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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[Jimmydolittle]

There is not much gold in Indiana, I do it to get away from the stress in my life. To go stand in the creek, and hear the water rushing by, the wind blowing, birds,and squirrels chattering. The few flecks of gold are just a bonus.

 

[okbasspro]

I'm with Jimmie on this one. I have been doing this for a good portion of my life I've seen $30 oz up to $1900 oz and it's never changed the feeling I get from the few flakes I find. I drive 4 hrs each direction to find fly poop. I do not have a peice of equipment that I have not altered to catch that small gold. I just dropped off 15.7 grams at the ring maker to have a ring done. Truth be told I spent thousands to find that gold but every time I look at my ring I can say I dug that gold.

 

[MinerFortyNiner1952]

I do it to get away from the stress in my life. To go stand in the creek, and hear the water rushing by, the wind blowing, birds,and squirrels chattering..

Couldn't agree more. It's peaceful and mind calming. You focus on the task at hand and all that everyday crap disappears for a while.

And if you find gold, it's the cherry on the sundae.

 

[425jesse]

Family time, and that small rush of adrenaline when the shovel head hits the bedrock, or when you see gold on the slick plate for the first time at a new spot....all great reasons that I will never stop prospecting.

 

[Hoser John]

After over 58 years of gold,gems/minerals and relic grubbn' it is definately a adreneline addiction. Thrill of the hunt,research in dusty archives for days,livn' like a animal in the forest,testing your metal against all mother nature(and man) can throw at ya,glorious vistas,fantastic folks met(aholes too),comraderie,that first righteous gleam as it grows larger and ever larger as you uncover than miracle a buttery yellow, paid to raise 4 kids with great financial security,adventure,danger,super highs(pound a day),ungodly lows(1/2 oz and spent over $10,000 and worked like a dog),cold waters,playn; with the water critters,blown' away rattlers,crazy mountain women.oops sorry I could go on for hours....John

 

[rodoconnor]

It's why guys climb Mt Everest. Cause it's there !

 

[3xflyfisher]

All of the above!

 

[mike(swWash)]

Just because I can

 

[goldenIrishman]

Well like many others on the forum I started prospecting to help forget about work for a while. Weekend trips out with the guys to forget about work and the ol lady etc etc. Running a company can be very taxing on ones spirit and Mother Nature has a way of reviving that spirit very quickly.

Well it turned out that I was pretty good at finding that yellow metal that we all love and I was also interested in the science end of it as well. Since I moved back to the west side of the map, I've really been getting into learning the geology and hydrogology aspects of how gold moves once it's been erroded out of the mountains. Pouring over records, maps and every other bit of informatrion I can get my hands on is like a game to me. Hide and go seek and we're playing against Mother Nature.

Thanks to others on the forum here, I've had things pointed out to me that has allowed me to up my game and I've also been able to help others in their own search. With everything from tip and tricks to product reviews TN is one site that every prospector that has a computer should have bookmarked!

I'm not looking to get rich (even though that would be nice) but prospecting and mining keep me in touch with nature, history and science in a way that (at least to me) if fun. It's hard work weather you're digging, running mterials or doing research and a little hard work is always good for the soul.

 

[NeoTokyo]

I think deep down in the core of every person there is something primal about gold in general.
This primitive draw to gold fuels some of us to the obsessive, no matter the quantity.

I started again because of the video I am going to link at the bottom, but I had always dabbled with prospecting, just never found more than a few specs of micro at a time.
This video made me go out and try my hand at underwater sniping. My second day out I found my Gold Fish nugget and BLAM it was on like Donkey Kong.
Between the next two honey holes that I found I pulled more than 30oz out of over the next two years just sniping. Now this year has not been anywhere near that but still a wonderful adventure.

I come to find out last year that my Grandfather was a dredger and had worked the Motherlode area for decades and that he use to have Mason Jars filled with nuggets. HOW F00KING COOL IS THAT?! My father use to dredge with him too, my mother would go and pan with them and help, pretty much everyone (Even my snobby Elitist Aunt) would go out prospecting.
So I guess its in my family genes too and I never knew until last year.

Working in the water I am more at peace with the world than any other part of my day, even dreams aren't this good.

For the tinkering side of it, yeah, I really enjoyed that too. My most successful tinker is my underwater Gold Sniper bottle which is simply an 8oz harbor freight bottle with a long, curved plastic tube that gets larger on the inside as it goes down to prevent clogging. My new video's this year will show it but I have used it for over 2 years since I stumbled on the tube and thought "EUREKE, GOLD!"
I sell them now too at my local mining shops, its just too badass not to sell.

