It has to be a Hobby

[desertgolddigger]

I've watched a lot of videos, read a lot, and come to the conclusion that our search for gold has to be just a hobby to 99 percent of the people.

Why would anyone think they will make money when them spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on recovery equipment like, drywashers, sluices, dredges, smelters, and all the other equipment necessary to get the gold out of the soil, rocks, etc.

One video showed a gentleman who crushed his rocks with a jaw crusher, then broke those pieces down into a powder with another machine. He then used a furnace with at least two different compounds, as well as other things to end up with a button of gold that at the time of this video was worth five dollars. I have to imagine the chemicals and propane gas cost more than that.

So my conclusion is that most people pursue the gold as a hobby, never expecting to pay for all the stuff used to get the gold.

I'm guilty as any other hobbyist, as I've spend a few thousand dollars, some of it wasted, to get a few grams of placer gold. And that doesn't count the cost of my fuel for the truck and the blower motor.

But, in the end, we are having fun, learning something, and have vials of gold powder/flakes, or have gotten lucky and found some nuggets, or rock specimens with gold attached.

I wonder what the average Jill or Joe would say about our obsession. But I think it is like any hobby, the pursuit of whatever has caught our fancy,

And for myself, besides having fun, I am getting in better shape, and have lost 10 pounds. Oh yeah! I've put on some muscle in the process.

What's your story about why you are into the yellow stuff?

 

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[gold tramp]

I've watched a lot of videos, read a lot, and come to the conclusion that our search for gold has to be just a hobby to 99 percent of the people.

Why would anyone think they will make money when them spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on recovery equipment like, drywashers, sluices, dredges, smelters, and all the other equipment necessary to get the gold out of the soil, rocks, etc.

One video showed a gentleman who crushed his rocks with a jaw crusher, then broke those pieces down into a powder with another machine. He then used a furnace with at least two different compounds, as well as other things to end up with a button of gold that at the time of this video was worth five dollars. I have to imagine the chemicals and propane gas cost more than that.

So my conclusion is that most people pursue the gold as a hobby, never expecting to pay for all the stuff used to get the gold.

I'm guilty as any other hobbyist, as I've spend a few thousand dollars, some of it wasted, to get a few grams of placer gold. And that doesn't count the cost of my fuel for the truck and the blower motor.

But, in the end, we are having fun, learning something, and have vials of gold powder/flakes, or have gotten lucky and found some nuggets, or rock specimens with gold attached.

I wonder what the average Jill or Joe would say about our obsession. But I think it is like any hobby, the pursuit of whatever has caught our fancy,

And for myself, besides having fun, I am getting in better shape, and have lost 10 pounds. Oh yeah! I've put on some muscle in the process.

What's your story about why you are into the yellow stuff?

Stop by Claudette mill sometime and see my set up I will tell you my story, I'm in wonder valley...
I started way back when the gold was still abundant not like today.
My gold mining supplements my income rather handsomely these days with the price up ..sure its alot of work but I've said this before it gets In ones blood turns into a sickness, I think you'll call it gold fever, one could say I've got it bad.....
Gt ..

 

[desertgolddigger]

GT, Tried Googling Claudette Mill. Nothing found. Wonder Valley is big, so, if you could PM me with directions, I'd love to see the place. Thanks for the invite.

You're correct about how things have changed. That's one reason I've had to resort to running the material in old drywasher piles.

 

[gold tramp]

GT, Tried Googling Claudette Mill. Nothing found. Wonder Valley is big, so, if you could PM me with directions, I'd love to see the place. Thanks for the invite.

You're correct about how things have changed. That's one reason I've had to resort to running the material in old drywasher piles.

You won't find me on internet I'm not a googleite, we keep a low profile.
I pm you with directions it would be a couple weeks as I'm on project right now....
Gt...

 

[flinthunter]

It's definitely a hobby for me, but I only have about $3,000 invested. There are number of clay bottom creeks within a couple miles of me that have nice glacial deposits in them. If I work them hard, I should break even and have the time of my life.

