Harumph

MadMarshall

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Tuolumne

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ha ha, I loved his comment 38 minutes in about Humboldt State majors getting depressed when their Natural Resources degree doesn't pan out ha ha, funny! Now you know its not just the uniform that makes the BLM people depressed:)
 

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MadMarshall

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What exactly did you find wrong with it Victor?

For me I just see it as lying. I have been prospecting for a number of years. Simple truth there are recreational miners. Gold clubs are all recreational. I have never met a member that claimed to be anything but recreational well until recently now that these Recreational clubs are advocating "RECREATION" as a bad word.. And its been my experience that RECREATIONAL MINERS use the land different then individuals who actually wish to profit in mining. Land use is distinctly different. Everything is different.. NOTICABLY DIFFERENT....
For me Mining Law intent gives the prudent man an opportunity to make money mining. PRETTY SIMPLE..

Just think at this moment Shannon is up in AZ dredging recreationally. I was looking forward to seeing his cleanups as they said they were doin it live every night after running.. No vids of any gold yet.. I figure they got some SALTING to do and editing.. Lets face it Recreationalist are good for the community and spending money but seriously I doubt they broke even, Well I suppose it all profit for Shannon I'm sure AMRA pays for travel food gas and exspense for Shannon. NON PROFITS what a great Hustle ..

The Mariposa Mining District is nothing but a HOAX . the fact that individuals like Robert who take no heed to actually learn about the things they try to organize is disturbing. Look at the RIGHTTOMINE website Look at the Miningdistricts website . all the very same as when they were first created. they will not be updated nor are they anything but a SALES TOOL . Halfass 'ing it the whole way.. How many non profits and groups have Robert Alone started? Truth is their money to be made in activism. Groups like AMRA individuals like Robert exploit this. They exploit people not minerals. I personally feel they are no better then snake oil dealers . Faith healers CONMEN.. For me the only thing they do is further spread ignorance and dilute the actual qualities that make a miner a miner..
Anyway I got lots more to say on the topic but I got stuff I got to do Ill try to chime in again tonight Thursday or Friday I am headed back out for 5 days..
 

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Tuolumne

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I think robert does deserve credit for putting on the best gold show Ive ever been to in sonora, really cool in all aspects to the demos, speakers, blasting rocks, panning, metal detecting area and competitions, heck even farmers market stands and great food:) Maybe someone will man a tnet booth and facebook it live LOL!
 

Jeff95531

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For me I just see it as lying. I have been prospecting for a number of years. Simple truth there are recreational miners. Gold clubs are all recreational. I have never met a member that claimed to be anything but recreational well until recently now that these Recreational clubs are advocating "RECREATION" as a bad word.. And its been my experience that RECREATIONAL MINERS use the land different then individuals who actually wish to profit in mining. Land use is distinctly different. Everything is different.. NOTICABLY DIFFERENT....
For me Mining Law intent gives the prudent man an opportunity to make money mining. PRETTY SIMPLE..

Just think at this moment Shannon is up in AZ dredging recreationally. I was looking forward to seeing his cleanups as they said they were doin it live every night after running.. No vids of any gold yet.. I figure they got some SALTING to do and editing.. Lets face it Recreationalist are good for the community and spending money but seriously I doubt they broke even, Well I suppose it all profit for Shannon I'm sure AMRA pays for travel food gas and exspense for Shannon. NON PROFITS what a great Hustle ..

The Mariposa Mining District is nothing but a HOAX . the fact that individuals like Robert who take no heed to actually learn about the things they try to organize is disturbing. Look at the RIGHTTOMINE website Look at the Miningdistricts website . all the very same as when they were first created. they will not be updated nor are they anything but a SALES TOOL . Halfass 'ing it the whole way.. How many non profits and groups have Robert Alone started? Truth is their money to be made in activism. Groups like AMRA individuals like Robert exploit this. They exploit people not minerals. I personally feel they are no better then snake oil dealers . Faith healers CONMEN.. For me the only thing they do is further spread ignorance and dilute the actual qualities that make a miner a miner..
Anyway I got lots more to say on the topic but I got stuff I got to do Ill try to chime in again tonight Thursday or Friday I am headed back out for 5 days..

