Why do you prospect for gold?

[Tahoegold]

The reason why I prospect is to get rich! Ha! The excuse I use is it gets me out of the house and keeps me in shape. Prospecting is hard work and lots of moving around, hiking, digging, adventure, with the possibility of rewards! I met one guy that has sold more gold than I could ever know, but made more on the gravel he supplied from his land. After seeing that, I thought, how can I retire on finding a nice pile of Gold? It would have to be pounds. I've heard of quarts having gold and sliced into pieces going for hundreds of thousands. That was discovered on an existing claim using a professional geologist to map the vein. Still, the guy that owned the claim had so much money already that it was a fraction of his worth. So, what was the allure? Fun, personal conquest? The average prospector is getting a gram if they are lucky in an outing I think, of course, no one in their right mind would admit to more if they really found a pile.
I also know of a guy that found 10 lbs and someone came in and dug his unclaimed spot 10ft across and 15 ft deep. He had gone only 5ft. It was all gone. He never found out how someone discovered his site.
Prospecting is dangerous and attracts the larcenous qualities in people.
In the turn of the century, 1900s, there was a certain kind of miner that only liked gold hard rock mining. In WWII, America hijacked these miners for nickle and other metals for the war effort. It didn't work out well, the miners weren't motivated.
So, those who have claims, mines etc, why do you do it? Is it your way of making a living? If so, is it fun?
What motivates you to do this? How do you prospect? What is your goal?

 

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[IMAUDIGGER]

Gold certainly does have value sitting in vials in a shelf!
It's a savings, an investment. It's like hay the never goes bad and is extremely inexpensive to store.
You can barter with it as well.

However until it's in vials sitting on your shelf, it has very limited value.

 

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[IMAUDIGGER]

I enjoy the time alone in the outdoors. It takes me into some places I would not otherwise have a reason to go.
Usually there is a historical connection as well and I enjoy that.

I'm doing something that most people only see on TV.

 

[OreCart]

Hi Ore cart, I believe that you have a point when it comes to a market point of view...

Yes, that is very true.

Here it is lobstering, but like you, we went fishing and hauled the limit and ended up with $18,000 for 3 days work. I do not have a picture of that, but I do of a 12 pound lobster that we had to throw back!! So I do know what you are saying.

One thing I really did fail to say though, is that prospecting is a great family outing and a great way to get kids off their electronics and get outside. If it ever stops snowing (a fresh 4 inches today) I might take the kids panning.

 

[Tahoegold]

That thing is huge! Congratulations! And you've got a nice photo to rmemebr! Yep, there's a million reasons other than money to to this thing.... However.. It's fun to have the DREAM!! And fun sharing the dream with friends and family!

 

[gold tramp]

Sell it, save it, I do it because it makes my hand look so damn good.
Gt.....

 

[N-Lionberger]

There is prospecting and then there is mining. I have a spot that I'm mining but it is higher up there in elevation and as of checking yesterday the road is still snowed in. I get the itch and it needs scratching, researching locations that aren't snowed in then go in and sample around finding where the gold is and in what kind of quantities, if it looks good maybe take a bulk sample with a river sluice. I have a good time with it out in nature and aren't super concerned with making wages the pay off for me in prospecting is the knowledge gained, mining is a little different.

 

[AllenJ]

Bottom line for me is it's way more fun to be in the mountains doing something then it is to be home doing nothing. The exercise is needed, I enjoy doing it, and who knows maybe someday I'll find enough gold to actually pay me back for all the stuff I've purchased for prospecting!

 

[Tahoegold]

Bottom line for me is it's way more fun to be in the mountains doing something then it is to be home doing nothing. The exercise is needed, I enjoy doing it, and who knows maybe someday I'll find enough gold to actually pay me back for all the stuff I've purchased for prospecting!

Zactly AllenJ!
I got my "gym" as my gold sluice in the mountains!! Better than my Bowflex! (the bowflex is actually really better though!) I took a peek at my last pan of concentrates and just KNEW it was the best I had done in this area with lots of super fine gold and occasionally a poker or a picker. The next phase of fun is having a beer when it's raining and I can't go outside, using the clean up sluice and finding out the weight. Because I have some concentrates from prospecting!! I'm thinking I've found a little "streak" and need to keep prospecting/mine the spot to see what it may lead to. Heck yeah, gets me outside. Gives me motivation to excercise. Makes me think of what I can do to improve my technique. Plus, I can have evidence of my progress. And, like some have said, the great memories I'll have about the whole prospecting thing. Yep, just plain fun! Still, I'm dreaming of the "pocket" or the "big nugget"! He he he! I like Jeff's attitude.."Come own... Lets Go"! Funny guy!

 

[seafox]

There's Hope it's fun to get out I love being in the mountains in a busy life with working for many people it's really nice just have working on one thing there's pitting your skill against the and knowledge against the the mystery of where gold will be found and maybe I'm a little autistic but somehow I've shoveled dirt and I've shoveled gravel and I've shoveled garbage and finding something making a game out of it makes what some would say it's hard work so much easier somehow gravel with gold in it doesn't seem as heavy as dirt with garbage in it

 

[63bkpkr]

Hi Tahoegold,
I enjoy exploring the back country and have been rewarded with some amazing natural finds, I'm talking about streams, waterfalls, amazing strange rock formations vast expanses seen from a high ridge line and the like. I also enjoy the search for the gold because it takes me into some amazing country, then there is the time that a large flat flake sits there on the input flare end of the old A2 sluice box and I sit there mesmerized watching it wobbling back and forth.

