Articles
Articles of general interest and on geology written by the authors that appeared in the Kingman Daily Miner newspaper and other publications.
Gold is where you find it.
Placer gold with nuggets of up to 1/2 ounce from the Meadview area, Arizona.
Why does that mountain look like that?
Spheroidal weathering of granite- John Wayne country!
Psst, wanna buy a gold mine?
Inspecting claims of vast riches in the desert of Northern Mexico.
Why are some rocks red?
Red is not the only color of the beautiful sandstone cliffs in southern Utah and northern Arizona. Depending on the source of the iron, the oxidizing conditions and what happens to the iron after it’s deposited, the colors might be red, yellow, brown or a bleached white.
You mean I can’t dig gold on my land?
While 4-wheeling with friends in an area where early prospectors had found placer gold, I was asked if it was legal for us to do some panning. I answered “yes,” a person can pan for gold on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, if it’s not claimed, and then realized my friends might not be familiar with the 1872 Mining Law. This law was instrumental in colonizing the west and is still on the books.
Adits and Shafts
Mining played a major role in Arizona history. It’s reported by the State Mine Inspector that there are over 100,000 abandoned mines in the state. Today, old mines are both a joy for history buffs and a danger for curious explorers.