Thank you Victor. I'm always curious and always learning. That said, the show itself was dumbed down a bit...to appeal to a broader audience to be sure and in that effort, I think he stated some positive facts about us (and land grabs) that the layman didn't know anything about and that maybe he/she should. :icon_thumleft:

Good luck and stay safe. Shoot some vids for us.:occasion14:
 

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goldenIrishman

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Harumph! That man ^^^ didn't give Victor a Harumph! (See Blazing Saddles for reference)


Don't you just love it when people start talking about things that they really don't have a full understanding of?

Some people seem to think that using the term "Recreational" when discussing mining is alright. By using that word in my mind we are giving the greenies more ammo to be used against us. To put it into a broadcast like that is not the wisest thing to be doing!
 

Goldfleks

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For me I just see it as lying. I have been prospecting for a number of years. Simple truth there are recreational miners. Gold clubs are all recreational. I have never met a member that claimed to be anything but recreational well until recently now that these Recreational clubs are advocating "RECREATION" as a bad word.. And its been my experience that RECREATIONAL MINERS use the land different then individuals who actually wish to profit in mining. Land use is distinctly different. Everything is different.. NOTICABLY DIFFERENT....
For me Mining Law intent gives the prudent man an opportunity to make money mining. PRETTY SIMPLE..

I went back and forth on this for a while when I first got into prospecting. Looking at all the area's around me in southern CA that were claimed up, while at the same time showed no active mining being done on them. Which was frustrating as a greenie, because all I wanted to do was put my box in the water and run some local dirt but couldn't without breaking mining claim laws.

It all felt pretty unfair.

And the answers were all the same. Either go stake your own, which is kinda difficult when every plot of land on the only local river is already claimed up. Or buy a claim from someone for some outrageous price. Which would just be a loss because they are asking way more than the ground is actually worth. Bottom line, most ground really isn't worth mining for a profit. Because if it was, some company would already be mining it (they already did). Most of the ground we're mining today isn't worth the spot value of the gold, which is why, "PayDirt" has become so popular. Sell .25 worth of gold for $5.00.

Most of the ground mined in the past was only worth mining when you could hydrolic mine the sides of the mountain for such a low cost/yard to make it profitable. I look at the ground I sluice on up in San Gabriel. It's on an old hydrolic mining claim from the past. I've probably run 100 buckets at least, if not more, for what? Half a gram of gold. That dirt produces what? 1 gram a yard? You coudn't even mine that ground with heavy machinery and cover fuel costs. I think the only person who could mine San Gabriel if they had the permission would be Todd Hoffman. Since all of his opperations opperate successfully at a loss.

Remember, Mining the Miners has ALWAYS been profitable. Makes sense that creating a mining club and mining the miners is the only profitable way to make money on such low paying dirt. Shannon get's to collect his paycheck from AMRA, which is probably WAY more $ a year than he could EVER pull from the ground, even if he dredged 24 hours a day 365/year. And families across the country get access to claims all over the country. It's a Win/Win for Shannon and AMRA under current mining laws.

Now if you want my opinion on current mining laws well that's completely different.

I personally think that unless you're activly mining a claim for PROFIT, than you shouldn't be able to squat on a claim. Which would probably open up acres and acres of land across the country for "recreational" prospecting because tons of claims would become invalid. I personally don't think that John Doe should be able to lock me out of 20 acres of river because he bought the claim off EBay for a couple grand and wants to reserve it for his personal use on Labor Day weekend every year. I also think that this same John Doe wouldn't see any reduction in his enjoyment of the SAME land if the river was open to everyone to run some dirt in. Why? Because it's not profitable land. The value of that claim is in the enjoyment the claim owner gets from the camping, the vacation time, whatever, and the little flash in their pan they get when they are done. But when it's all said and done, if you added up all the costs associated with mining that land on Labor Day: The drive out, the fuel costs, the time spent, etc there is no REAL profit. It's a HOBBY.

I'm not a member of AMRA or any local clubs. I'm not stupid. I know that if I spend the $100 to get access to those clubs claims, I'm going to dig up the SAME 1 gram a yard that I dig up in San Gabriel. Most ground just isn't profitable to mine. And after fuel/food/time costs I'm not going to be in the black, even if I mined on club claims 8 hours a day like a regular job. I doubt I could even recover the $2500 if I mined daily for the rest of my lift.

Because lets be real. If Shannon (or any of these clubs) had claim's that actually PAID. Well you and I both know that members of AMRA aren't getting access to them.
 

