What Off Limit Places Would You Wish to Mine?

[Nitric]

A while back I read some article that said under one city was a vein 2ft thick! Now, that article could be completely bogus, but got me thinking....

What places In the U.S. are off limits for whatever reason, if you could, would you like to mine?

Another example is a hardrock mine not too far from me. In that mine, they showed us the gold bearing rock, They are not allowed to touch it! So, it was turned into a tourist place..

I'm sure this is like this in many places!

Ok, just for fun, under what city,Housing development,military base etc... or for whatever ever reason......., what dirt or rock would you like to get your hands on that is "off limits"?

 

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[ratled]

I would like to dredge CA.. ...............What, not like you didn't see that one coming!!!!!

ratled

 

[Nitric]

To take this a step further a friend and I were talking on the phone, about some areas that the old timers pulled a lot of gold using methods that aren't allowed today. Which stinks!!!! It's there! Again....Just can't touch it with anything that will be productive.

 

[Nitric]

I would like to dredge CA.. ...............What, not like you didn't see that one coming!!!!!

ratled

Sure I did!! I didn't get my last post in fast enough!!!

 

[BrassEagle]

Fort Knox. I have heard there may still be some good gold in the ground.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

When they were building a local interstate in the 1970's, they hit a fat gold vein in one of the rock cuts. They stopped construction for a day or so to determine if it was worthy of pursuing, then covered it up with grout. Nearby (within 1/4 mile) they found another vein while coring for a foundation study. All within the state right of way.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Also for some people there are no places "off limits". Just ask the people that snorkel and snipe the bedrock on my family's river claims.
Or the ones that pan out the bedrock cracks. They are there just one day, then move on to someone else's claim.

 

[ratled]

To answer your intent I would like to work under the city of Nome. When public works does a digging project they take the sluff off so folks can run it through a high banker

about some areas that the old timers pulled a lot of gold using methods that aren't allowed today. Which stinks!!!! It's there! Again....Just can't touch it with anything that will be productive.

You mean like suction dredging in CA (I'm sorry, I just can't help myself sometimes. Who knows what today will bring!)

ratled

 

[rodoconnor]

I would love to dredge the Feather River Canyon

 

[KevinInColorado]

The ground under south downtown Breckenridge with a big dredge. It's still virgin! Have to move a couple hotels but hey, there's big gold!

 

[Nitric]

That's another interesting thing trying to learn some of this stuff, A lot of mines weren't played out, they were forced to close for whatever reason, WWII. then never reopened because of something else that now made them gov owned.....Clean up? and it was cheaper to hand it over? I don't know, I got confused.

I can't remember details, anyone that knows what I'm talking about may understand the above jumble!

But some of those would be fun to check out.....

 

[Jason in Enid]

That's another interesting thing trying to learn some of this stuff, A lot of mines weren't played out, they were forced to close for whatever reason, WWII. then never reopened because of something else that now made them gov owned.....Clean up? and it was cheaper to hand it over? I don't know, I got confused.

I can't remember details, anyone that knows what I'm talking about may understand the above jumble!

But some of those would be fun to check out.....

Understand completely! during the war, the only mines allowed to remain open were the ones vital to the war effort: copper, iron, nickel, etc. All others closed and often the miners had no choice but to enlist in the military to keep eating and getting paid. After the war, most smaller mines never reopened. Not that they werent paying, but people moved, hard to find workers, owners died or gave up, etc. result is that there are many mines still ready to produce but abandoned and ultimately blasted shut. Just waiting to be re-opened and worked (if anyone can get epa and govt permissions)

 

[KevinInColorado]

The miners were not forced into the military even financially speaking. They were crucial to the war effort as miners so for the most part they moved to mines that were producing strategic minerals. Many of the mines, left alone for four-five years flooded, timber started to rot, and so they were considered unsafe and it wasn't worth the money to retimber and reopen so they remain today waiting for someone who thinks it's worth the time and money.

