Alaskan Pay dirt

[SteveDigsGems]

Earlier this evening I decided to pan some Alaskan pay dirt that I bought from an eBay seller. I bought 1 pound for $15, and it is guaranteed to have gold, because the lady sprinkles a pinch in. I didn't get rich, but I am really happy with the experience I got out of it. I have a lot of friends that want to travel out to my local gold bearing rivers with me to sluice, but before we go, I'm probably going to have them pan some of the dirt in my backyard. It is a good opportunity for them to see how the gold behaves, and it will motivate them for the upcoming trip.





Sorry about the quality, my camera ran out of batteries, this is an iPad picture. I'll get some batteries next time I'm at the store and upload what I found.







-Steve

 

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[elkie13]

Well I weighed the gold we got less than last weekend and we had changed directions in our hole looks like we need to dig back the other way. Came out to .17 ounces.

Glad to hear I give someone their fix outside of gold rush. I like it too but I seem to spend most of my time yelling at the tv. I'd like to get paid to gold mine, but we aren't deep in debt and we don't do a ton of swearing or throwing punches so I guess it wouldn't make very interesting television.

 

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[SteveDigsGems]

I would rather watch your show..

 

[Doitlaynstyle]

Wow what a thread this one is turning out to be. Im anxious waiting on the next installment too

 

[elkie13]

Well if this was a tv show, here's where the music would get real dire and the narrator would speak in hushed tones.

Today I got an email and was reemed by the forest service. Now, I don't want this to turn in to a forest service bashing thread ( pretty sure there already are some of those). We have always had good relations with them they have answered our questions and been really helpful. But I guess we messed up and misunderstood what we were and weren't allowed to do according to our plan of operations. The big no no was we cut a trail up to the ridge so we could safely explore the upper benches. Our claim lies in a steep canyon. The other was we cut some trees that were hanging over out dig site and getting really dangerous, but we also went ahead and cut where we were going to dig next. No no there. We have been told not to cut any more trees or do any more trail work until they have a meeting about us.

So I guess we can still run this weekend but I have to say I am very concerned. I wrote them right back and explained and also offered to make any restoration they felt we needed to. So here I sit when I should be sleeping hoping they won't take my dream away.

 

[SteveDigsGems]

Oh man, I'm hoping the best for you!

 

[Oakview2]

You certainly don't want to pee in their corn flakes, but by laws passed by the US Congress you have the right to safely work your claim. Those laws supercede the regulations that Forrest Service Buearcrats make up to stop legal mining in this country. I would not lose any sleep over this as if it were a game changer, they probably would have issued a cease and decist. Good health and good hunting...

 

[Jeff95531]

Good grief! Well, I think Oakview2 is right about the cease and desist. The problem IMHO is there are so many laws coming from so many agencies that LEO's get confused...just like us. It sounds like they want to work with you and good job mentioning restoration to resolve any "damage" done. I sure would want to be at ANY meeting that was about me and my claim. Good luck and thanks for keeping us informed.

 

[elkie13]

Ok so I asked the forest service how bad we had screwed up and what was going to happen. We're gonna be ok, they just need to adjust our plan and get a bigger bond out of us as we had a bigger operation than they realized. The thing is the forest service wants to see that we are actually mining and not recreating like many people do. So a slap on the hand and some money should get us out of this one. I am so relieved!

I guess sometimes a little humility goes a long way.

 

[SteveDigsGems]

Yes! Good to hear that! Keep doing your thing man, this post is too much fun!!

 

[Alex Burke]

Yeah keeping a good attitude is helpful. Do you use the state insurance or private i'm not sure if you get a choice or not in company you use http://www.imcc.isa.us/Crafford Mine Reclamation Trust Funds AK Noncoal Symp 2013.pdf Maybe you could get a diff assessment from a private company due to gaps in the alaska fund recently they are possibly assessing higher than in the past and the insurance could get crazy, and by the time they see it reclaimed itself lol. Good luck with everything and yeah just say "yes sir, not too much sir". Here's an article about Alaskans lamenting about how they let some mines off the hook so they need to fill the gap with higher rates from new mining. http://juneauempire.com/stories/101105/sta_20051011020.shtml

 

[Jeff95531]

Ok so I asked the forest service how bad we had screwed up and what was going to happen. We're gonna be ok, they just need to adjust our plan and get a bigger bond out of us as we had a bigger operation than they realized. The thing is the forest service wants to see that we are actually mining and not recreating like many people do. So a slap on the hand and some money should get us out of this one. I am so relieved!

I guess sometimes a little humility goes a long way.

 

[elkie13]

This is a federal claim not a state one so I send my bond to the us forest service, but it was only 800 bucks last time. Do I have an option to purchase insurance separately? I will have to look into this. Especially if they come back with ten grand or something.

Got do do some sprucing up this weekend, make sure there's no trash, brush, or oil drips. The district ranger himself is coming to look at our operation next week. Unfortunately, we are one of the only claims that I know of really operating so we've popped up on their radar. I feel like a kid that's been sent to the principals office.

Then we have to do some welding on the back hoe and THEN we can get down to the business of finding GOLD. Love to find at least a half ounce, we shall see...

 

[Alex Burke]

Yes google "reclamation surety bond" you may be able to get it privately but it sounds like you have a good deal at 800 I don't know lol, I just wanted to let you know there might be another option if they raise the amount they require you to carry. I am not a pro miner in AK I just research and remember weird stuff like this lol. Maybe someone experienced in this will chime in.

 

[Sample Pan Dan]

Finding some gold & fighting the good fight! Keep it up man. I love seeing the pictures.

 

[Jeff95531]

We got your six

 

[elkie13]

Commence fixing back hoe, check...

 

[elkie13]

A man dies and he finds himself in hell. All the people are standing around in waist deep sewage drinking iced tea. The man thinks " this doesn't seem so bad." Then the devil says "break's over, back on your hands!"

Hottest day of the summer, we find ourselves cutting and stacking all those trees we got yelled at by the FS for cutting. Take a break, dunk your head in the creek ,drink a beer,then "back on your hands." Finishing up burning the brush while we run more dirt through the grizzly for tomorrow WE MINE!

 

[SteveDigsGems]

Hahaha, nice!

 

[Jeff95531]

Losing a couple of days doesn't seem too bad until you remember it's out of 120. Gotta do it tho. Looks good, like the updates and would love to see your cons do nothing but sparkle this week.

 

[elkie13]

Ok so at 7pm we decided that we still had enough energy to do a short run. It's was pretty good considering it was overburden. Can't wait to see what the "good stuff" has!