N-Lionberger

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A gram per yard is pretty good dirt! Alot of mechanized operations profitably work dirt with way less than that. Not all clubs charge the same amount and not all claims are alike.
 

mytimetoshine

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I went back and forth on this for a while when I first got into prospecting. Looking at all the area's around me in southern CA that were claimed up, while at the same time showed no active mining being done on them. Which was frustrating as a greenie, because all I wanted to do was put my box in the water and run some local dirt but couldn't without breaking mining claim laws.

It all felt pretty unfair.

And the answers were all the same. Either go stake your own, which is kinda difficult when every plot of land on the only local river is already claimed up. Or buy a claim from someone for some outrageous price. Which would just be a loss because they are asking way more than the ground is actually worth. Bottom line, most ground really isn't worth mining for a profit. Because if it was, some company would already be mining it (they already did). Most of the ground we're mining today isn't worth the spot value of the gold, which is why, "PayDirt" has become so popular. Sell .25 worth of gold for $5.00.

Most of the ground mined in the past was only worth mining when you could hydrolic mine the sides of the mountain for such a low cost/yard to make it profitable. I look at the ground I sluice on up in San Gabriel. It's on an old hydrolic mining claim from the past. I've probably run 100 buckets at least, if not more, for what? Half a gram of gold. That dirt produces what? 1 gram a yard? You coudn't even mine that ground with heavy machinery and cover fuel costs. I think the only person who could mine San Gabriel if they had the permission would be Todd Hoffman. Since all of his opperations opperate successfully at a loss.

Remember, Mining the Miners has ALWAYS been profitable. Makes sense that creating a mining club and mining the miners is the only profitable way to make money on such low paying dirt. Shannon get's to collect his paycheck from AMRA, which is probably WAY more $ a year than he could EVER pull from the ground, even if he dredged 24 hours a day 365/year. And families across the country get access to claims all over the country. It's a Win/Win for Shannon and AMRA under current mining laws.

Now if you want my opinion on current mining laws well that's completely different.

I personally think that unless you're activly mining a claim for PROFIT, than you shouldn't be able to squat on a claim. Which would probably open up acres and acres of land across the country for "recreational" prospecting because tons of claims would become invalid. I personally don't think that John Doe should be able to lock me out of 20 acres of river because he bought the claim off EBay for a couple grand and wants to reserve it for his personal use on Labor Day weekend every year. I also think that this same John Doe wouldn't see any reduction in his enjoyment of the SAME land if the river was open to everyone to run some dirt in. Why? Because it's not profitable land. The value of that claim is in the enjoyment the claim owner gets from the camping, the vacation time, whatever, and the little flash in their pan they get when they are done. But when it's all said and done, if you added up all the costs associated with mining that land on Labor Day: The drive out, the fuel costs, the time spent, etc there is no REAL profit. It's a HOBBY.

I'm not a member of AMRA or any local clubs. I'm not stupid. I know that if I spend the $100 to get access to those clubs claims, I'm going to dig up the SAME 1 gram a yard that I dig up in San Gabriel. Most ground just isn't profitable to mine. And after fuel/food/time costs I'm not going to be in the black, even if I mined on club claims 8 hours a day like a regular job. I doubt I could even recover the $2500 if I mined daily for the rest of my lift.

Because lets be real. If Shannon (or any of these clubs) had claim's that actually PAID. Well you and I both know that members of AMRA aren't getting access to them.
Hit the nail on the head!

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Clay Diggins

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Goldfleks you are at the point so many reach where just a little color on a weekend isn't good enough. Good for you. Now get a dose of mining reality and stop blaming other miners for the gap in your understanding of how you get from here to there. If I had a dime for every newbie that wanted to "fix" mining by changing the location laws I would never have to work again.

As you are discovering paying gold is pretty rare stuff. You probably already figured out that's why it costs so much. It's hard work to produce on even the best paying ground. I have friends that mine ounces a week but their hands are rough and their backs are sore. They didn't get that way on weekends or by running big diesel excavators. There are incredible opportunities for the small gold miners in the western states. There is no competition from the big mining companies and with a small investment you can raise a family and have a good life from just two or three small deposits. Put your kids through college and buy braces and new cars when needed. Get rich? Maybe but if that's your goal you might consider another profession. It happens but it's not something you can plan for as a small miner.

