(DECEMBER 2011)

Simplicity: A Prospector’s Goal:

    One day in the 1990s Jill & I visited the East Fork. At a spot on Heaton Flat we encountered a young woman – by herself – bent over a gold pan. She showed us a vial of the little flakes and specks she was harvesting. Everything she needed was contained in a 5-gallon bucket. So when it was time to hike the half-mile or so back to the parking lot, all she had to do was carry the bucket in one hand and her compact stream sluice in the other. She chatted with us, very happy, very relaxed. I cannot help but infer that the simplicity of her rig added to her pleasant aura.

    One reason I enjoy beach hunting so much is because only three items are required: my Tesoro Sand Shark with built-in headphones, a scoop and a belt with pouch attached; nothing else at all to think about. I take special pleasure in “flyspeck” hunting with nothing more than my Goldbug2, Nugget Buster headphones, kneepads, pouch and a small rake or cultivator. All of these things easily fit in even a small car.

    For multi-day outings it is easy to get carried away with not wanting to forget any possible item. Again, simplicity can make the difference between making the trip fun or work. So I try to think through just how best to assemble my equipment in order to maximize prospecting time and reduce busy work. I have an Aliner camper that can be deployed in 60 seconds, with another 5 minutes or so devoted to leveling, stabilizing and activating the propane refrigeration system. Bottom line: Try to Keep It Simple!

Martin H. Milas, PCSC President

(NOVEMBER 2011)

Fisher Gold Bug 2 and Gold Bug Pro Compared

     First, the GB2. It operates at 71KH. I primarily only use the 6.5" oval coil, although I have all of the other available sizes. Its strongest feature is an undeniable ability to sniff out the tiniest of pieces. My two personal "bests" in this "How low can you go?" version of the limbo each can pass through a #20 screen and they do not register on my best digital scale which has an accuracy range of .01g. Its weakest feature is shallow penetration -- especially in soils that contain substantial quantities of iron. The GB2 has a crude discrimination function designed to eliminate iron bearing hot rocks. This causes the detector to "chirp" if the target is not a hot rock, but is composed of metal. It does not function if the target is below a minimal size and it will chirp on magnetite. The search coil is waterproof -- this is good, but the search coil has a design flaw in that the cord exits at the top, rear, center of the coil -- this is bad because it limits the extent to which the coil can be adjusted parallel to the shaft. Joe Chmiel, at Driller Dave’s suggestion, has manufactured an after market mount that permits a full 180 degree adjustment. With said mount the GB2 can be inserted deep down into a VERY narrow crevice.

     The Pro is digital and employs both numeric and iconic readouts. Its strongest features are its ability to ground balance almost instantaneously and to QUICKLY and fairly RELIABLY quantify a target, i.e., the visual display emits information such as the relative ferrous content of a target or the likelihood that the target is in the gold range of conductivity. The display is rather easy to see and read. Because of its sophisticated discrimination ability the Pro also can be used for coin or relic hunting. Its weak points include not being able to detect gold as small as the GB2 can, shorter battery life and too much information that may give rise to a false sense of confidence, i.e., passed over nuggets. The Pros search coil is round with a 5" diameter, it is waterproof and it can be fully depressed for insertion into tight places. The GB2 and the Pro complement each other. I take them both with me into the field.

Martin Milas, PCSC President

(OCTOBER 2011)

Product Review: Jobe 1.5" Highbanker

     Ron and Carole Wray joined us for a couple of weeks. They brought along their new Jobe mini-highbanker. By the time we departed for home we had become familiar with this wonderful little machine.

     First, the good news. The machine is very light, yet very sturdy. It is powered by a 2.5 HP Chinese version of the Honda 2.5 HP 4 cycle engine. This engine weighs only 27 lbs and has a carrying handle. Like the Honda, it purrs along rather quietly and does not emit smelly exhaust. The water pump puts out close to 3200 gph [about 53 gpm -- nearly one gallon per second or twice the output of my recirculator] at water source level -- just right for the 10" X 48" Yellow Jacket sluice. The discharge rate drops off, of course, the higher uphill you go. But we were able to run two-gallon buckets of dirt fairly quickly at about 8 or 9 feet elevation above river surface. The frame for the hopper is sturdy enough to support a 3.5 gal bucket of dirt. The legs that hold the sluice are strong and fairly easy to adjust. The spray bar is adjustable from full off to max flow. This is very handy when cleaning out after a run. Cost: $700.

