Greenockite and artisanal mining
Somewhere in West Africa, while conducting reconnaissance on a remote site where a major gold rush took place in 2014, I found a sample that was unexpected in the context of the gold deposits in the sub-region.
At this site, while most of the artisanal miners focused on saprolite, some miners followed the mineralisation down to the bedrock, which consisted of very hard quartzite on the edge of a granitic intrusion. Artisanal mines in fresh rock are relatively rare given the challenges of digging at these depths; only very high grades could justify such work.
Professional techniques
In this section, we will provide an overview of the mining exploration methods and techniques that can be used by amateur mineral prospectors.
My PhD thesis summarised for the rockhounders
In this short section, a young PhD student in geology/mineralogy explains his work in relation to metallogeny and/or mineralogy in simple terms.
Prospecting Echoes
A look back at some of the recent mineralogical discoveries made in the field. Here, we give the floor to prospectors who are willing to share their findings and adventures.