I won't touch ground for less than 3 grams a yard. Any small miner that tells you they make a profit at one gram a yard is either a dreamer or a Hoffman. There are plenty of areas that produce three grams and more. It's the more we are always looking for. If you continue to work river bottoms you will continue to get sloppy thirds. It's been done - to death. Look up and look smart or you will always be "recreational". Most of the gold on earth has never seen a riverbed.

It's tougher work up higher and drier but unless you are willing to find a paying deposit before you dig you aren't much of a prospector. If you insist on only working where there is running water you will always be digging 1/2 gram dirt. Get out of the river and stop digging 1/2 gram dirt. Your complaints are about what you are doing - not what is realistically possible. Step back and look at how often you dig with the hope that the pay will get better the more you dig. Hope doesn't get good gold - smart prospecting does.

Mining claims are often located for that 3 grams or better. Some members here easily get three grams a yard from their claims but they would be foolish to announce that publicly. If you had three claims that produced three grams or better would you be working all three at once? No you would reserve two of those claims for later - as in when the current one plays out or the season changes. Assuming claim owners are just digging on labor day is ignoring the fact that most miners don't want to be around when the weekend recreational prospector is digging their half gram.

Sometimes the perspective of the amateur colors their vision of the professional. If doctors just worked for free 2 days a week I'm sure you would only get sick or injured on those two days. If race car drivers just pushed the gas pedal harder they would win more races. If miners would just give up the claims they aren't digging at the moment you too could be a miner.

Don't see this as a put down. Try to understand these words as inspiration to do better.

Be more organized, research before you go, sample sample sample when you get there. Sample logically and keep track of your results.
Stop digging behind the boulder or on the inside bend, you aren't there to make a killing in a few hours you are there to discover a viable deposit.
Sample logically in a reproducible pattern. Map and quantify your samples, you'd be surprised how often that alone will tell you where to dig and where to not dig.
If your sample is more than the size of a sandwich baggie you aren't sampling, you are mining for no reason.
Look for unclaimed areas and assess their mineral potential before you even think about loading up the truck or planning your supplies.
Let the deposit determine the method. Limiting yourself to sluicing limits you to where every other monkey dug when they got there.
Stop working easy and start working smart. Assuming the last guy left good gold in his tailings isn't smart - it's lazy and it shows a misunderstanding of the skills of those who went before you.
If you are digging loose dirt you are in the wrong place.
When you go out to prospect have a plan and stick to it. Don't plan on mining on prospecting days and don't plan on mining until your prospecting shows you an area worth digging.

Once you find a good deposit claim it! And then find another you can work off season. And then come back here and tell us how the mining laws need changing because nobody needs more than one claim if they aren't mining them.

There are other ways to go than discover a deposit, claim it and mine it. Some folks like MadMarshal do OK just sniping the public areas - it's a skill. Others hire out to small miners for a cut of the take. There is always the possibility of hiring your labor and skills to an established large mine. Probably not what you are looking for in your situation but they are reasonable possibilities.

Heavy Pans
 

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MadMarshall

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You know what makes Mineral Rights so cool..
Its that no matter what walk of life you come from whether you got a buck in your pocket or a million bucks you are afforded the same opportunity as equals to find and exploit the minerals of our nation to make a living of his choosing from his labor..
lets keep it that way!!
Mining rights will be lost to prudent men who wishes to exploit the minerals for a wage.. Pretty soon Artisan Miners will not be able to compete with recreationalist.. And largely due to the very advocates who claim to be preserving mining rights..
 

Goldfleks

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Actually Clay, I think we're on the same page. I think any miner who has a claim they are actively working for a profit, should completely keep that claim. I fully support small scale miners who have located paying claims and are profiting from them. That's what the system is all about.

What I don't support, is squatting on claims for labor day weekend prospecting once a year. I think that goes against the spirit of the system. That land should be available to be located/worked by someone looking to make a living mining.
 

rodoconnor

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There are many claims that are passed onto family members. So and so's grandfather established the claim and fed his family through the Depression , for instance. They may not be currently worked but the minerals still belong to the family. The Prudent Man principle may apply at this current moment in time ,however there is no time limit on that clause. There may be minerals present that are worthless now, but in 5 or 10 years may be of value. The price of gold may skyrocket. A lot of factors.
 

