
Alluvial and Placer Mineral Deposits | Geology for Investors
05/08/2013 · Placers were mined in prehistory; it is, after all, simply a matter of tripping over nuggets from the river! The pattern with many placer mining areas is the original deposits were quickly found and exploited. Surface placer deposits are easy to mine, only requiring scooping up the gravel and then concentrating the valuable minerals.