 

[et1955]

Here In western Washington we have the same problem , ounce the gold is mined it's gone, we are talking about placer gold , it is an interesting cycle , my grand father started me on this journey way back around 1960 with his stories of mining on the Fraiser river in British Columbia. Every time as I was growing up If was near a river or creek I was panning it, found black sand but no gold, but never gave up. Then it happened, my friend Steve dragged me up on a very rainy day 4th of July 1991 , we had fun but I decided to take home my concentrates from my A52 sluice home and process it and finally I found my first piece of gold , the fever started , every Saturday and Sunday I was up there mining and within a year I found enough gold to cover the bottom of a 1oz. bottle, that year taught me so much so when I moved to the richest river here western Washington I found 3 grams My first day with my A52 , after many years later on his river I found just over 2lb.s. of gold. Sorry I digressed, my point of all of this unless Western Washington gets a historic flood like what happened back in late 1995 mining here is ending. You can still find gold but really not worth it unless you hit an a old flood deposit , I was there during the 1995 flood and I was up on the river when it happened , I learned so much plus I know where to mine because I was there. For you new comers best wishes but if that historic flood happens get out there .

 

[N-Lionberger]

It would be fun if it were still a hobby I’m in too deep.

 

[GoDeep]

Yes, it's a "Hobby" for most, with one big caveat, there's always hope they'll hit the motherlode!

 

[desertgolddigger]

Here In western Washington we have the same problem , ounce the gold is mined it's gone, we are talking about placer gold , it is an interesting cycle , my grand father started me on this journey way back around 1960 with his stories of mining on the Fraiser river in British Columbia. Every time as I was growing up If was near a river or creek I was panning it, found black sand but no gold, but never gave up. Then it happened, my friend Steve dragged me up on a very rainy day 4th of July 1991 , we had fun but I decided to take home my concentrates from my A52 sluice home and process it and finally I found my first piece of gold , the fever started , every Saturday and Sunday I was up there mining and within a year I found enough gold to cover the bottom of a 1oz. bottle, that year taught me so much so when I moved to the richest river here western Washington I found 3 grams My first day with my A52 , after many years later on his river I found just over 2lb.s. of gold. Sorry I digressed, my point of all of this unless Western Washington gets a historic flood like what happened back in late 1995 mining here is ending. You can still find gold but really not worth it unless you hit an a old flood deposit , I was there during the 1995 flood and I was up on the river when it happened , I learned so much plus I know where to mine because I was there. For you new comers best wishes but if that historic flood happens get out there .

etl1955, Wow! Start with small, and with a little luck and hard work, you hit it big. Sounds like you've had an ejoyable adventure.

Back when our claim was accessible via 2 wheel drive in the early 2000's, several of us Gals would meet once a month to do a little digging. The claim is about 20 miles from 29Palms We had lots of fun, and every once in a wile one of us would let out a scream, which meant, "I found a picker!" We got complaints from the residents of the town about the noise pollution we created during those discoveries. We think they should wear ear protection.

 

[desertgolddigger]

Yes, it's a "Hobby" for most, with one big caveat, there's always hope they'll hit the motherlode!

I guess I'll never hit the Motherlode of Placers, but based on the hard work over 3 months I put in for my first gram of gold, I consider 6 days of working tailing piles, and finding my next gram, hitting a Motherlode. 🙂

 

[ARC]

Sure the dreams of finding a treasure prompted me to wanting a detector...

But it has been the neat stuff and wonder and not knowing what the next thing might be that kept me going all these years... and yes... along with the "perhaps"...

Perhaps i might find something of any real substance.

 

[tomytye]

It is absolutely NOT a hobby. It’s an addiction!🥴

 

[N-Lionberger]

I don't think it's an addiction, more like a disease like Gold Tramp suggested or maybe some kind of mental health condition. Gold deposition is super variable. There are placer locations that concentrate every winter and some that take every flood stage and a lot of high and dry placers which like lode deposits took a very long time to be created, once mined out is gone.

 

[Bonaro]

You pushed the button on one of my biggest pet peeves. I truly dislike calling mining a hobby.

