M-3 GoldenIrishmans Monsoon Mining Thread

[goldenIrishman]

Hey!!!! Any more comments about my age and I'll have to beat you with my cane!

 

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[Hard Prospector]

Then again, I'm pretty sure those old timer miners could never have afford your taste in premium beer (Guiness)

 

[goldenIrishman]

Well that's the Irish in me. Corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes washed down with St James' Gates finest (aka GUINNESS (< notice correct spelling)) and I'm a happy camper.

Forecast here is calling for rain again tonight and tomorrow so that date might have to wait a bit longer.

 

[Jeff95531]

I can't mine cuz it's cold...can't mine cuz I got water...can't mine cuz I have no water...can't mine cuz it's windy. O M G ! JK

 

[Hard Prospector]

I never could spell worth a damn and my wife (the school teacher) doesn't get a chance to proof read everything before its sent out.

Lucky for me I didn't have to take a spelling test to become a fireman. After all, smart people run out of burning buildings........ not in.

 

[goldenIrishman]

I hear ya on that man! I learned really early that you don't have to retain all that schooling but you'd better have good research skills so you can look it up again later in life. Knowing where to look things up and how to do a proper internet search has really been one of the most important parts of researching for areas to hunt in for me. Spell checker on the computer is also a life saver....

Running into a burning building is like any other crazy activity.... You just have to know what you're doing and follow the safety rules. When the place is about to collapse in on itself is NOT the time to do that 50 yard dash!

 

[Au dave]

Ha Ha ha ...love it Hard Prospector , the same is said over here , us firies are crazy ..driving straight toward a bushfire as everyone one else is in escape mode.

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[goldenIrishman]

Well the ground is still really damp so no drywashing yet. In an effort to kill time and keep myself sane (HA!!! Like I ever was to start with!) I've picked up some side work doing some programming for a friends E-Store. Been staring at code since 06:30! My eyes are crossing, me arse is numb and my lower back feels like someone nailed me across it with a 2X4! (nails included of course!) I did get a break earlier when the guys from across the street came over. They wanted to borrow a couple of classifiers. I made sure the area they were heading out to was open and without existing claims and gave them a quick lesson on how to use the LandMatters site at the same time. They're a couple of young bucks but they're good "kids", so I wanted to make sure they're keeping it legal all the way round.

Tomorrow I'll be doing the monthly "Beans and Bullets" run and then I've got MPA meetings from 5PM till about 9PM. Claims committee @5 and general monthly meeting @ 7. The claims committee us going to be introduced to LandMatters and shown how great a research tool it is. I've already printed out some hand-outs to pass around showing many of the different layers and how they can point the way to good ground. By the time I get home I'm going to be worn to a frazzle! At least I don't have to cook dinner after all that!

 

[Jeff95531]

Well since the ground is still a bit damp, how about the Gold Bug in some of the more interesting places you have in mind?

 

[goldenIrishman]

We're going out detecting later this week. The usual first of the month running around needs to be taken care of.

Our first meeting of the Claims committee last night was productive. We defined our goals for finding the club some new claims and decided on a couple of areas to check out first. One of the requirements is that they have to be accessible by 2wheel drive so that kind of works against us finding a lot of areas. With a lot of "Snow Bird" members that don't tow monster trucks/ rock crawlers down with them we have to keep the new claims in areas that are accessible to them as well. We're supposed to be getting more rain this weekend so checking out the first area on Monday will be by detectors instead of drywashing. The good thing is that our first area is all of 6-7 miles away and it's highway travel for all but the last mile. (I can also see the area from the house provided the dust isn't blowing)

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Skipped across most of the comments in this thread so I apologize if this has been mentions already..

There was one very important step that was missing from your detailed plan on how to securely file your claim.

Determine if the area is in Public Domain. I say that because I am familiar with an area that has been withdrawn from mineral entry and it gets "claimed" every couple years and people go around posting stern warnings about no mining/detecting.
The BLM accepts their money...about 12 months later BLM notifies the "owner" that the claim is invalid.

The current claim "owner" has been the most aggressive, going so far as to pack a ladder around the claim and post signs high in the trees every couple hundred feet around the perimeter. "No Mining - No Metal Detecting - Surveillance Cameras In Use!!" 3 or 4 more months and the claim will be invalidated. Until then I will avoid the area.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Determining if an area is withdrawn from mineral entry is part of doing your "Due Diligence". You can determine if it's open to claiming by checking the Master Title Plat maps which are available from the county or many on-line sources.