Since the rise in gold prices over the last decade a few mines have reopened in central Colorado.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Understand completely! during the war, the only mines allowed to remain open were the ones vital to the war effort: copper, iron, nickel, etc. All others closed and often the miners had no choice but to enlist in the military to keep eating and getting paid. After the war, most smaller mines never reopened. Not that they werent paying, but people moved, hard to find workers, owners died or gave up, etc. result is that there are many mines still ready to produce but abandoned and ultimately blasted shut. Just waiting to be re-opened and worked (if anyone can get epa and govt permissions)

Also it is worth noting that many of the small mines were blasted shut when they were abandoned during the war effort.

The tunnels quickly flooded and the shoring , which was usually trunks of trees found locally, quickly rotted making the tunnels unsafe.

The expense of pumping tunnels and replacing timber shoring was out of the reach for many miners after the war.

 

[ratled]

That's another interesting thing trying to learn some of this stuff, A lot of mines weren't played out, they were forced to close for whatever reason, WWII. then never reopened because of something else that now made them gov owned.....Clean up? and it was cheaper to hand it over? I don't know, I got confused.

I can't remember details, anyone that knows what I'm talking about may understand the above jumble!
But some of those would be fun to check out.....

Don't forget that the first Clinton took a lot of roads and mines off the FS/BLM maps just for this reason. If you are serious I would try and gets maps that would pre date that era

ratled

 

[Nitric]

Don't forget that the first Clinton took a lot of roads and mines off the FS/BLM maps just for this reason. If you are serious I would try and gets maps that would pre date that era

ratled

You bring up something interesting....I'm sure(well think at least) I know where there is one or two that are not listed anywhere......I can see the ponds, I can see where it was dug, but can not find what kind of mine it was......I have even found rock piles, that are about 6 to 8 inch chunks. I asked the land owner and he had no clue...The rock piles might be explained from farming, but there just seems more to it....I can't get close enough to the ponds because they are on another property now. Fenced in, and I never tracked down owner..But just kind of makes you wonder what was never documented or documents lost, or........I don't think this was a gold mine, but who knows! There was a copper mine within a few miles.....

Anyhow, maybe I just have a vivid imagination, but you can almost stand back after walking it and kind of lay it out. I haven't been back this summer yet, I didn't want to over do my permission that was super hard to get!! It took a lot of talking to get the guy to say ok...It was a 45 min absolute no, then he broke!! So, I don't want to over do it and get it taken away!

 

[Clay Diggins]

Understand completely! during the war, the only mines allowed to remain open were the ones vital to the war effort: copper, iron, nickel, etc. All others closed and often the miners had no choice but to enlist in the military to keep eating and getting paid. After the war, most smaller mines never reopened. Not that they werent paying, but people moved, hard to find workers, owners died or gave up, etc. result is that there are many mines still ready to produce but abandoned and ultimately blasted shut. Just waiting to be re-opened and worked (if anyone can get epa and govt permissions)

Small Gold mines were not closed by the government during the war. There were restrictions on how much mining could be done in gold mines but the government didn't order any mines closed.

I know of no mines blasted shut by the government during that period. They had other uses for the manpower and explosives and didn't have any right to control mining then. Some mine owners closed off high paying shafts to prevent theft while the mine was idle but that was usually done by installing locking gates. Most mine access gates I've seen are from that era.

I'm thinking the lack of available labor (due to the war) followed by the GI Bill did more to close small mines than any other factor. With free tuition to college, a year of free unemployment, mortgage assistance and low interest business loans returning soldiers had little incentive to return to their mining or agricultural jobs. Add in a controlled gold market, a slump in metals prices, the already mentioned cost of restoring abandoned mines and the second golden age of gold mining in the United States was dead by the end of WWII.

You can download and read the government War Powers Board Limitation Order, L-208 Gold Mining at Land Matters.

Heavy Pans

 

[rodoconnor]

Before China Lake Naval Base at Ridgecrest Kal seized a few 100 thousand acres that was a very rich area.

 

[Reed Lukens]

They were blasted shut by the owners. Lots of them right here in my area. I've re-opened one myself. Many had some small crawl holes dug into the top for access but in the last 5 years the guv has sealed many of them. I got lots of gold and raised my kids in the mines along Yankee Jim's Rd. Last year the guv came in and sealed them all and put animal vents in the front...

 

[57chevy]

I would get a very good underwater dredge and go behind the Oroville California dam. And when I was through there I would dig up the town of Oroville.

Then I would hit the Malakoff Diggins.