PROSPECTOR NEEDED TO IDENTIFY & VALIDATE POTENTIAL GOLD VALUES

[Silveraith]

I need a good prospector that can evaluate potential claims I may buy or partner on. You need to be able to show a claim has potential before I bring in heavy equipment for testing. I will pay $1000 per week plus all expenses including transportation, camping gear, & food. You bring your expertise. A good attitude & ability to work hard & play hard are a must. This could very well lead to a permanent position. Let's talk.

 

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[mikep691]

I don't have a link available, but look into MSI Equipment. Freddy Dodge has had a hand in nearly all the wash plants used on Gold Rush. In fact they are looking for medium to large operations that need upgrades as part of a new series.

 

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[Silveraith]

The smaller one is what I want to use for testing. It will handle 10 - 15 yds/hr. The Pioneer 50 would be my permanent set up for production. It's rated at 25 - 50 yds/hr. I am looking to run at least 200 yds per day so I should be good for much more if needed. I'm getting so excited to get this going I can't sleep LOL.

 

[Silveraith]

Also, before I decide on the Montana Mine I am going up there with my wife & we will help the owner run gravels for our own test to back up what he is telling me the values are. He has a small trommel set up & has equipment so we will run at least 500 yds & crunch the numbers. If we go that route I won't need the smaller Pioneer 15 trommel for testing, just the big one for production. That's assuming I won't be testing any other claims but that's not decided yet.

 

[Silveraith]

I already have their link & have talked with MSI on the phone. They are in Colorado. Prices are NOT CHEAP & most likely out of my range. Parkers wash plant is from a big company out of Australia. They make some real nice equipment also if you want to spend $200 K or more. That's a lot of money & I wasn't real impressed with the way his performed. Gold Claimer is American Made in Minnesota. American Made is a big plus for me.

 

[mikep691]

If price has now become an issue, also check Heckler Fab. California made mining equipment.

 

[Silveraith]

Already have. I've heard good & bad about them. I don't want to spend much more than $100 - $150 K on a plant. The Pioneer 50 fits the bill all in.

 

[Silveraith]

BTW, my wife & I are West Virginia Strong. Still some coal mining going on around here. Here's a good song by some good old boys I know called The Blackwater Outlaws.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Personally, I would post an add in the icmj that you are looking for a washplant. There's one for sale in there right now just up the street from me. I can look at it after you call the guy in Congress, Az. if you want more info. I've seen the gold claimer brand in person. You should talk to previous owners before buying. This is your first time out, so buying used, but already proven to work great might be something for you to think about. You get what you pay for when buying new usually, so don't count out MSI or any of the other custom builders out there because you can get something cheaper. You get what you pay for...

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

$200,000 divided by $7/CY....that’s scary to think about.

Hopefully there is unlimited tailings to run.

 

[Silveraith]

The Gold Claimer Pioneer 50 is about $130,000 all in. Running 250 yards per day would take 114 days to gross $200K. Nobody makes a ton of money the first year. I work off a 5 yr business plan. Also, the plan is to eventually start running high grade. If my wife & I are profitable in year 2 we will be happy. Just running tailings is a pretty easy & low cost operation the way he's set up. We should gross about $250,000 per year & net maybe 60 -70% if our calculations are correct. Anything around $100,000 per season is good with us & that leaves us over half the year for other things. Working for ourselves makes it even better. There's enough tailings for at least 15 yrs.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

My bad! I read it incorrectly.
200 CY PER DAY. Not per hour.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Don't forget to add in the blasting permits, etc. when you start thinking about opening up the cemented highgrade channel. Driving a skid steer every day is tough, maybe move up to an 1120 or larger Volvo for some comfort and less back and body stress. You guys know what you can handle, just trying to make it comfortable work for lots of long days. I wouldn't want to be stuck in a small skid steer trying to run it faster then it was designed for unless I was stock piling a day or 2 ahead for speed and then just running and feeding the plant a few times a week.
Edited...
You're talking about a gold claimer that has a simple sluice box for the recovery. Is it designed to catch the size of fine gold that you are talking about?
You really should call the guy in Az and talk about his whole Goldfield system. I've ran Goldfield equipment also and its top of the line. Here's the add

PROCESSING EQUIPMENT
FOR SALE IN CONGRESS, AZ

1- Goldfield 25 ton per Hour Trommel wash plant used very little, excellent shape. -- $25K
1- Goldfield jig with finishing jigs, brand new condition, barely used. -- $59K
1- Nelson 30 Centrifuge with Stainless Steel bowl, hooked up but never used, new condition. -- $28K
1- Deister Model #6 concentrating table 6’x15’ deck, 10’x20 overall, 3hp 230/460v 3PH, mounted on heavy-duty skid. -- $20K
2- M-7 Shaker tables, brand new, never used or assembled. -- $4,500 each
1- MSI Mining Xtruder 255 table, barely used, new condition, was MSI’s demonstrator originally. -- $18K
1- Alpha Laval Rotary vacuum filter, Model TF-8M2, stainless food grade, complete with all pumps & accessories. -- $21K

I took out the rest of the information because you can't sell on here.
Reed

 

[Johnnybravo300]

Breaking up hardpack with a skid steer would be like pouring Jack straight in the eyeballs.

