Why do you find gold?

[MadMarshall]

So why do you prospect or mine for Gold?
I wonder how many look for gold in hopes to profit from gold?
How many of you just enjoy looking for gold no real want for profit?
How many of you enjoy the tinkering side of gold tweeking making equipment?
Any other reasons maybe??
Anyway the majority of people I talk to hope to earn a little extra cash or hope to possibly make a living at it..

Me in the beginning it was all about the money Get Rich quick.. Now honestly I just want to be the best at what I do.
Anyway just wondering what motivates you. The people you talk too what motivates them?
Was goin to try to post a poll but cant figure it out

 

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[MadMarshall]

I am not sure what I am driving at with this.. I mean ultimately its up to the individual and their needs and what if any resposibilty that person has. Me personally I couldn't justify dredging if I didn't enough gold to pay for the gas and justify the labor..I would just stick to handtools. Everyone has different finaicial needs and motives for finding gold. I feel that a little responsibility in how one employ mining resources in their endevour for gold should be appropriate to their endevours. I think their is a very distinct line between recreational prospecting and small scale mining..
Kiddo
I am in it for the lifestyle I do not wish to profit as I feel monetary wealth creates inequality amongst other things.
Anyway though their are people who do this and want to do this for wage and income to support their families to keep tradition alive and I see Clubs and others exploiting this making it nearly impossible. From what I have seen and my first hand experience they seem be more exploiting then helping. Just my opinion. I started off as a weekend warrior about 10 years ago. around 2009 2010 my brother and I decided to make a living maybe get rich using the knowledge from these so called know it all and such we were homeless the same year. It didn't take me long to figure out who made the money at who's exspense. Anyway I have long since evolved since then. Anyway I suspect that people have more of a chance to make wage prospecting and mining if people put more emphasis on actually learning to prospect then they do on relying /expecting equipment to get gold. .. And a little individual responsibility wouldn't hurt either.. Let the gold dictate the tools..

 

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[H&F909ORO]

I am not sure what I am driving at with this.. I mean ultimately its up to the individual and their needs and what if any resposibilty that person has. Me personally I couldn't justify dredging if I didn't enough gold to pay for the gas and justify the labor..I would just stick to handtools. Everyone has different finaicial needs and motives for finding gold. I feel that a little responsibility in how one employ mining resources in their endevour for gold should be appropriate to their endevours. I think their is a very distinct line between recreational prospecting and small scale mining.. Kiddo I am in it for the lifestyle I do not wish to profit as I feel monetary wealth creates inequality amongst other things. Anyway though their are people who do this and want to do this for wage and income to support their families to keep tradition alive and I see Clubs and others exploiting this making it nearly impossible. From what I have seen and my first hand experience they seem be more exploiting then helping. Just my opinion. I started off as a weekend warrior about 10 years ago. around 2009 2010 my brother and I decided to make a living maybe get rich using the knowledge from these so called know it all and such we were homeless the same year. It didn't take me long to figure out who made the money at who's exspense. Anyway I have long since evolved since then. Anyway I suspect that people have more of a chance to make wage prospecting and mining if people put more emphasis on actually learning to prospect then they do on relying /expecting equipment to get gold. .. And a little individual responsibility wouldn't hurt either.. Let the gold dictate the tools..

Thanks for sharing your thoughts again marshal.

 

[Sick4gold]

Because I suck at golf

 

[cobbler]

For me it's an excuse to get out into the wild. I love the challenge of finding gold, the exploration involved in it. Whether it be exploring miles of river, a large gravel bar, a nice pool with a section of ledge, a tiny crevice or a new technique of prospecting, there always seems to be more and that's what keeps it interesting.
I used to trout fish a lot so it was almost a natural transition to panning, I seem to find gold in the same places I find fish and feel at home around these pools. The challenge of catching a lunker fish is very much the same feeling as the challenge of finding a nice piece of gold to me, it's something to strive for, to drive me forward.
I live in NH and I don't even know that making a living prospecting is even possible around here. I've been at it for five years now and I might have a 1/4 ounce or so, never weighed it. I hope someday to take a jewelry making class and make something for my wife and daughter with it. To me that's worth way more than any money I could obtain from the weight of it. But if I did live in good gold country and was finding ounces I probably would think otherwise.
I agree with Neo there is a primal draw to gold. When I see it emerge glowing from the black sands I want to see it again and again and like to stare at it for awhile. It's so perfect, dense, conductive, impermeable to corrosion, beautiful. Valued and adorned by ancient peoples with seemingly otherworldly connections.
There are probably many reasons why I search for gold, valid or not. I'll keep at it as long as I'm having fun and that's reason enough.

