In his answer(Yes but..8/19) to my post, Steve has come up with an important prospecting tip. I don't know if this applies to Mining Companies in the USA, but here in Australia, Companies (and individuals) have to provide all sampling information etc to the Gov't Mines Department.

When their tenements expire, the info is put on open file and is available to anyone. This info can be very valuable, as the big companies often leave behind small rich reefs (especially nuggety ones!) that are not big enough to interest them.

A few years ago a mate of mine was prospecting through the Mines Dept files and he found a report from a company that had found a few small diamonds. He applied for an exploration licence over the area and then sold most of it to another big company for $400K. Not bad for a bit of office work!

But it gets better! The company found several good pipes (The Merlin pipes)) containing high grade gem quality diamonds and are going into production shortly. My mate still holds three quarters of one percent. Not a lot, but it will still get him about $200K a year. Better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick! So don't forget to prospect the libraries. I found some of my best reefs from old (>100 years) newspapers! Good luck to all.

Dave