     The bad news: Protruding bolt heads make it difficult to slide the riffle bar in and out. The water pressure is insufficient to cleanly run gravel larger than about one-half inch [so we pre-classified]. The sluice does a poor job of holding on to flour gold. The grizzly has alternating bars that are top-welded only that fit in between top and bottom welded bars, thus enabling larger cobbles to squeeze through. It can be partly opened, but can not be removed. It is extremely awkward to pick out little nuggets and flakes from the fixed-in-place ribbed mat beneath the hopper. The fuel tank is small. The lay flat hose is only 25’ long but can be extended.

     My overall impression is that this is an excellent product for the miner who can set up close to the river and intends to make only modest production runs [200 to 400 gpd of pre-classified dirt].

Martin Milas, PCSC President

(AUGUST 2011)

Dredgers Hit Below The Belt

     On July 26th Governor Brown, Jr. signed into law AB 120. Section 12 of that legislation kicks dredgers and manufacturers of dredge equipment in the teeth. This is what the new law provides:

1. The current moratorium on dredging is extended for up to 5 years.

2. The moratorium can only be lifted sooner than 5 years if the Dept. of Fish & Game completes its environmental impact report and certifies that the, "...new regulations fully mitigate all identified significant environmental impacts."

3. A fee structure must be in place that, "...will fully recover all costs to the department related to the administration of the program."

     The idea of fully mitigating environmental impacts is a heretofore unknown legal standard. Arguably, if the intention of the legislature is for F&G to establish a regulation that literally does not permit, for example, a single molecule of mercury to be disturbed, then such a zero tolerance standard risks being stricken on judicial review as being arbitrary and capricious. Thus, F&G likely will have to define the meaning of "full mitigation" as part of its new regulations.

     The gigantic regulatory structure envisioned by F&G [as revealed in its draft regulations during public hearings last spring] would require a massive workforce of additional state "scientist" employees, paper pushers and wardens to extract confidential prospecting plans in advance of issuing a permit, to make pre-issuance inspections of proposed dredge sites, to make on site inspections during dredge operations and to oversee virtually every aspect of what used to be a casual two week vacation up on the Klamath. This, in turn, means that a gigantic fee hike would be in order. It is unclear whether such humongous fee increases could be imposed without a two-thirds majority vote. In short, it is as if F&G wants you to pay for the very bullet they ultimately intend to shoot you with.

     I am disappointed in the way our legislature did not allow the administrative process to proceed. Over a million dollars and several years of studies already had been expended on the EIR. Then, when public hearings disclosed how defective and vulnerable the proposed F&G regulations actually were, the legislature decided to just kick us in the teeth.

Martin Milas, PCSC President

(JULY 2011)

It Can Be Dangerous Out There!  you Can Learn From My Mistakes

     Many of us wear snake guards to protect our lower legs from snakebite. A couple of weeks ago I forgot to take mine along, not that they would have helped. Driller Dave and I had hit the road before Mr. Sun’s bald head had a chance to clear the eastern horizon. By the time we got to our destination at a place around 6000’ above sea level, a morning chill still clung to the shady places. We decided to explore an even higher, rather steeper slope because we could see a dozer track at least a half century old. Plus, there was some rock that obviously had been blasted away from a possible contact zone. The questions that niggled the curious part of our minds included: "Why did the dozer track abruptly end halfway to the top of of the mountain?" "And why was a fifty year or older dozer track there in the first place?" Only one way to find out.

     Around 9 am we were well up into some new territory never before visited by us. The sun caused me to peel off my sweater and tie it around my waist. Driller took the far side of a wide draw and with my sore foot I proceeded up the near side. The left foot originally was injured a few months back when I got into a fight with my concrete driveway and lost big time thanks to a hank of line that tripped me up [and then BOOM -- yanked me straight down]. But to make matters worse, a week earlier Driller and I were working a spot not more than a mile away when I about stepped on a four foot long snake. It turned out to be a Gopher Snake, but in the excitement of the first adrenaline jolt I hit my left foot brake really hard. The sudden toe jam and resulting jitterbug-like backpedal really caused my already swollen foot to swell up even more.

