Amalgamation A process in which mercury is combined with another metal such as gold, which mercury has a natural affinity to. Ancient Channel See Tertiary Channel. An analysis of a sample of rock or gravel to determine the type and amount of economic minerals present. The work done annually on a mining claim to maintain possessory title. A deposit of sand or gravel lying adjacent to, or projecting into, a river or stream.
Some bars can be very rich in fine gold.
Hill's bar, south of Lytton on the Fraser River, is said to have produced over three tons of fine gold. Barren A term used to describe a gravel deposit or rock outcrop that has been found devoid of any economic mineral. The impervious, horizontal-lying upper layer of the earth's crust, upon which alluvial gold settles. Bench Describes a flat-lying area at some elevation above a river or stream. Bleed-Off Natural erosion of bench gravels into a present stream or river.