IF I keep up with me diet & exercise program I should be able to get out after the snows melt in the NorCal Sierras. I am looking very forward to making this happen!........Cheers!.......63bkpkr

 

[gold tramp]

View attachment 1700739
Sell it, save it, I do it because it makes my hand look so damn good.
Gt.....

I was just funnin, prospecting is my job I don't find much, not rich and don't have any trophy gold,
At the end of the day I'm a miner. Dirt poor and broke down.

So I prospect because I'm trying to find gold, thats what prospectors do .not out there sight seeing, can do that on the drive home.

Gt .......

 

[Tahoegold]

We have expenses to get the gold so, we basically are putting money into a savings acct if we even get enough to break even. So, putting that gold in our piggy bank so to speak, is just trading gas costs, equipment costs etc for the chance to store our worth in a mineral. And also, get healthy, have fun, have some stories to share. Spend time in the outdoors. Heres what happens in the big time world of mining. This change happened in the 90s.

"A new metric has since been developed by the World Gold Council to report the “all-in sustaining costs” of mining gold. These numbers report that the cost of extracting an ounce of gold is actually over $1,000 per ounce, well above the aforementioned numbers. And since gold is currently trading at just over $1,200 per ounce, it explains why mining companies have had less-than-stellar profits."

So, all the costs we have aren't unusual even in big time mining. They are getting less than $100 an oz profit. So, go get some gold if you have the time, and just know, if you are barely getting enough for expenses and maybe even a little more, thats normal. And it's average.
However, I'm going to find a big ole pile and retire. Maybe a huge nugget with my detector. Or, I'll keep looking until I do! That's my dream and I'm sticking to it! Can't wait for the rivers and snow to go down.. Got a fever...

 

[Rail Dawg]

The further away from civilization in Nevada we are the more fun we have lol.

Isn’t being in the middle of nowhere awesome?

 

[Terry Soloman]

Why? I guess because I don't have anything better to do with my free time.

 

[Goldwasher]

We have expenses to get the gold so, we basically are putting money into a savings acct if we even get enough to break even. So, putting that gold in our piggy bank so to speak, is just trading gas costs, equipment costs etc for the chance to store our worth in a mineral. And also, get healthy, have fun, have some stories to share. Spend time in the outdoors. Heres what happens in the big time world of mining. This change happened in the 90s.

"A new metric has since been developed by the World Gold Council to report the “all-in sustaining costs” of mining gold. These numbers report that the cost of extracting an ounce of gold is actually over $1,000 per ounce, well above the aforementioned numbers. And since gold is currently trading at just over $1,200 per ounce, it explains why mining companies have had less-than-stellar profits."

So, all the costs we have aren't unusual even in big time mining. They are getting less than $100 an oz profit. So, go get some gold if you have the time, and just know, if you are barely getting enough for expenses and maybe even a little more, thats normal. And it's average.
However, I'm going to find a big ole pile and retire. Maybe a huge nugget with my detector. Or, I'll keep looking until I do! That's my dream and I'm sticking to it! Can't wait for the rivers and snow to go down.. Got a fever...

thats an old report and not accurate.

The cash cost of gold in the US is more like $850- $950 bucks or so.

Even less for artisinal miners on good ground.

It's to bad the western states With a few exceptions. Fight mining especially gold mining.

The bigger you are the harder it is.

More of an affect on the AISC and how companies generate working capital. While increasing their processing and mining and haulage infrastructure.

The big guys are running weaker dirt and more of it. To produce less gold than before. So, they are spending more to keep up.

Micro , Small and medium operators can come out ahead of these things.

Especially when you consider that the little guy can find and work ground that is richer yet would never be worked by one of the EVIL big mining companies.

 

[OreCart]

I really dislike the nonsense of "Big Mining versus the little guy". That is because it reminds me of agriculture back in the early 1990's. I grew up on sheep/dairy farm and endured many slurs for "being a farmer". Back then there was only big agriculture. Then it became vogue to be a farmer and everyone with a goat and an apple tree considered themselves a farmer. It kind of stung because dairy farming is pretty brutal.

But it was good to say you were a farmer, and not say so under your breath.

That was when the Big versus Little farmer nonsense started. It is still happening today, but the thing is we need BOTH. It takes a lot to feed a hungry world.

It takes a lot of mining to keep a tech savvy world going too.

Right now big mining dominates, but as exotic metals get harder and harder to find, that might change. No one wants a big mine in their backyard, but a micro-mine, might be okay? As I said, sometimes it takes a chainsaw, and sometimes it takes a scalpel, and in my house I have both.

As a society I feel we need both as well, and I think the micro-miner has a future. I do not see people putting down their cell phones, and there are plenty of people that drive to anti-mining protests in the Prius' laden with more exotic metals than any other car. I do not see that stopping either, so I think micro-mining will be more common in the future.

