Keeping prospectors off my claims.

[kcm]

Duh!! I retired in 2011 but had to go back to work in 2015 to make up Civilian Social Security credits and payments that I did not make working for the Federal Government as well as make some extra income to make ends meet. My' oldest daughter and my' five grandchildren had to move in with me and my' middle daughter who still lives at home and since I pay all of the bills (mortgage, a truck payment, car payment for my' youngest daughter, Insurance on everything, fuel for two trucks, electric...water...sewage...trash pick up & natural gas bills, three Credit Cards and for WIFI Internet Service) but only what food I eat, it is hard to make it and especially so when the three grandkids in High School have extra activities.

Gold Prospecting is hard, often back breaking work but find a few Gold Flakes or a small Nugget, then you can see the Finder catch another gear! I have at times dug all day in streams and creeks only taking breaks and meals as needed and when I hit a good streak, I could keep going well into the night if not all not while my friends want to quit well before dark.


Frank

Dang dude, maybe we need to set up a donations box for ya'.

I had high hopes of heading to the Black Hills and doing some prospecting with a friend there. Before that I wanted to head out to Montana and try my hand at hard rock mining, but life keeps throwing curve balls. So now my plans are to stay put, as we've been "out of circulation" for so long that we don't seem to mix well with others. So gonna be investing in a new shop this Spring, providing all goes well. Gonna try something new to me - straw bale building! IF all goes well, will then build my dream tractor (specifically designed for this area) and try hiring out for custom non-ag work. ...Who knows, might even find others that want a straw bale building!

 

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[huntsman53]

Dang dude, maybe we need to set up a donations box for ya'.

I had high hopes of heading to the Black Hills and doing some prospecting with a friend there. Before that I wanted to head out to Montana and try my hand at hard rock mining, but life keeps throwing curve balls. So now my plans are to stay put, as we've been "out of circulation" for so long that we don't seem to mix well with others. So gonna be investing in a new shop this Spring, providing all goes well. Gonna try something new to me - straw bale building! IF all goes well, will then build my dream tractor (specifically designed for this area) and try hiring out for custom non-ag work. ...Who knows, might even find others that want a straw bale building!

I have never asked for or taken handouts or donations but thanks for the thought! I worked right up until I received my' Draft Notice in 1972 and I joined the U.S. Army instead of being drafted. I got out of the U.S. Army on March 30, 1978, got home on the morning of the 31st, then went to work at Silver Dollar City (now Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN) on April 1st. Worked several different jobs up to within a couple of days of reporting to my' new job on November 19th, 1978 with the National Weather Service in Florida and after moving twice, retired in 2011. Never once did I apply for Unemployment Compensation or Welfare in all those years and now when I need help from the VA, they turn my' Claim down. While the road has been often rough, I am still here in despite of it as I am a stubborn Irishman.


Frank

 

[Honest Samuel]

I feel your pains. Contact a lawyer about your problems with VA. Good luck and good mining. God bless.

 

[Rail Dawg]

 

[kcm]

Now post us a map showing where the cameras are and what areas they cover.

 

[huntsman53]

View attachment 1399018View attachment 1399019

Those are some really good and informative signs you had made! I still think you should post some signs that say "Gold Claim For Sale - there ain't much Gold but would be a nice place to camp once you kill all the Rattlesnakes, Cougars and Claim Jumpers".


Frank

 

[Rail Dawg]

Claim jumping is a felony.

 

[seekerGH]

Claim jumping is a felony.

Was interested to see what would happen to Odyssey Marine when they jumped Thompsons claim and actively recovered gold and artifacts, even items that were stacked in recovery bins.
So much for a claim and/or Admiralty Arrest.

Why is it that people on the website are so adamant and protective of a claim, yet promote looting items from shipwrecks and lying about the location and origin of the item?

 

[sprailroad]

Rail Dawg, I also still have a claim in SW Oregon, it's on BLM land, and so anybody can go on it anytime, picnic, rock hound, bird watching etc?, but I own the mineral rites, now, I seldom go up there, and it IS clearly posted, that's all I can really do. If someone were panning and I found them doing so, it would be a person to person basis, a father with kids?, OK, I'll point out that it's a private claim, but go ahead and have fun, someone with a small dredge? NO. LEAVE, I am the guy who bought the claim, and has to do paper work on it every year. But where YOU live, public land yes, you own mineral rights, YES. but then simple rock hounding? or what of metal detecting, NOT for gold, but possible coins, relics etc. Tough call out there. I wish the best for you, but DO clearly Post, a guy that might be detecting for gold MAY NOT realize he is even on your claim, unless you have the claim CLEARLY marked. That is not easy where you are. Again, good luck.