     So here I was, literally crawling up a 45 degree narrow, crevice-like gully maintaining only a tippy balance with my left hand on the ground while I swung the Gold Bug 2 with my right. I never saw Mr. Buzztail until his tongue began flicking. He was curled up into a tight ball to keep warm and looked like just any other reddish colored rock. Well, almost -- rocks don’t have a large string of diamonds and a pink and black tongue! My exposed left hand was maybe 12 inches from him and my face wasn’t too far behind. I had to work real hard to suppress my instinct to jump back. No telling if there were others around and this guy already had me in his cross hairs. The sore foot would just have to hurt a little bit more because the only avenue of withdrawal was almost straight up a three foot side wall. I scrambled over shaley cobbles the best I could, first counting my blessings and then cursing myself for almost losing my balance and doing the worst belly flop of my life right back on top of you know who.

     How could I have been so unobservant? The truth is, snakes have been around a lot longer than humans. Millions of years of adaptations have designed and bred them to blend in with their surroundings and not be seen. It is a mistake to assume that you can totally rely on your human senses for your safety. It is better to have at least some protection, like chaps or snake guards.

     The snake was one of the least common species in California -- a Red Diamond [related to the Western and Eastern Diamondbacks]. Fortunately for me it was in a sluggish mood and was content to allow me to withdraw without even so much as a rattle. Unfortunately for the snake I did another dumb thing. I gently chucked a rock next to him to see if he would crawl toward his den. Accidentally, the rock grazed a larger boulder that then rolled on top of a very unhappy Red Diamond and in the process he got pinched a little. The points here are that the outback areas we venture into can be dangerous places to pursue those elusive gold nuggets -- both for us and the local wildlife. We must maintain a proper check on our willingness to take risks for the sake of finding bits of the noble metal. We also must take pains not to harm the critters who live there year around. I share these experiences so others can learn from my mistakes.

Martin Milas, PCSC President

(JUNE 2011)

How Much Gold Does A Puffer Lose As Dust?   

     Unlike a blower drywasher that only blows air in one direction, a puffer both blows and sucks. This is so because a puffer has two strokes; a compression stroke during which air is forced upwards through the cloth of the riffle tray and an intake stroke during which air is drawn into the bellows [some of which is drawn down through the riffle tray cloth]. Thus, a question emerges. Does the intake stroke result in some superfine gold particles getting sucked down through the riffle tray cloth? All puffer style drywashers accumulate fine particles of dust beneath the riffle tray and this dust regularly needs to be removed. Are we throwing out the very yellow metal that we are trying to capture when we do this?

    To answer this question I saved a little more than a gallon of the dust I removed from my Keene puffer during a recent prospecting trip to the Blackjack claim near Twentynine Palms. I brought this dust back home with me and subjected it to analysis. It was quite heavy but it did not contain an abnormal percentage of black sand dust. The heavy weight more likely is attributable to the absence of significant trapped airspace. Just like ordinary flour, the extremely tiny particles fit so closely together that there is no room for much air volume. The percentage of black sand was determined by removing it with a powerful magnet from a given volume of dust. The ratio appeared roughly the same or perhaps a little less so than the native dirt I had dug at the drywashing site.

    A final test involved carefully running the entire batch of dust through my best "fines" recirculator. This was a slow process that took a half hour or more. Then, the remaining concentrates were transferred from the recirculator sluice, classified through small screens and hand panned down to the remaining gold particles. Approximately 20 gold particles were isolated in this fashion. The sizes of these tiny particles ranged from minus 40 to minus 100.

    The above referenced experiment allows me to make some obvious inferences: [1] YES, some gold particles do indeed get sucked down through the riffle cloth of a puffer. [2] NO, these do not amount to a significant loss compared to the amount of gold recovered {less than .001 percent}. [3] NO, it is not worth all the time, effort and equipment needed to recapture these particles. [4] YES, there are some good uses for this dust. It can be used as "primer" when starting up a clean puffer by sprinkling it across the riffle tray cloth [this also serves to rerun the material, hopefully recapturing the gold. It also can be used at a panning competition!!