Just out of curiosity, how much would a food full time mechanic/operator cost for a Montana mining season? 60-75k?

 

[Mad Machinist]

Breaking up hardpack with a skid steer would be like pouring Jack straight in the eyeballs.

Just out of curiosity, how much would a food full time mechanic/operator cost for a Montana mining season? 60-75k?

That is going to depend on alot of things. If I would have to bring my own truck and tools, then there is a charge for the truck and tools in addition to an hourly wage. In most cases, that is negotiated and a contract signed before anything happens. But it never really is cheap.

 

[juneaupanner]

Sounds like meth

 

[Adventure_Time]

Also, before I decide on the Montana Mine I am going up there with my wife & we will help the owner run gravels for our own test to back up what he is telling me the values are. He has a small trommel set up & has equipment so we will run at least 500 yds & crunch the numbers. If we go that route I won't need the smaller Pioneer 15 trommel for testing, just the big one for production. That's assuming I won't be testing any other claims but that's not decided yet.

Be wary of salted gravels, test the gravels in different places. He shouldn't have a problem with that.

 

[Rail Dawg]

Best way to pull in $1,000,000 in gold?

Start with $2,000,000 lol.

Best of luck Silveraith! You had some earlier posts denouncing the following of the mining laws in regards to mining claim maintenance. Do you see yourself following the myriad of rules involved in mining?

While Nevada is very miner-friendly they care very much about where our water comes from and where it goes when we’re done. Are you guys taking on the reclamation responsibilities?

We’ve been working with the locals for years now. Saved $200,000 easy listening to them and not making the same mistakes they made when they started. Small-scale mining is a biotch but of course we love it.

Chuck

 

[Goodyguy]

The Gold Claimer Pioneer 50 is about $130,000 all in. Running 250 yards per day would take 114 days to gross $200K. Nobody makes a ton of money the first year. I work off a 5 yr business plan. Also, the plan is to eventually start running high grade. If my wife & I are profitable in year 2 we will be happy. Just running tailings is a pretty easy & low cost operation the way he's set up. We should gross about $250,000 per year & net maybe 60 -70% if our calculations are correct. Anything around $100,000 per season is good with us & that leaves us over half the year for other things. Working for ourselves makes it even better. There's enough tailings for at least 15 yrs.

Out of curiosity, how much are you figuring it would be monthly just in fuel/gasoline costs to run the heavy equipment, trucks, pumps, generator, personal vehicles, atv's, etc. for a 200 yards per day tailings operation in Montana?


Best Wishes with your quest
GG~

 

[Silveraith]

Based on a mining engineer in Australia that I know he's telling me to figure around 30 - 40 % of the gross pay gold going to operating expense. Of course every situation is unique. If my wife * I can run it alone we save paying any labor. As far as equipment cost it will depend on our final decision on what to use but I'd say $6000 - $8000 per month in equipment cost to run. One of the reasons I like this mine is the set up. ALL the tailings go over a bluff 100 ft high into an approved area that the owner wants to fill in. The Big course from the hopper get rammed off the grizzly over the side. The course tailings from the end of the trommel get carried off the bluff with a small conveyor. All the fine tailings from the end of the sluice go over the bluff. So we will have no expense, time, or manpower to deal with any tailings which is a great thing. The old tailings dump we will run is only about 100 ft from the plant so hauling will be cheap. I am thinking of buying an old 10 yard dump truck for hauling pay. The skid steer will sit at the plant & feed the beast all day. We are going to set up lighting to run into the night to get more yardage. We will run 12 - 14 hr days & process cons on Sunday. So we should run the plant a minimum of 70 hrs per week.

 

[Silveraith]

Got some info on the Montana mine to run by you guys. I talked with a few people out there who now the mine owner & they tell me he's a straight shooter. He's in his early 80's & just plum worn out. I was talking to him on the phone last night & here's what he's offering to me. He said to come up there when the season starts & use his equipment to run gravels for a month. I can even go in to the high grade for a 100 yard test. I'm figuring with his smaller set up I should be able to run 2000 yards of the old tailings dump & 100 yards of virgin high grade. I have to of course pay the expenses of fuel & haul 100 yards of the old tailings dump back into the high grade to fill in the hole we dig - no big deal. He is working on approval for the high grade but we can go hog wild on the tailings dump - the more the better as they want to fill in the area below. We split the gold from the test 50/50. Now here's the exciting part. He wants to retire & move to Arizona where his daughter lives. He will sell me the mine, & all equipment for $200,000. He needs money to make the move & is just too dang old to be running equipment & working on equipment, etc. All the equipment is in an old barn on the mine. There is also an old miner's cabin that needs work. His equipment is old & not worth a bunch. I offered him 10% down as a deposit to hold the deal until I get out there. He's good with that & we can write it up so the deposit is refundable to me at the end of the test if I decide to walk away. Looks like I may be buying a mine in Montana.