Full Timer?

[MinerMike]

Hello, I have been on the GPAA site but it seemed a little slow over there so I searched for more gold forums and found this great site!

I would like to prospect full time living out of my vehicle in Northern California. I am 37, recently single after 13 years, and have no children or debt. I have a few claims around Nevada City but also plan to join other clubs like the Golden Caribous to gain access to more land. I will just be using a sluice and highbanker. I am not looking to get rich. I am looking to work hard and treat it as a full time job. My goal to start is to find $500 in gold per month. Is there anyone else out there who has attempted something like this or who would like to join me in my Livin' The Dream Tour?

Any thoughts or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You!

Mike

 

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[Aurabbit79er]

I havent been blessed to have ever had a good mining partner aside from Dave Wiseman.Gold does crazy things to people and it has always ended badly.I have had some dogs that I have held in higher esteem then most people,and in this day and age especially in Californa a good dog is your best defense against lions,a dog knows when something is up a long time before you do,and once a lions stealth has been lost,usually the gig is up.Sme goes for people up to no good.Fido #1,then Smith,Wesson,Sam Colt,and Sturm Ruger to back him up

Yea I had Special Agent In-charge Scully for 8 glorious years.
A once in a life time companion.
I have a plaque in my coach that says
" God, help me to be the person my dog thinks I am".

 

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[63bkpkr]

Chucktx2,
What a wonderful story and what wonderful carvings. Thank you for sharing them! 85 now is that years of age or old?
I am 68.66 yrs of age as I'm not old yet. Don't know when I will get old but it will be some time yet to come before I start to slow down. A full time job is keeping me from being where I want to be but for now I need to stick with it. I've plans for prospecting this coming summer of 2013 but most of them are committed trips taking a week or longer to do so most of those are not going to happen. I've found some very small gold especially as compared to some of the pieces you've shown but the adventure of it was worth all the time and effort I put into it. Part of the effort was filling in the trench I dug though I filled it in with 10" to 12" boulders and I'm letting the river provide the heavies to fill it back in. I expect that this coming summer it is likely that the spot will have been filled in and I will want to check it out to see just what kinda heavies are stored there now. Always hope for the future especially if one gives the future a helping hand by planting a porous garden setting.


Here's a picture of me sitting atop of my porous garden. Last year it had not filled in. I did not see it this year but this fall we've already had huge flows of water going through this canyon so by the summer of 2013 the garden could be ready for picking.

Enjoy your memories and thank you for sharing them. With regards and respect.....63bkpkr/Herb

 

[Hard Prospector]

Obviously at least in your case Herb, 68 is the new 38. BTW, is that a bear sneaking up behind you in the shadows? Just kidding....Rob

 

[Rdg Sluicer]

I would love to do what your doing Mike! Best of luck to you man.

 

[born-to-mine]

Hello Miner Mike Kudos to you For your decision to become a full time gold miner I applaud you.Telling you from my personal experience it is possible to make a decent living prospecting and mining gold. I would like to share my story with you and everyone that responded to your post. As a kid growing up in Southeast Florida watching Mel Fisher find treasure at the bottom of the ocean I knew right then that I was going to be a treasure hunter one day. Finally in September 2009 enough was enough. With the economy in the sewer and our government in complete shambles I loaded my class A coach and left Fla for northern Arizona. I wanted to try dry washing in some of the lower desert washes and in the high country panning and sluicing. I did fairly well but not as good as I thought I might. In 2011 I met a man that owns claims north of Fairbanks Alaska just south of the Arctic Circle. He came to visit march of 2012

 

[born-to-mine]

Sorry my post was sent incomplete. So here is the remaining portion of the story. During the visit he told me to tune in to the National Geogrphic Channel on May 6th to watch a new gold mining show named Goldfathers of Alaska. So of course I tuned in to watch, low and behold there was my friend Clark on TV. The night the show aired I received a call from Clark inviting me up to AK. For the 2012 mining season and without giving it a second thought I accepted his offer. With less than a month before seasons open I bought a 4" keene dredge and the rest of my support equipment plus all my camping gear ( wouldn't have been able to get the coach to the claims ) then drove north to the Alaskan wilderness to totally fulfill my life long dream of pulling gold from the ground other than the little I found in AZ.
To make a really long story a little shorter, WOW what an adventure it was. Alaska is truly the last frontier. Wildlife was abundant, the gold was plentiful, the days were long, and the work was hard.
14.67 ounces of gold, 9 1/2 weeks, and 1 broken arm later I find myself back in Arizona already preparing for my next Golden adventure. So to sum it all up, with a little perseverance and lot of hard work yes you can make a decent living mining gold. My next adventure scheduled in a few months will bring me to Oregon to buy my first claims. So to all of you follow your dreams, have fun and work hard doing it !! Happy hunting.

 

[MinerMike]

Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread.

It is great to hear everyones stories and thoughts on the subject. I am still working my online job which is winding down due to slowing of business but I am making enough to survive without tapping into the savings. I am trying to go as long as possible until winter is over before heading out. I am getting things ready and willing to go anywhere in the western US and Alaska.

I will keep in touch. Thank You!

 

[greg60]

Mike, have you found someone to partner up with? I am as well looking to partner with someone, Lets talk more if your interested!! Greg

 

[MinerMike]

Hi all, Just an update for anyone who is interested. My father was hospitalized after losing about half of his blood in late January so I have been helping him recover ever since. My dream is still alive. I have a camper van parked out front ready to go soon.

