Highbanking for Gold

August 2018 by Chris Ralph

Pumps can be set up quite a distance away horizontally from the sluice, even hundreds of feet. It will work so long as there is sufficient water at the source where the pump is located. Vertical distance is more of a problem than horizontal distance; 30 to 40 feet is the maximum vertical climb for most pumps.

Detecting Basics: Lose the Bad Habits Not the Gold

February 2017
I will make the assumption that when any of you take a detector in your hand and head out prospecting for gold you are probably anticipating finding some gold. That’s the general idea, right?

Picking Our Way Through Bedrock

December 2015
Once again the coil was put over the spot but the target was in the pile now. I pinpointed, grabbed a handful of dirt and began sprinkling it over the coil until I heard that mild thud.

Humble Beginnings

November 2018

Right away I got a target, and it ended up being gold from a nice little bench. With only an hour left of daylight, I continued heading upstream and found five more tiny pieces of gold with my VLF…

Bedrock Nugget Hunting: Tools of the Trade

January 2018

As a guide to those who are thinking of taking up this activity or those who currently practice this trade, I have created a listing of the primary tools and equipment I use when nugget hunting.

WWII Vet & Prospector Still Going Strong

July 2011
Lately I’ve been having success utilizing two types of detectors in succession. The first is a pulse induction (PI) detector with a blanket-style antennae, and I follow it up with a very low frequency (VLF) detector.

From Vietnam to Wedding Bands

February 2017
It’s a common symptom of gold fever for miners to be very hesitant to let go of gold they’ve found or even have it made into jewelry. I confess, I suffer from the same incurable disease!

A Few Tips and Tricks for Beach Mining

June 2015
When you think about the extremes to which a miner will go to get a little gold, it occurred to me beach gold could be "easy pickings."

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