 

[Rail Dawg]

sprailroad I appreciate what you're saying.

Out here in Rye Patch (Nevada) it seems most folks who've made the effort to get out here are pretty hard-core prospectors.

They generally know the rules or at least should considering the gear they are hauling in!

I don't mind the occasional family but like you said things like dredges and such are an immediate request to leave.

It's best to be polite of course if at all possible.

 

[sprailroad]

Rail Dawg, was a common term for a Maint. of Way guy. 33 years for me.

 

[Mad Machinist]

The point of a claim is to actively mine it. Not to hoard mineral rights so you can pick which creek you want to camp on once a year when you get the itch to get your box wet. The act of prospecting is supposed to be done BEFORE a claim is filed. I might not have a popular opinion, but the whole mining "claim" as it pertains to recreational vacation prospecting is B.S.

Mining claims are for protecting your investment in extracting the valuable minerals from the land. Vacation prospecting isn't investing in the land, and "claim jumpers" A.K.A. other recreational prospectors realistically aren't impacting your ability to wash rocks and move a few buckets of dirt on the few weekends you get out to your claims.

Obviously, this doesn't pertain to everyone. I'm sure there are miners who are actively mining their land for profit and actively are working the claim as was intended. But realistically, this doesn't apply to most claim owners in 2017, because if the land actually held real valuable mineral rights, there would be an active mining operation on the land extracting those minerals. 8 hours of hard digging for less than a gram of gold isn't valuable minerals. Thats why mining clubs make their money off of selling memberships and passes to access their claims. There is more money in being a gatekeeper to the weekend prospector who doesn't mind spending $100 to dig up a few dollars of gold. And the law as it currently stands allows them to do that.

I'm pretty sure that for the majority of claim owners in 2017 who are vacation prospecting and not mining, you could do away with the entire claim system and it wouldn't impact their ability to enjoy their favorite prospecting spot one bit. If anything it would increase the enjoyment for the weekend prospector because it would open up more locations for them to prospect in. All you have to do is look at the East Fork of the San Gabriel River where there are no claims. Plenty of weekend prospectors digging side by side, probably extracting more minerals from the area than if it was claimed up by 5 people in the BLM.

And no, I'm not condoning claim jumping, the law is the law. But I do think many claims are owned by people who really shouldn't be owning them because they are not activly mining the claim. That land should be returned to the people. It's public land after all.

Then how about you go to D. C. to tell the beauracrats to get off their fat, lazy butts and get some permits processed in a timely manner so we can get down to some real mining. I've got 6 contiguous claims I'm sitting on waiting for the permits. So by your rational, I should give them up because of someone else won't do their job? Don't think so. Your starting to sound like one of those "claim jumpers" who want everyone else to do the hard work for them.


Rail Dawg,

Good luck. All because a large company doesn't own the rights to it DOES NOT mean there is no gold or minerals there. Like kcm said, it just isn't economical for them to mine it right now.

 

[Mad Machinist]

Dang dude, maybe we need to set up a donations box for ya'.

I had high hopes of heading to the Black Hills and doing some prospecting with a friend there. Before that I wanted to head out to Montana and try my hand at hard rock mining, but life keeps throwing curve balls. So now my plans are to stay put, as we've been "out of circulation" for so long that we don't seem to mix well with others. So gonna be investing in a new shop this Spring, providing all goes well. Gonna try something new to me - straw bale building! IF all goes well, will then build my dream tractor (specifically designed for this area) and try hiring out for custom non-ag work. ...Who knows, might even find others that want a straw bale building!

Come on down to Arizona. You bring a truckload of Yuengling Lager and I'll bring the heavy equipment and some explosives. We'll get along just fine.

 

[Rail Dawg]

Rail Dawg, was a common term for a Maint. of Way guy. 33 years for me.

Respect.

Railroads are the life-blood of this country.

 

[franklin]

Just post a sign saying "Claim Jumpers Will Be SHOT On Sight, Survivors Will Be SHOT AGAIN." That should kept them off.