I went through several crappy snuffer bottles before I got that Eureka moment with my current design. That's just part of tinkering.

I also made an electric underwater vacuum that stored the cons, just like an underwater shop vac.
The battery that I used was a small 12v gell battery that packs a whopping 9.5amps in a little 6x6x5" 9lb package that's easy to pack in.
I used a little 3amp 1000gph pump that would collapse the sides of all plastic buckets including paint and square buckets, LOTS of suction.
That idea just sits on the back porch now because of the last Dredging moratorium update banning anything that sucks underwater, grrr.

I will probably finish that one if I find a light enough bucket that wont collapse but most of my drive for that one has gone because of the moratorium.
Cost wasn't much, about $175 dollars to make it, most of the cost is the battery because it is a compact continual use gell battery, not a starting battery.

I also adapted many hand tools to scraping, picking, crunching and busting bedrock.

The way I see it, its just part of the fun.

There are other reasons why I prospect and I think John hit the nail on the head perfectly with his post.

It's just a wonderful way to live life.


-Eric-

 

[H&F909ORO]

Adventure, exploring, friends, family, and lots of other reasons. I never thought gold mining would bring such great things in my life. I was more focused about the gold back in December, when I started. I never would of known what mining would bring me. I have met more people than I would have ever thought of meeting. Each and everyone of them are great people and I am proud to get to know them.

In my area no one I know gold mines. I thought that only a few people did it, but no. Look at this forum, there's hundreds or people who do it and many more. Its a community of people who are here to help and share adventures with.

I started getting into gold when I was searching on ebay for gold to buy. I bought a few pieces and somehow I got sucked into buying a pan. From there I bought pay dirt and eventually when out for the first time. I was excited to see gold, as many of you have said already, it's a rush. My heart rate goes faster when I see that yellow color in my pan. Gets me every time.

I love to explore areas that I have never been. When I went to the location of my first trip I was in awe of this place. It was great, fantastic area.

Most of you have pointed out what was said. Everyone has incredible reasons why they do it.

Thank god for all of you

 

[MadMarshall]

Well no doubt I am a little surprised.. Seems the majority of people are not interested in money(a Good thing). I too enjoy the outdoors and the I also value my time with my Family mostly my brother these days my stepdad health limits him severly theses days..Anyway the tinkering side I can't say I get into..I not much interested in tweeking and building.. Anyway Gentlemen how I am pleased to hear such awesome reasons to find gold.. Well I suspect I am fighting a losing battle..Small scale prospecting is dead..Now just recreational! I can not say I am happy with this new trend..It seems more emphasis is on the recreational part of mining then the actual knowledge of prospecting. Well its a sighn of the times.. Anyway I guess it was an easy assumption to make that people still wished to keep small scale prospecting alive. That they wished to do it well.
More interested in finding gold and getting better at it. But I suppose it just aint so.. It's a Hobby and I guess I was to niave to see it as any thing else..
Well no doubt the only real succsefull people in the small scale prospecting world will be the people mining the recreational prospectors.
Gentlemen just one other thing.. Most of you admit that its for the experience the serenity stress relief ect ect ect.. So if this the case what does it matter if dredging illegal.. What does it matter if you got a shovel and sluice instead of a backhoe and trommel. If it aint about the money and more for the fun/family time ect ect then why take it to an extreme. If u aint worried or interested inn the profit then why make use all this stuff to help your gold recovery.. The more I think about it the more I wonder what really motivates people?? Why why why?? Why dredge if not wanting to make a buck..IT FUN!! Not a very good reason in my opionon.. Anyway just some food food thought..

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

I was initially in it because I thought it would be good to make some money over none considering I cant get a job yet, and I still shoot for goals
but if the price of gold dropped to $5 an oz. and no matter how hard I tired it would be practically impossible to find gold worth money I think I would still be out there

 

[gold hound]

I agree with every post to this thread. Only other addition I would make for myself personally, would be...
As far fetched as it may sound... Finding enough gold to make life a little easier for my 2 nieces & nephew. They are not poor by any stretch of the imagination. I can not give them anything in life that they don't already have... But each of them getting a brick of gold!!! How cool would that be!? I know of nobody that's received gold bars or (nuggets and fines unprocessed!!!) as their inheritance. A gift fit for a king from an average every day joe miner. At this rate they'll be getting about 2 penny weights! Lol
Anyways, even if that's all they get I'll have had a blast trying to find it for them.

