No Problem Mac. Don't let the dream die on the vine, just make sure you can pull it off without causing you and your dad a lot of heartache is all.
I would suggest that before you spend money on equipment that you do a little more research into the area(s) you're going to be working. What works well in one area will not always be the best choice for another. Look into what you're going to have available to work with. Little things like water supplies, types of soil (rocky Vs Loamy), terrain etc can make a big difference in what type of equipment is going to do the best job in a given area. I live in the S.E. corner of Arizona so if we are going to do "Wet Processing" it pretty much has to be done with a recirculating type of system and we have to haul the water in with us. If we had water to work with we'd be using a different system. Even then, the soil composition out here has a lot of hard clay in it so a regular sluice doesn't work as well as something like a trommel or high banker that will help to break that clay up will. Due to the clay, drywashing is one step removed from useless. Make sure the system fits the area! Doing a little research into what others in your area are using for equipment can show you a lot as well as save you both time and money.
Remember that when you buy a claim, you should be allowed to test the ground BEFORE you put down your money. If they won't allow you to test, then I'd be wondering why. There are some scam artists out there that will take your money and run, leaving you with a piece of worthless ground. You should also make sure that who ever is selling the claim has the right to do so. It may not be theirs to sell in the first place. If the claim is legit then it should have an assigned federal claim number. If they can't supply one then walk away as fast as you can. If they do have one, look up the info for that claim at the county recorders office and make sure everything is on the up and up. Little things like location listed on the file should match up as well as the name(s) of the seller and owner(s). In a nutshell.... COVER YOUR A$$ and you may save yourself a lot of cash.
Another option is to locate a claim on your own. It's not always easy and it's always a LOT of work to go this way but in the end it can be very rewarding. Look into BLM and National Forest lands. Public records at the county recorders office can be looked at for free but depending on the county there might be a charge for copies. Many counties now have their public records on-line now as well.
It can be a confusing and frustrating process in finding and filing a claim. Trust me I just went through it myself!!!! Thanks to the help of some of the other members here on T-Net, I was able to get through the process with my sanity still intact. (Ok... As intact as it ever gets).
the dream isn't gonna die, it's just going to simmer until we can realistically make it possible.
as for the areas we're lookin at...the claim up north we're lookin' at has a creek running through it, lots of quartz veins, and good foliage around the creek and quartz. apparently doesn't have a camping area and does get snowed in during the winter. is accessible by vehicle all the way up to the site though. considering we live in southern california the 6 hour drive up to el dorado county is also something we're taking into account.
haven't really found a place in the desert yet but that's where i would rather set up a claim...can't really say why other than we're closer to it and i'm a desert kind of guy. is there anything in particular ground-wise i should be looking for out in the desert?
as for equipment...not sure if i want to go a drywashing route. would have to see one in action in person before making that decision. we will be capable of bringing water with us wherever we go, so that isn't much of an issue as long as the site is accessible by vehicle. (50 gallon drums will NOT be carried in on the back
)
highbanker is what i want the most...capable of moving lots of dirt without really classifying. looking at a gold cube as well for fine gold recovery...have to classify to 1/8" but it seems to do a hell of a job grabbin' the little stuff. and my pop's has already got himself a blue bowl for final cleanup duty...he's havin' a good time trying to get the hang of it.
thanks again for the help.
Hi MCHL etc. and welcome,
60 hrs a week will seem like a cakewalk if you get into full time mining, and it will be for far less money than you make now. So glad you are taking the Irishmans suggestions and advice to heart. Like he said don't let the dream die though, just be careful and think things through. Ask for help like you did here. That is what this forum is for also, to get advise. You are lucky to have this time with your dad to share. I lost my dad last year and never got to mine with him but we were hunting partners for many years. I cherish every memory.
Good Luck!!
BH Prospector
thank you for the kind words BH. my pops is getting up there in age (pushin' 60), and we never really spent a whole lot of time doing stuff when I was younger. we work together and are closer than ever now, so we want something fun to do together. we've both got gold fever so there's really no other choice.
it's not so much the 60 hour weeks that are killing us (though we DO want to cut that number down so we can get more time mining!
), it's the night shift and the work itself. we HATE production work, and that is what we're doing. they promised us two years ago when we hired on we would be in their prototyping department within 3 months of good performance. my father has been a part of this industry for 30+ years and has worked on some pretty amazing stuff (machined the lens assembly for the Cassini satellite, now orbiting Saturn and taking some of the most breathtaking images I've ever seen), but their having him do grunt work. as for me, i'm only 2 years in to the industry but i've more than outperformed their expectations. they've pretty much just taken advantage of both of us and our hard working attitude.
we're the kind of guys that NEED to be satisfied with the work we do...and the way this company runs, completely throws that out the window. they cut corners to speed up production, sweep problems under the rug constantly so vendors only see the good stuff...just super disappointing. we're looking for day jobs and without the massive amounts of overtime.