 

[GrizzlyGremlin]

Because if Cash is King then Gold is God.

-Grizzly Gremlin-

 

[Hoser John]

There is NO such thing as small scale or recreational mining- you are prospecting-seeking and then mining-gettn' the REAL goodies as no rights attached to anything else. John

 

[KevinInColorado]

I love seeing what others do not, finding what has never been found, having something I do on the side which more than pays for itself (if only I sold any gold!), the idea that one day I might hit a honey hole that pays for a new truck or more (then I'd be a real miner like Hoser John, Freddy Dodge, etc... even you MM!), the simple joy of hard work which pays off or of a day well spent exploring in nature.

 

[themark1]

Looking for good profit in gold that is the main reason to deal with this.

 

[benny]

I decided about five years ago that if I didn't get off my fat rump, I was going to be dying an early death. I had panned when young and enjoyed it very much, and so decided to start again. So, I go for my health, for the discovery of that bit of gold that I do find, the education acquired by studying the river and it's components, and the natural wonder. Last Saturday went out, didn't find a lot (.274 grams), and when setting back to rest a bit, enjoying the bald eagle drifting overhead, and the otter preening on a rock about 30 yards away.

 

[slikriktn1]

For me, I have wanted to hunt or pan for gold since I was a teen and I finally got a chance 3 weeks ago while I was on a business trip to Colorado at 47 yrs old.I had a few hours during daylight the last day and went to Golden and panned for 2 or 3 hours in Clear Creek and actually found several flakes.But my only problem is I live in Nesbit,Ms. and there is really no where that I know of close by to go pan or search for gold,so I have managed to purchase a little pay-dirt on e bay really cheap(5 and 6 dollars for 3 lbs each) I got 1.1 grams out of the first 1-1/2 lbs which I don't think was too bad considering they did the work to dig it and classify it somewhat.I built me a small water flow table to be able to recover the smaller stuff.But, I enjoy the mystery of it all where its at,searching,finding,and recovering the gold,and I know I wont get rich quick(so the disappointment level is a lot lower)or make a living with pay-dirt bags,but 1 every once in a while sure is fun to search.

 

[newman]

Since I was in fourth grade, I have been intrigued by the California gold rush, and the general history of mining. It was about six weeks ago, though, that my fiance came home from work talking about a co-worker who owns a claim and what she showed off at work... So I did a little reading about the who/what/when/where/why/how, and asked her if she really wants to do this. She said "heck yes!" So off we went that weekend.

I have rekindled a love and respect for prospecting and those that do it. I love being outdoors, either solo or with family and friends. I haven't found much in the past month, but I am to the point of realization that I'm going to have to move a lot more material than just a pan's worth at a time. I find that the exhilaration of finding a nice sized flake is indescribable to other people.

And frankly, cash value is at the bottom of the list. My vial currently holds about $2.10 worth, but the memories and fun is priceless.

 

[Bonaro]

It all about the money. We all want to strike it rich but few of us do. I have many oz in the safe but if I divided them by the hours spent looking for them it is far far less than minimum wage.
If gold were worthless we wouldn't do this... Its kinda like playing the lottery....some lucky dog's gonna win it

 

[Hoser John]

ADDICTION-plain and simple,worse than crack,heroin or alcohol.......but....it just feels soooooooooooo right

 

[Gravelwasher]

Plain and simple, just want to look at the gold as it comes out of the ground, absolutely mesmerizing experience!!

Then come the side benefits: Great friendships, nature and all the sights and sounds of being in the outdoors.
Most people suffer Nature Deficit Disorder, locked up too long in cubicles with artificial lighting away from there families, for too many hours a day.
So just getting out with friends and family in the woods or in the water is the best time when I feel the most alive.