I appreciate the tips, especially about the book. I've got some property with a filled in mine near Placerville that I need to determine if it is worth working. I've done the research, and can't find anything on it in county records, so I'm pretty much stuck excavating and prospecting it myself (with the help of my son-in-law). It's been a project for vacations, but in a few months when I retire I'm going to get serious about it.
I do have two quick questions that I hope you will answer. Do you do your own milling, or do you send the ore out? The second question is related - do you only use gravity separation for extracting the gold, and do you do that yourself? Ah, I guess that was three questions.
JT