Hints to Prospectors

In the early 1930s Australia was in the grip of the Depression when Ion Idriess wrote to all the State and Territory Mining heads to create his guide Prospecting for Gold - still the best manual for the town or country prospector. The public success of this book pushed several States to create their our guides with more details on their own State facilities and results.

This book was written by Hugh Corbet, Deputy Master of the Perth Mint, published in 1932, and sought to gain interest in larger forms of gold production. This book includes the results from the last edition which shows the results for 1958 in Western Australia, areas still rich for the grey nomad or professional prospector; and a section pertaining to the process of dryblowing, "a method adopted in Western Australia for freeing pounded gold ore from the powdered matter when water is not available."

The book includes much practical information, including: taking & preparing samples for assay; recovery & cleaning gold amalgam from battery; hints for and care of battery; methods of cyanidation; miners' rights; prospecting hints for the new man; use of explosives; first aid and more.