BLM is well known for dragging their feet, accepting money for a claim that never should have been filed and then not giving a refund. This is one reason (if you're looking to claim) that it is so important to make sure that the area(s) you're interested in are open to entry early in your research. I'm of the mindset that if it's not open to entry, I don't want to bother with it since I'm NOT a recreational miner. If I can't file a claim on it, why should I go to all the effort required to do the rest of the research and testing?

Keep in mind that just because an area is closed to mineral entry doesn't mean that you can't go and dig in it. Many of them you can dig in if you wish to but you just can't file a valid claim for that area. That being said, it's also a very good idea to check the actual withdrawal order. Many areas are withdrawn for a specified period of time. Once that time has expired it will either be re-opened to entry or the withdrawal extended. If you find a good area and the withdrawal period is nearing its end, you an be ready to grab it up if the order is not extended. Like they say... "Fortune favors the prepared Miner".

 

[Jeff95531]

I can't mine cuz it's cold...can't mine cuz I got water...can't mine cuz I have no water...can't mine cuz it's windy. O M G ! JK

OK. I give up. Wanna hear my excuse?

MOSQUITOES! O M G !!! This isn't AK but it's just as bad for sure. A column of sunlight streaming thru the trees makes it look like a bee-hive is in there. The only time they're not in predator mode and on an all out offensive is when it pours down rain WHICH BTW...is still going on here...AND...wait for it...YES! The rain creates even MORE of the (beep-beep) (beep)(beep)ing blood sucking vampires. To even step foot outside requires either a complete rain suit or full skin covering of clothes sprayed with 40% Deet.

I've even had em chase me while I was walking and I avg 3.3 mph! I'm crying as I write this but it's only my allergies...I think

 

[goldenIrishman]

Nothing to worry about until you hear them talking about draining you dry before the big ones get there to fly off with ya! THEN it's time to worry or break out the anti-aircraft guns.

 

[Duckwalk]

Just out of curiosity, do you ever have any issues with claim jumpers in your neck of the woods

 

[goldenIrishman]

Not that I've heard of Duckie. Most people out here are pretty good about checking for existing claims and avoiding them. As for myself, if I was to catch someone on my claims(s) I'd politely explain to them what the situation is, show them copies of the laws, and explain that I could have them arrested for mineral trespass. If they show a good attitude and listen to what I say then it's all good with me and I MIGHT even give them permission to keep working for the rest of the day. If not.... I'd be happy to introduce them to the local deputies. If I've caught them on my claim(s) before and they were dumb enough to return, then it's call the sheriff right away and have them hauled off to jail. USUALLY I'm very easy to get along with, but I just don't do STUPID.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Well today was the first field meeting of the "Claims Committee" for MPA. The turn out was much better than I expected to say the least. The actual committee is about a half dozen of us and we had some extra bodies show up to help test the area that we had decided to explore. Given the number of trucks out there when combined with the narrow roads, maneuvering around the area got to be interesting at times. Once we got to the area (an overwhelming 7 miles from the house of which the majority of it was paved) we spread out over a good sized area and everyone started testing. The ground was still a bit to damp for good drywashing, so it was mostly detecting and grabbing materials to work at the respective houses.

All in all I'd have to rate the outing as a success even if we didn't exactly hit the Mother Lode. Got a chance to get to know some more of the members and got to know those that we had talked with before even better. I have to admit that the MPA has a good group of people and working with them is a lot of fun as well as a constant learning experience.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Since it's been almost a month since my last post here I thought I'd do some catching up. The first round of real heat hit the area yesterday and it's going to be hanging around for a few more days. As I type, the temp in my gold processing area (shaded) is 111 degrees. Keep in mind that this area has shade cloth over it as well as a mist cooling system. Get out in the sun and it's murder! I think this is a very good day to stay inside and enjoy the Durango coolers efforts and maybe watch a movie or two!!!!

 

[Jeff95531]

Go North and West till you run out of West Sensi and you will find my new abode. Of course...coming sooner rather than later will plant ya'all right here in the middle of my move and you gotta truck soooo...anyways...well if'n you all do show up, standard labor rates apply...all the Pizza and Guinness you can stand...after all work is done of course! Genuine gold prospecting with a gold finding Smith River prospector AT NO EXTRA CHARGE! Escape the heat! Join us!

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/95538:4:US



BTW...Tent camping next door is FREE till 7/1. Skip the heat and gimme a reason to party. OK, a NEW reason to party.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Well since you left yourself WIDE open for it..... Is that a gold finding Smith River Prospector named Mike by chance? Or will we be stuck with "The Pyrite Pirate"? Arrrrrrghhhh!!!! I am of course just giving you a wee bit o' grief lad. You should know better than to give a crazy Irishman like me a setup like that!