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Tuolumne

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if gold goes up everyone is in the money, right now gold is 40$ a gram, what if it was 100$ a gram? thats not far off and that would make any recreational gold club member or weekend warrior claim owner a profit on top of gas and expenses if they only get .5-1 gram during a trip.... most major mining operations also mothball operations when prices go down so do we get mad at big operations for sitting on the deposits till prices go up? My right to mine my claim or not to mine does not stop when others feelings get hurt:)

I get what your saying Goldflecks, people game the system and then they tell you should quite whining and hate the game not the player crap..... paper claimers and people who have their limit of claims and dont mine them are always looking for the next prospect to jump, ditch, and switch. You can look up the names of tnet members on here and they and their wives have 6 claims each, all donated to Amra, and lord knows no one is mining those claims but once or twice a year for the .5-1 gram take.

But hey if I donate crappy claim to Amra I get access to all of their good claims right?:) one big scheme -Thats the game they play and keep the donations coming LOL
 

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Goldfleks

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But hey if I donate crappy claim to Amra I get access to all of their good claims right?:) one big scheme -Thats the game they play and keep the donations coming LOL

LOL... Maybe we should all become AMRA members right now just in case gold gets back to $5000/ounce ;)
 

Goldwasher

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It takes a lot of time in a spot to sample effectively.
A major benefit of a good claim. Is the info you can compile with the relative security of knowing it your info and work your building on.

Even a claim with 3 gram a yard dirt could have a lot of 2 gram ,half gram and maybe holy crap gram.
You can't just drive to them in most cases.
Our claim dries up real soon. The the gold is mainly on the hillside though experience and finds seem to reveal that were only dealing with sloppy seconds and a lot of missed good gold, in the creek.
Though I'm pretty sure the ground was crazy rich to start with.
I plan on seriously prospecting the hillsides during the summer and fall. It's been hard to leave the creek.Recent uphill finds are motivating me to do so.
If we could run a plant and a small machine to help move and stock pile material we would kill it.
I will have a claim in one of the more small scale production friendly states in ten years.
Thanks to the system being the way it is I can hold a claim explore and plan.
None of that needs to change.
I participate in the political doing as much as I can, as an individual I preach to people to learn and do the same.
I don't think clubs or groups can fix it per se. Though they are populated by quite a number of people who are putting real effort into preserving and fighting to basically keep things the same, so we can keep it that way.
I can't say that anyone on the "recreational" side I's doing it naming it or forming the whatever it is' to "ruin" mining

I hold it against them for being doofus's about it.

I just figure the more people I can convince that they don't NEED to join a club to find ground then I'm doing the best I can.
Yet, if someone wants to for a way to meet people learn things about the where's and how's so be it.
Good for them if they want to actually be one of the smarter one's around the campfire at the end of the day.
 

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mytimetoshine

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I think the point that was being made was. Why do people claim 1/2 gram a yard ground in the first place? Every post has concluded that less than 2 or 3 grams a yard is not profitable and dare I say... Recreational. So they are basically glorified camping spots. I don't think anybody is against mining claims or mineral rights. I know im not.. if I ever found something worth claiming (to me) I would want my rights protected.

I may not mine for a living, but I'm a business man and why would you even pay the couple hundred bucks a year for the claim if it's non paying ground?!? That's where the confusion comes in...it doesn't make any sense.

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Goldfleks

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I think the point that was being made was. Why do people claim 1/2 gram a yard ground in the first place? Every post has concluded that less than 2 or 3 grams a yard is not profitable and dare I say... Recreational. So they are basically glorified camping spots. I don't think anybody is against mining claims or mineral rights. I know im not.. if I ever found something worth claiming (to me) I would want my rights protected.

I may not mine for a living, but I'm a business man and why would you even pay the couple hundred bucks a year for the claim if it's non paying ground?!? That's where the confusion comes in...it doesn't make any sense.

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This is exactly what I'm getting at.
 

Goldwasher

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i just figure it doesn't really matter if someone is paying for ground to camp on. If it isn't paying ground so what really.Not saying it's right. I check that of in the "bureaucracey" getting money money and looking the other way sort of thing..Think about it they wouldn't want that to stop.

Are we trying to paint the picture that a bunch of weekenders willing to pay to use non paying ground is the reason small scale mining has any of the issues it has?

I just can't find my brush.
 

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