Politically, its a foot shot because hobbies can be regulated and banned at the whim of government because they are recreational and inconsequential.

Professionally, mining is a serious for-profit industry. Regardless of scale, none of us would do it if gold had no monetary value.

I have been mining all my life and I put all my knowledge and effort into recovering as much gold as possible, every time. Very rarely have I prospected just for the fun of watching the dirt swirl in the pan. I have massed a huge inventory of gear, spent countless hours, recovered pounds and built a successful business...all for gold.

Yes, there are many retired folk who prospect for the fun of it without expecting a return but you will notice the aren't panning for granite, they are looking for gold. Even on that scale they are hoping for a payday

 

[Tesorodeoro]

You pushed the button on one of my biggest pet peeves. I truly dislike calling mining a hobby.

Politically, its a foot shot because hobbies can be regulated and banned at the whim of government because they are recreational and inconsequential.

Professionally, mining is a serious for-profit industry. Regardless of scale, none of us would do it if gold had no monetary value.

I have been mining all my life and I put all my knowledge and effort into recovering as much gold as possible, every time. Very rarely have I prospected just for the fun of watching the dirt swirl in the pan. I have massed a huge inventory of gear, spent countless hours, recovered pounds and built a successful business...all for gold.

Yes, there are many retired folk who prospect for the fun of it without expecting a return but you will notice the aren't panning for granite, they are looking for gold. Even on that scale they are hoping for a payday

Love to see a better picture.

 

[russau]

A "Hobby" (as said many times before) isn't covered by the 1872 mining laws and as such , if you want a claim ,FORGET IT ! The wacoenviromental jerks will be waiting for you ! They troll prospecting and mining sites and actually copy statements to be used in the court's to go against you in your case ! It's been a tactic of theirs for a long time!

 

[PickAxeCA]

Compared to other hobbies e.g. classic cars, boats, etc gold prospecting is pretty affordable. I like gold prospecting for a variety of reasons, but mainly because it takes me on adventures to places I wouldn't go to otherwise. Whether visually scanning a creek/river for the most likely concentration spots, panning, sluicing or highbanking it's an intense experience with plenty of physical effort required, usually for a meagre or non-existent payout in my case. It's taken me a while to come to come to terms with the fact that I enjoy shovelling gravel into buckets on my days off, and to pay for the privilege of doing so. I compare it to fishing, golf and other hobbies where one does not expect to make money, but to make adventures, experiences, memories and stories. All likely worth more than the gold itself. -Xplore

 

[desertgolddigger]

A "Hobby" (as said many times before) isn't covered by the 1872 mining laws and as such , if you want a claim ,FORGET IT ! The wacoenviromental jerks will be waiting for you ! They troll prospecting and mining sites and actually copy statements to be used in the court's to go against you in your case ! It's been a tactic of theirs for a long time!

I sometimes have wondered about those people who try, and try, and try to throw roadblocks in the way of not only the recreational miner, but in some cases, those individuals who actually try to make a living mining gold.

In the area I dig for gold, there have been attempts to close land to both individuals and clubs, but it seems, not companies involved in gold recovery. One attempt by a high profile politician trying to close land just happened to be married to a member of a board that does commercial mining. I'm guessing that the little guys who mine got involved to save our rights to prospect and mine for gold.

Wonder if those trying to block the little guys, are afraid they might actually get lucky, and make a real living. Never understood the selfishness of those who have power and money trying to destroy the happiness of the little guys.

Am I off in my view of the big and little entities, when it comes to our pastime?

 

[Jjweimar]

I just started here. I have some concentrate twice sifted and one much finer as well as one pan. Based on what you see how good or bad am I doing. Any advice is wanted

 

[desertgolddigger]

I just started here. I have some concentrate twice sifted and one much finer as well as one pan. Based on what you see how good or bad am I doing. Any advice is wanted

If you can, panning is easier if you classify the big stuff from the little stuff. Do the big stuff first, then work on the smaller one tablespoon at a time. I know that seems like it would take a lot of time, but doing the sizes separately keeps you from missing the real tiny pieces that the big stuff always seems to obscure.