The Bonanza. Reality or Myth ?

[TheNewCatfish]

I'm curious what you might think. Is it still possible an amateur prospector with just a gold pan could stumble onto a previously UNDISCOVERED gold deposit somewhere in the lower 48 ? Is there still some remote mountain stream somewhere with a fortune in gold sitting there just waiting to be picked up that no one ever found ? I hear all the time NEW gold depositions ARE occurring, and yet I've never heard of anyone DISCOVERING anything in the last 70 years or so. As far as i know the only place NEW discoveries have been made are in Alaska. And the only people finding gold in any QUANTITY in the lower 48 are the people using machines to process thousands of pounds of earth.

It seems to me there remains vast areas of this country that've barely been explored. Just take a look at a map of the Tetons Mountain Range in Wyoming and imagine how many valleys are only accessable by air. What about the new land being uncovered by receding glaciers in the last 50 years ? Think all that ground has been thuroughly picked over already ? Does anyone know if these areas are even being looked at by anyone ?

[russau]

yep thats how it all started! you should also know that investors/mining companys/geologists have been scouring the hills looking for new discoverys all the time. new technology has helped them immensely! new technology has given them airborn imiaging system (AIS) that used to be used from satalites,now from aircraft, that scans the Earth surface looking for individual unique elements and then once found a area of interest, they go to that location with a hand held spectrometer to further investigate! the United States Gubermint has already stated in the news that they are using this technology to map America for its oil and water reserves. this maybe a possible reason for the gubermint kicking our people off gubermint land(our land!)so they can go in a recover these elements(precious metals). this is just my WAG! you dont think our gubermint would do this to American people would you

[Hoser John]

CF-- No discoveries 1,000's of them--you just don't operate/read enough as monster nuggets-multi pounders reported and sold this past few months. Technology has driven a new gold rush and many PMs are extremely desireable especially the PT groups--John

[TheNewCatfish]

As I understand it, several years ago federal and state governments began requiring huge bonds against private mining claims for the purpose of insuring land reclaimation. This caused thousands of privately owned mining claims not to be renewed and these were subsequently abandoned until someone came up with the bond money to refile. I saw one instance in Pinos Altos, New Mexico where a Bear Creek claim changed hands four times in eight years. Nobody ever discovered any NEW gold when these claims were filed. At least not to my knowledge, based on what i could find out. In fact, the Bear Creek claim i'm talking about isn't even being worked at the present. It's just sitting there.

So the number of "claim filings" in the last few years, don't actually translate into NEW discoveries. I'd think the opening of NEWLY LOCATED commercial gold mine operations in the lower 48 states in the last five years would produce a more realistic representation of gold availability. That was my question.


I too have read stories about people finding gold nuggets that weighed several pounds. The only ones i've been able to verify as FACTUAL occured many, many years ago. I'm talking 50 years ago.

[Hoser John]

educate and prosper then

[Sam Burgin]

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

The 16th Amendment to the US Constitution, which was ratified in 1913, guarantees there will always be a disparity between gold that is discovered, and gold that is reported.

Sam

[russau]

[quote=TheNewCatfish ]
As I understand it, several years ago federal and state governments began requiring huge bonds against private mining claims for the purpose of insuring land reclaimation. This caused thousands of privately owned mining claims not to be renewed and these were subsequently abandoned until someone came up with the bond money to refile. I saw one instance in Pinos Altos, New Mexico where a Bear Creek claim changed hands four times in eight years. Nobody ever discovered any NEW gold when these claims were filed. At least not to my knowledge, based on what i could find out. In fact, the Bear Creek claim i'm talking about isn't even being worked at the present. It's just sitting there.

So the number of "claim filings" in the last few years, don't actually translate into NEW discoveries. I'd think the opening of NEWLY LOCATED commercial gold mine operations in the lower 48 states in the last five years would produce a more realistic representation of gold availability. That was my question.

ANSWER:::::Northern New Mexico is so darn green with extreamists that they buy/aquire mining claims just to keep people off them! subdivisions also do this to keep this "undesireable" action from their veiw! i know this for a fact.

[Hefty1]

[quote=russau ]

As I understand it, several years ago federal and state governments began requiring huge bonds against private mining claims for the purpose of insuring land reclaimation. This caused thousands of privately owned mining claims not to be renewed and these were subsequently abandoned until someone came up with the bond money to refile. I saw one instance in Pinos Altos, New Mexico where a Bear Creek claim changed hands four times in eight years. Nobody ever discovered any NEW gold when these claims were filed. At least not to my knowledge, based on what i could find out. In fact, the Bear Creek claim i'm talking about isn't even being worked at the present. It's just sitting there.

So the number of "claim filings" in the last few years, don't actually translate into NEW discoveries. I'd think the opening of NEWLY LOCATED commercial gold mine operations in the lower 48 states in the last five years would produce a more realistic representation of gold availability. That was my question.

ANSWER:::::Northern New Mexico is so darn green with extreamists that they buy/aquire mining claims just to keep people off them! subdivisions also do this to keep this "undesireable" action from their veiw! i know this for a fact.

And Placer County Water Ca is doing that same thing.

[stefen]

I'm curious what you might think. Is it still possible an amateur prospector with just a gold pan could stumble onto a previously UNDISCOVERED gold deposit somewhere in the lower 48 ?

Having adequate acquired knowledge (books, picking someones brains, etc), any amateur prospector could certainly find a source of a yet to be discovered deposit.

First, all gold is not to be found in the water...yet if a prospector follows upsteam, panning as he goes, eventually the finds will diminish...

Then he needs to look at side streams using the same technique...and the side streams may be nothing more than dry gullies...

Now the sidebanks and outcrops need to be investigated...

Sounds simple but could be a lot of work...maybe even years of work...

All prospectors were amateurs at one time...