte, San Luis Potosi, Durango and Taxco, among others, became famous throughout the New World and Europe. -
Looking Back
Excerpts for CMJ published 50 years ago this month. -
Melman on Gold & Silver
The world received a sad reminder of just how dangerous and threatening terrorism has become as more than three hundred people—most of them children—died when Russian troops and police stormed a school that had been taken over by terrorist rebels from the breakaway province of Chechnya in the Russian city of Beslan. This act was followed almost immediately by the bombing of the Australian Embassy in Indonesia with nine dead in that attack. And, if mankind’s craziness wasn’t enough...
