Small Mining Operations
Underground Mining: Getting the Ore Out
February 2017 by Chris Ralph
Choosing the right method to move your ore and waste is all about making the right choices. Sometimes more than one method may be used during the life of a mine as an operation expands and grows.
Romancing the Rock
With the exception of well-established operators with proven reserves and years of field experience, the high price of gold brought a flood of speculators, con men, and real estate brokers into the mix who were not previously engaged in the gold mining market.
The Fire Assay of Carbon
Carbon, activated charcoal, or “char,” as some old timers refer to it, can be an assayer’s nightmare.
Ask The Experts
Any good books on mineralized faults and contacts?
Wyoming's Billion Dollar Nugget—The Trilogy Ends
With eight loads processed, a pumpkin-size rock fell into the hopper, stopping the whole operation until I could lift it out.
Persistence Leads to Over a Pound of Gold
I have figured out over the years that the winning combination is hard work, persistence, knowledge, and a little luck. This leads me to describe one of my best finds ever, a “honey hole” of placer gold, if you will.
The Jenkins Mine Project, Conclusion—Recovery Operations & Summary
This project taught me that you don’t need to be Albert Einstein to apply a little science to your prospecting. I learned that most of the science related to suction dredging is actually common sense. All we need to do is take the time to apply it.
Lode or Placer: What Difference Does It Make?
This explains the large difference in particle sizes between placers and hydrothermal lode deposits, but also means that while the mining may be similar in some cases, the sampling and recovery techniques are usually quite different.
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