 

[OreCart]

IF...and I am still researching this...I decide to start up a mine, my plan is to mine like I farm. Sheep farming is low tech, and low cash flow, unlike dairy farming which is high tech and high cash flow.

It comes down to stretching every dollar a person can on a sheep farm, and so it is with mining I think. I cannot "buy" my way into profitability not matter what the prospecting sites tell you, but I sure the heck can be frugal about things. That is because if you do not spend a dollar, that dollar is 100% profit. When you buy something, it means putting more ore through it, and that requires more money to do. You might make more money, but you will not make 100% of it.

So being frugal is the direction I intend to head. I will use what I have now, mine the easy stuff and see what I get for a return. By the time I get the easy stuff across my land, well then I can determine if it is worth it to go back for the harder stuff.


Keep it simple silly!

But it is that kind of thinking that will enable the micro-miner to make it, build things themselves, keep things simple, and be frugal at every turn.

 

[OreCart]

I really dislike the nonsense of "Big Mining versus the little guy". That is because it reminds me of agriculture back in the early 1990's. I grew up on sheep/dairy farm and endured many slurs for "being a farmer". Back then there was only big agriculture. Then it became vogue to be a farmer and everyone with a goat and an apple tree considered themselves a farmer. It kind of stung because dairy farming is pretty brutal.

But it was good to say you were a farmer, and not say so under your breath.

That was when the Big versus Little farmer nonsense started. It is still happening today, but the thing is we need BOTH. It takes a lot to feed a hungry world.

It takes a lot of mining to keep a tech savvy world going too.

Right now big mining dominates, but as exotic metals get harder and harder to find, that might change. No one wants a big mine in their backyard, but a micro-mine, might be okay? As I said, sometimes it takes a chainsaw, and sometimes it takes a scalpel, and in my house I have both.

As a society I feel we need both as well, and I think the micro-miner has a future. I do not see people putting down their cell phones, and there are plenty of people that drive to anti-mining protests in the Prius' laden with more exotic metals than any other car. I do not see that stopping either, so I think micro-mining will be more common in the future.

Goldwasher, I see you liked this (along with others), and I was glad to see that.

I was afraid you might think I took you as being anti-big-mining, and I know that is not the case, and that you feel there is a place for both the big and micro-miner.

Myself, at 44 years old, I have seen such a loss. Here in Maine fishermen, loggers and farmers used to have something really special, and it is dying, and that is a father working alongside his son or sons. The grandfather would teach the father the trade, who would thereby teach his son...and so it went.

That is being lost today, and while I do not know the industry well, I suspect by the current economics of mining. That is just too bad...for society as a whole.

I lost my son as many of you know, and while it does not mean I cannot work alongside my daughters (4 of them) in the future, I think the demise of the American Family is a real travesty. I really think it would behoove this country to ensure micro-mining, and the pass-down-the knowledge-to-the-next-generation mentality, continues. By trying to save the environment, they are failing to see they are hurting something far worse, what this country has its roots in; family!

 

[gold tramp]

We gotta have the big minin, to many need to much everyday, if you got it it's grown or mined.
That's why half my take goes to the refiner, phone makers need the raw product.
Helps keep the world going round.
Gt....

 

[Goldwasher]

Goldwasher, I see you liked this (along with others), and I was glad to see that.

I was afraid you might think I took you as being anti-big-mining, and I know that is not the case, and that you feel there is a place for both the big and micro-miner.

Myself, at 44 years old, I have seen such a loss. Here in Maine fishermen, loggers and farmers used to have something really special, and it is dying, and that is a father working alongside his son or sons. The grandfather would teach the father the trade, who would thereby teach his son...and so it went.

That is being lost today, and while I do not know the industry well, I suspect by the current economics of mining. That is just too bad...for society as a whole.

I lost my son as many of you know, and while it does not mean I cannot work alongside my daughters (4 of them) in the future, I think the demise of the American Family is a real travesty. I really think it would behoove this country to ensure micro-mining, and the pass-down-the knowledge-to-the-next-generation mentality, continues. By trying to save the environment, they are failing to see they are hurting something far worse, what this country has its roots in; family!

as long as big mining is safe so is small scale.

I'm a couple years younger than you.

Been prospecting since I was sixteen.

Reading the weekenders complain about the big guys the whole time..

The main reason they do so? Misplaced envy.

Sorry to hear about your son.

I have a sixteen year old Son. Who is getting shipped of to grandma.

To much distraction for him in Babylon. He's going to live in Lone Pine, Ca. So, I get to go back to my old Eastern Sierra stomping grounds.

So, Fishing, desert prospecting and rock hounding are in my future. Unlike his Bio mom. I'm actually going to visit him often.He's been with me full time since he was four. Has a full sister thats staying here.

He has two young half sister that don't need to watch him be a screw up.

So, three daughters a hoodlum and I also have a cute Wife named Katie like you.

Sad thing is no matter what you teach them at home. They head off for the day to hang out and be taught by people who could give a crap about heritage.

Let alone any type of apprenticeship.