 

[Fullpan]

Great to hear from you again - sorry about the circumstances that has kept you home. If you head for Nev. City claims by way of I-80 thru NV, stop in Reno and we can have a cup of coffee!

 

[MinerMike]

Thanks Fullpan I would like that some day. I was supposed to go to Reno for Hot August Nights and meet up with my uncle who lives there but I was unable to attend due to taking care of pops. Thanks and take care!

 

[Fullpan]

Too bad you missed it - record breaking attendance and perfect weather!

 

[Clay Diggins]

I know several full time independent miners that do quite well. They aren't living in the dirt or scrabbling for a living.

They do have skills that they have developed over time like any other profession. A successful independent miner has to be a geologist, mineralogist, chemist, heavy equipment operator, hydrologist, accountant, welder, surveyor, machinist and inventor. It's hard to imagine a job with a greater skill set than a successful independent miner has.

It would be difficult for a retirement age person to become a self sustaining miner without already possessing most of these skills along with very good health. It does happen that a person of any age or skill set finds a good deposit and mines it to the best of their ability and at a profit. A full timer will have several such deposits lined up so they can continue working, at a profit, after mining their present deposit. That is the basic difference between the successful adventurer and a full time miner.

This is a gold prospecting forum but I think it needs to be said that most of the wealth to be found in mining does not come from gold mining. Most of the successful full time miners I know are open to any mineral deposit that is of the scale and quality they can profitably work. A decent perlite deposit can be just as profitable, and may be easier to work, than a placer gold deposit. For the full timer it's all about the money.

I do know a few independent miners who have succeeded while only prospecting for gold. It's a specialty that can be successful just as tin miners may only ever mine tin. Being specialized just cuts down on your possibilities it doesn't guarantee failure. I know a man in his early thirties with wife, children and home who has been quite successful just mining placer gold. He works very hard, entirely alone, and grew up in a gold mining family working known deposits since he was a child. There are those acquired skills again. A common theme in the successful miner's story.

That brings up the subject of partners. A tricky subject. A partner can fill in some empty spots in your knowledge, skills, equipment or money. That can be very good.

If you have the skills and knowledge to go it alone you might be better off doing so. Gold does funny things to people, it's a proven fact. I think partners have ruined more potentially successful small mining ventures than equipment problems or government over regulation ever has. If you do find a partner that compliments your skill sets and needs, shows up for work, has decent hygene and doesn't go crazy when the poke gets full you should probably hang on to them no matter what. They are one in a million. Nuff said about that.

There are opportunities for new prospectors to go full time. It happens and when it does you get wonderful stories like the one from born-to-mine. Sometimes it really is about seizing the opportunity when the time is ripe. born-to-mine's 14.67 ounces isn't going to cut it for a season's take for my friend with a family and a home to support but it's probably more than enough to keep a retiree with time on their hands mining for years to come.

If you have the desire and drive to go full time you are half way there but don't ignore the skills and health requirements needed for a successful mining venture. And be assured that there are others out there succeeding and prospering as small miners - it's not just a pipe dream.

Heavy Pans

 

[KevinInColorado]

Great commentary, I'm sure many will appreciate seeing this. It's also worth noting that since there are a LOT more casual prospectors than full timers, this forum and others are pretty full of casual folks. I bet most full timers aren't focused on stuff like this anyway. You know the old saying:

Miners who say they are getting by, aren't really.
Miners who say they are doing great are probably just getting by.
Miners who don't say...those are the ones on the gold!

Ps: I'm just a casual prospector myself and that's all I'll ever be ...unless I hit a true honey hole of course!

 

[dredgeman]

There are still full time miners out and about. Jeff is up at the river near us. Right now diving with air and digging by hand. He is averaging 7-12 grams a day in a good spot. Jeff works every other day or the grind will make you quit. He is single, lives in a trailer and drives a chevy.

If you have any type of responsibilities then have fun on weekends. It is a dying trade. Average age of most claim owners is really old. No one thinks they are old, but we are.

Get out and have fun while it is allowed

 

[mellowyellow]

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=844915"/><img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=844916"/>There are still full time miners out and about. Jeff is up at the river near us. Right now diving with air and digging by hand. He is averaging 7-12 grams a day in a good spot. Jeff works every other day or the grind will make you quit. He is single, lives in a trailer and drives a chevy.

If you have any type of responsibilities then have fun on weekends. It is a dying trade. Average age of most claim owners is really old. No one thinks they are old, but we are.

Get out and have fun while it is allowed

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=844917"/><img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=844918"/><img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=844921"/>

Well said brother. Just get out there while we can! Either fulltime or hobbyist, go hit the dirt. Put some mellow yellow in your pans....





Need more chunks.. May the chunk be with you!

 

[Fullpan]

Mellow - gotta have the link to the chunk (lower left) story! If no link, begin NOW.

 

[mellowyellow]

Fullpan, come with me to the desert brother , and we will talk about these chunks... lol.

 

[GrizzlyGremlin]

Hey mike! Glad to see someone trying to live the dream. I too am in your situation only i have a GF and student loan debt. I went to Colorado last month and prospected the historic areas. Needless to say next spring im selling my stuff packing the car and heading back to pursue the full time miners life. Ill be dredging with a 3" highbanker dredge combo. Dont let anyone tell you its impossible because its not!! Small scale miners are around. Ill be in touch! We have some discussions to engage in!