X-Nico

4 unusual facts about Hydraulic mining


Gold extraction

Hydraulic mining was used widely in the Californian gold rush, and involved breaking down alluvial deposits with high-pressure jets of water.

Hydraulic mining

It was used extensively in Dahlonega, Georgia and continues to be used in developing nations, often with devastating environmental consequences.

One notable location was at the Oriental Claims near Omeo in Victoria where it was used between the 1850s and early 1900s, with abundant evidence of the damage still being visible today.

Situated at the confluence of the Yuba and Feather rivers, Marysville was the final "jumping off" point for miners heading to the northern foothills to seek their fortune.


Lorenzo Sawyer

In 1884, he handed down what became known as the Sawyer Decision in Woodruff v. North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company which abruptly ended hydraulic mining in Northern California's Gold Country.


see also

Anthony Chabot

In 1852 and 1853 he and Edward Matteson, were working at Buckeye Hill and American Hill respectively, devised the first hydraulic mining technology.

Cassiterite

The mineral occurs extensively in Cornwall as surface deposits on Bodmin Moor, for example, where there are extensive traces of an hydraulic mining method known as streaming.

Chena, Alaska

There was a pump station to provide water for the hydraulic mining operations on the other side of Chena Ridge, near Ester.