 

[H&F909ORO]

Well no doubt I am a little surprised.. Seems the majority of people are not interested in money(a Good thing). I too enjoy the outdoors and the I also value my time with my Family mostly my brother these days my stepdad health limits him severly theses days..Anyway the tinkering side I can't say I get into..I not much interested in tweeking and building.. Anyway Gentlemen how I am pleased to hear such awesome reasons to find gold.. Well I suspect I am fighting a losing battle..Small scale prospecting is dead..Now just recreational! I can not say I am happy with this new trend..It seems more emphasis is on the recreational part of mining then the actual knowledge of prospecting. Well its a sighn of the times.. Anyway I guess it was an easy assumption to make that people still wished to keep small scale prospecting alive. That they wished to do it well. More interested in finding gold and getting better at it. But I suppose it just aint so.. It's a Hobby and I guess I was to niave to see it as any thing else.. Well no doubt the only real succsefull people in the small scale prospecting world will be the people mining the recreational prospectors. Gentlemen just one other thing.. Most of you admit that its for the experience the serenity stress relief ect ect ect.. So if this the case what does it matter if dredging illegal.. What does it matter if you got a shovel and sluice instead of a backhoe and trommel. If it aint about the money and more for the fun/family time ect ect then why take it to an extreme. If u aint worried or interested inn the profit then why make use all this stuff to help your gold recovery.. The more I think about it the more I wonder what really motivates people?? Why why why?? Why dredge if not wanting to make a buck..IT FUN!! Not a very good reason in my opionon.. Anyway just some food food thought.. YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSE91El3f5c

Marshall,

You bring up an extraordinarily good point. Small scale mining might be dying, but those who are doing it should keep it alive. This goes for me I'm not sure about everyone else, but this is my thought. If I could I would do mining for a living. If I could go out and do that everyday to get money and experience I would. But I'm a kid and I have a whole life ahead of me. I have other interests I want to follow. I want to serve. People have other priorities than mining. They get interested at an age where they might have a job, wife, and kids. They are never thinking of leaving there job to do mining, it almost would seem silly to them. Hell later on they might want to, but they probably won't. They will mine for the fun or the experience.

My opinion:

Unlike you most of us probably can't do mining for a living and they might just want to do it on the side. You are a strong person, you are A small scale miner and you always will be. Don't say you do it for recreation, because is that the truth? What are you really doing it for? I myself would never call myself a small scale miner cause that's not true. I don't do it everyday or even once a week. More like once a month. Then this raises the question what is it I do it for? And what would I call it? If we look at the definition of Hobby, then that would be what non small scale miners should call it. What would that do to you? What would it do to us if we were to call it that?

To us who say we don't do it for the money, then we shouldn't Bi*** about dredges being illegal. I can see what Marshall is saying. Why the hell should we care? Why should we fight it if the overall ban only affects us by not being able to dredge. But for those who do it for a living it matters too much to them. They have a lot more to worry about. Their production of gold will plummet. So to simply answer you question Marshall, it does not matter. Unless we are small scale miners. Now I must remind you all that this is not my opinion.

I now admit that one of the reasons for mining is for the money. Money can be what partly drives me to mine. But it's not the only reason why I mine. It's not the center of the reason, but only part of the reason. I would say that if I could dredge I would do it for the money and to be outdoors. Your opinion is right to me. Why would you do it for the fun of it? It really is a dumb reason to dredge.

This is my opinion on what you said. I beleive that you Marshall are right. Your points make sense and truly are correct. This is my opinion and only my opinion. Thanks for sharing your thoughts to us Marshall. To me it has been an eye opener onto the reasons why I mine for gold.

Thanks to you.

