The Lucky Strike Gold and Gem Mine...

[SusanLouise]

Hello All,

Has anyone tried gold prospecting here...and if so, how did you make out?

Since my husband and I are green behind the ears and want to try a public place like this to get started, is it worth the time/money at this location?

After reading the site online...up front expenses for buckets $10-15 and nugget bags ($25-500 ...OMG!...among others, is it unreasonable to want to leave with at least $100-200 profit of gold spending 2 days there?

Then I thought...back to reality...if it was that easy, wouldn't everyone without a job be prospecting for gold...


My husband and I would like to find a way to at least be able to pay for the gas expenses to make the trip from Nebraska to Florida to visit my elderly father in Florida...anything above that would be the cherry on top. As most of you know by now, gas will be about $5 a gallon by the end of 2011.

Everyone, please share your stories and advice...like which method would be the best at that place for newbies...TIA

Susan

 

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[eureka77]

If your talking about the Lucky Strike in NC, Then I would personally just pay the 5 dollars and hunt the creek yourself. If ya think about it, it is a buisness and they're not gonna put $500 worth of gold in a 5 gallon bucket for 10-15$. I know they say they don't check before hand, that your just buying a freshlied scoop of dirt form the mine but they are ''salting''! Your probably gonna get 75% of your spent money back if your lucky. I'm not bad mouthing them by no means, all the pay to play places are like this when you buy the pre-dug material. Like I stated it is a buisness and they need to make money too.
I always just pay the $5 to find a spot along the creek to hunt my ownself. Pan and sluice is what is aloud at the 5 dollar price and detecting, so I do the whole gamet of detector, sluice, and pan.
Out of Thermal city, Vein Mnt., and Lucky strike mines which are the pay to play places in the Mnt.s of NC., the best for me was the Lucky Strike. For $5 dollars I found a good spot and ended up with 3 grams in 1 day of sluiceing. Say $90 worth of gold minus the $5 dollar entrance fee, I made $85, if I was to sell. I end up always just end up giving it away to stary eyed kids or as gifts anyway.
Thermal is pretty good to if ya find the black clay. Vein Mnt. has been dredged out in the places I've been on they're stretch of creek. Maybe just haven't found the honey hole at they're place.
Well I've had a pint or 2 so I hope this makes sense....... Either way good luck and I hope ya hit the big one!

 

[Astrobouncer]

Eureka is right I would just sluice there, especially with the rainfall/snow we have had here lately. The river there is riddled with gold bearing veins, being so close to vein mtn. It has been hit hard in the past by dredgers, but everyday there is new gold being washed down it. Ask around for a dredger who lives there named Dave, he should be able to put you on a good spot. Also if you see Robert, ask him to show you his gold button he smelted from the micro gold in black sands. I like the place, its a little pricey to buy the pay-dirt, but always some nice gold in there. You cant really go wrong with the 25 dollar nugget bag they sell, especially with the price of gold being what it is today.

 

[AU Seeker]

SusanLouise,

Welcome to the forum!

Well, I agree that you may hit a spot that has some good gold and find a nice pocket with some decent gold, I wouldn't recommend betting the bank on it.
You have already stated that your just starting out, and as such there is a learning curve to finding gold even if you're pointed to a "good spot", many experienced prospectors have trouble even getting close to their money back at pay to play places much less making a very good profit, and paying for an almost cross country trip at high gas prices in 2 days might be stretching it a bit if not a lot.

I don't want to discourage you but I want you to be realistic and not expect to pay for your trip in 2 days, at today's price of gold you would need to find at least 5 grams of gold in 2 days (that is not as easy as it sounds you will have to move a LOT of material) which is worth right at $200 and you would still have to subtract what you've spent at the Pay to Play, and while that doesn't sound like a lot of gold, most experienced prospectors would give their first born to find that amount in 2 days (most are lucky to find 1/2 to 1 gram in 1 day) most anywhere on the east coast, and you would still have to sell the gold to see any dollars and it not as easy as you would think to sell raw gold and get what the gold is worth, if you found a buyer almost instantly you would be lucky to get 60% to 75% of what the gold is worth.

I would really like to say YES go for it you'll do great, but I would rather you expect the worst and not let it ruin your trip if it doesn't work as planned and just have fun trying to find some gold, which I'm sure you will.

Now that all the negative is out of the way, i think you would love gold prospecting and I highly encourage you to pursue this adventure, it is very exciting and it gets you out into the outdoors and too some very beautiful places, just enjoy it for a hobby for now until you have been doing it for a while.


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[miasdad]

bouncer wheres a good spot to hit in that bronson river there at lucky strike i have been there 3 times and always do the bags but have not sluiced the river i have always got half my money back or close to it. i plan to go do some looking in that river where should one look for a half gram or so for the sluice