How to Mine for Gold
Gold is a precious metal that is highly malleable and prized for its use in jewelry, sculptures and other ornamentation. It maintains its luster under most conditions because it doesn't oxidize in water or air. Gold occurs naturally in reasonably pure form as nuggets and grains in various types of rocks, especially alluvial deposits. Gold can be mined with a variety of techniques, both on an industrial scale and by individuals with high-tech and low-tech equipment.
Instructions
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Perform hard rock gold mining. This method produces most of the world's gold and is used when the gold is in a solid mass instead of small particles. Hard rock mining includes open pit mining, where the gold is extracted on the surface. It also refers to underground mining, which uses shafts to locate veins of gold that are deep below the surface.
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Obtain gold from water through dredging. A dredge is a machine that pumps water and sediment from the bottom of a body of water to a container on the surface. The gold in this material may then be separated out by mechanical and chemical means.
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Sluice gold from placer deposits. Individuals can also extract gold by pouring the gold-bearing material into a sluice box. This device is a long trough with an open top and a series of raised areas along the bottom called riffles. The gold particles settle to the bottom and are prevented from washing out of the sluice box by the riffles.
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Pan for gold. Gold-bearing gravel and sand is placed in a wide, flat pan along with enough water to cover the solid material. The pan is swirled and shaken so the gold settles to the bottom. This allows the heavier gold to be separated from the lighter materials.
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Find gold with a metal detector. The operator moves the probe of the metal detector along the surface of the ground looking for a positive reading. Although the metal detector will find all types of metal, an experienced operator will use settings that are highly selective for gold.
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