Fists Full of Gold
There is a huge amount of information here that is just simply not available in any other prospecting book. It has plenty of basic coverage for new prospectors but lots of material for those guys who have some experience and want to learn more, plus even more advanced information for prospectors with decades of experience. It is up to date with all the latest technology and science.
This book takes a unique and different approach in teaching the "trade skills" of prospecting – it covers not just equipment, but the knowledge you really need to find those locations with recoverable gold. This information is important because in the final analysis, no matter well you operate your dredge, metal detector or other prospecting equipment, unless you can find the deposits where the gold is concentrated, your equipment cannot help you recover it. It's designed to be the one prospecting book you will never outgrow. It’s has more than 360 pages.
Some of the highlights of the information contained in the book includes:
The basics of prospecting and finding gold, including:
- The fact that there is lots of gold is still out there to be found
- How to use a gold pan, including crevicing, mossing and sniping for gold
- How to get the best recovery out of your sluice box or highbanker
- How to use a suction dredge to find and recover paystreaks
- How to operate a dry washer for gold
An extensive section on metal detecting, perhaps the best on the market
Building your own equipment: including building your own:
- Portable sluice box
- Lightweight suction dredge
- Desert dry washer
How to operate a small scale commercial mining operation
How to deal with and get the most out of your black sands
How to get the best prices for your gold, specimens and nuggets
A full coverage of the geology of gold and silver mineral deposits:
- All about minerals and how to identify them
- Minerals associated with gold deposits
- Rocks: what they are and how to identify them
- Basic geology for the prospector in an understandable form
- A detailed explanation of placer geology and how paystreaks form
- A detailed explanation of hard rock geology and how gold deposits form
- How to recognize many types of hard rock gold and silver deposits
How to do research to find your own rich concentrations of gold:
- Using and understanding topographic maps, aerial photos and GPS
- Where to find little known sources of information on gold deposits
- How to use geology maps to find gold
- Signs and indicators of gold deposits that you want to look for in the field
- How to read and interpret signs of old timer workings
- How to recognize geologic indicators of gold mineralization
- How to prospect for commercial deposits of gold and silver
- Mining law and how to stake and maintain your own claim
- Platinum placers and deposits – How to prospect for them
- Diamonds in placers – How to recognize them
- Maps of where to find gold in the US and Australia
Plus hundreds of photos, diagrams and illustrations to explain the concepts presented in the book.