 

[Jeff95531]

Well no doubt I am a little surprised.. Seems the majority of people are not interested in money(a Good thing). I too enjoy the outdoors and the I also value my time with my Family mostly my brother these days my stepdad health limits him severly theses days..Anyway the tinkering side I can't say I get into..I not much interested in tweeking and building.. Anyway Gentlemen how I am pleased to hear such awesome reasons to find gold.. Well I suspect I am fighting a losing battle..Small scale prospecting is dead..Now just recreational! I can not say I am happy with this new trend..It seems more emphasis is on the recreational part of mining then the actual knowledge of prospecting. Well its a sighn of the times.. Anyway I guess it was an easy assumption to make that people still wished to keep small scale prospecting alive. That they wished to do it well.
More interested in finding gold and getting better at it. But I suppose it just aint so.. It's a Hobby and I guess I was to niave to see it as any thing else..
Well no doubt the only real succsefull people in the small scale prospecting world will be the people mining the recreational prospectors.
Gentlemen just one other thing.. Most of you admit that its for the experience the serenity stress relief ect ect ect.. So if this the case what does it matter if dredging illegal.. What does it matter if you got a shovel and sluice instead of a backhoe and trommel. If it aint about the money and more for the fun/family time ect ect then why take it to an extreme. If u aint worried or interested inn the profit then why make use all this stuff to help your gold recovery.. The more I think about it the more I wonder what really motivates people?? Why why why?? Why dredge if not wanting to make a buck..IT FUN!! Not a very good reason in my opionon.. Anyway just some food food thought..

Victor...I would bring ANY tools to a site I found worthy...barring claims...and dredge or sluice. I know how to keep a low profile. It's just I haven't (yet) found the kind of gold that would "corrupt" me to break the law. I wouldn't deface the environment for any reason in the world, but the rest of the BS can kiss my a**. Begging for forgiveness rather than asking permission has worked quite well for me over the years, especially when you have prepared for it. The only thing that confines me is age, abilities and obligations. If I was single and no one to look after, I'd be out there everyday. But for me, it's not about the money anymore. I realized THAT when I saw my first flakes of gold in a my pan. It means more to me to find it than to cash it in.

 

[Jeff95531]

Marshall,

You bring up an extraordinarily good point. Small scale mining might be dying, but those who are doing it should keep it alive. This goes for me I'm not sure about everyone else, but this is my thought. If I could I would do mining for a living. If I could go out and do that everyday to get money and experience I would. But I'm a kid and I have a whole life ahead of me. I have other interests I want to follow. I want to serve. People have other priorities than mining. They get interested at an age where they might have a job, wife, and kids. They are never thinking of leaving there job to do mining, it almost would seem silly to them. Hell later on they might want to, but they probably won't. They will mine for the fun or the experience.

My opinion:

Unlike you most of us probably can't do mining for a living and they might just want to do it on the side. You are a strong person, you are A small scale miner and you always will be. Don't say you do it for recreation, because is that the truth? What are you really doing it for? I myself would never call myself a small scale miner cause that's not true. I don't do it everyday or even once a week. More like once a month. Then this raises the question what is it I do it for? And what would I call it? If we look at the definition of Hobby, then that would be what non small scale miners should call it. What would that do to you? What would it do to us if we were to call it that?

To us who say we don't do it for the money, then we shouldn't Bi*** about dredges being illegal. I can see what Marshall is saying. Why the hell should we care? Why should we fight it if the overall ban only affects us by not being able to dredge. But for those who do it for a living it matters too much to them. They have a lot more to worry about. Their production of gold will plummet. So to simply answer you question Marshall, it does not matter. Unless we are small scale miners. Now I must remind you all that this is not my opinion.

I now admit that one of the reasons for mining is for the money. Money can be what partly drives me to mine. But it's not the only reason why I mine. It's not the center of the reason, but only part of the reason. I would say that if I could dredge I would do it for the money and to be outdoors. Your opinion is right to me. Why would you do it for the fun of it? It really is a dumb reason to dredge.

This is my opinion on what you said. I beleive that you Marshall are right. Your points make sense and truly are correct. This is my opinion and only my opinion. Thanks for sharing your thoughts to us Marshall. To me it has been an eye opener onto the reasons why I mine for gold.

Thanks to you.

You're pretty sharp for a kid. Beware of females...gold fever is very similar

 

[mxer47]

I find the key to my search is freedom. There is real freedom in the work done, for me there is no right or wrong. Just lessons learned and then tried to not repeat. No one telling me what to do just you guys with some helpful suggestions (thank you). Of course the freedom of the wild river where I search, weather at the end of a nozzle on a hot July day or a hike up a side wash during a snow storm to retrieve a 5 gallon sample all in the hope of a strike worth modest financial win fall that would lead to financial freedom. I live in an area where gold strikes are few and far between so finds are small in value yet there are few things I value more due to the difficulties involved.

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

You're pretty sharp for a kid. Beware of females...gold fever is very similar

oh c'mon we're teenagers what do you expect?
do you think we say girls have cooties?