Martin Milas, PCSC President

(MAY 2011)

Prospecting And Mining Summit Report

     Jill & I traveled to Placerville in Northern California to attend the 2011 Gold Prospecting and Mining Summit. This is an event put on by the ICMJ Prospecting and Mining Journal. Chris Ralph is the Associate Editor and was one of several outstanding speakers who delivered one hour lectures to standing room only audiences [all 200 seats filled up in a hurry for the first lecture]. Chris covered "Basic Gold Prospecting", "Staking and Holding Mining Claims", "Mineral Identification", "Gold in California and Nevada" and "Using a Detector to Find Gold Part 2". Each lecture included a slide screen power point style presentation.

     Leonard Melman is an economist who specializes in commodities trading. His lecture was on the dangers and likelihood of hyper-inflation in the U.S. economy. Building on Mr. Melman's observations, the PCSC program for May 20th will focus on this subject in more detail. We also will address the phenomena of rising gold and silver commodities prices, their causes and what we can expect the prices to be later in the year.   

     Professor George Wheeldon lectured us on "Gold Deposits in Tertiary River Gravels." This is a fascinating subject if only because of the substantial number of as yet undiscovered deposits. They remain undiscovered for a reason -- they were buried beneath a thick layer of lava several million years ago. Imagine unearthing a rich tertiary channel that is as rich as any placer discovery during the 1849 Gold Rush!

     Kevin Hoagland is the director of partner development for Minelab Metal Detectors. He gave many tips on tuning metal detectors -- with emphasis on the more recent Minelab models.   

     Don Robinson is a very seasoned miner. He explored for us the very fundamental subject of "How to Locate a Promising Location for Gold Prospecting". He is one of the senior writers for the Prospecting and Mining Journal.    

     The final speaker was Patrick Fagen. California has some of the richest gold deposits in the world, yet there are only 7 fully permitted operating gold mines in the entire state. Mr. Fagen owns one of them! He described for us the nearly insurmountable difficulties and obstacles that miners face in California obtaining permit approvals -- AND how to deal with them successfully. Jill & I learned a lot. We recommend highly that you consider attending next year's summit.

Martin Milas, PCSC President

(APRIL 2011)

Hot Weather Tips: 

     April is when Southern California starts warming up. Time for some reminders for those days when it gets really, really hot.

     1. Even if you only are going to spend a day, be sure to take along some ice. I fill a one-gallon insulated water jug halfway with ice cubes and the rest with cold water for short trips and either a two or five gal. jug when I'm in the field for several days. In addition, I take an ice chest with both block ice and cubes. An alternative is to freeze your plastic water bottles overnight. You never know if your truck will get stuck or not start. That ice can be vital to your survival. It enables you to get frigid liquid into the core of your body where most needed and to apply against your carotid arteries [thus helping to lower your brain's temperature and preventing confusion or a loss of consciousness].

     2. If there is a breeze, then even in 100 degree temperatures I can prospect effectively. This is accomplished by wearing either an oversized T-shirt or a loose fitting, worn out white dress shirt and buttoning it in only two places. Every 20 minutes or so I soak the shirt to allow evaporation to cool me down. I also take a folding chair with a built-in awning. I force myself to rest in the chair for 10 to 20 minutes in between work periods. Aerosol sprays are insufficient to keep you wet enough. I use tap water that I take from home in several one gallon old plastic bottles. It doesn't matter that the water is hot [100 degrees or more]. As soon as the breeze hits it, the temperature will drop fast. BUT, if there is no breeze, then I respect Nature's power and simply leave while I still can.

     3. Keep track of the temperature -- don't just trust your senses. Temperatures can spike too gradually for you to notice. I use a small infrared thermometer that I bought at Harbor Freight for a few dollars. Just aim the probe at an object that has remained in the shade [the dirt under your vehicle or one of your rubber tires -- anything that does not conduct heat very well]. These gadgets are accurate to within a couple of degrees.

     4. Prepare your vehicle by insuring that hoses, belts and tires are not worn out. Never take an unreliable vehicle off the main road.

     5. If venturing beyond cell phone range, make sure that one or more trusted people know where you are and when you plan to return.

Martin Milas, PCSC President

(MARCH 2011)

Important Dredge News:

     There have been two very important developments regarding dredging for gold in California. Here are the summaries and recommended action plans:

     A. The Department of Fish & Game [DFG] announced that it has completed a "DRAFT" Environmental Impact Statement. Go to the DFG web site http://www.dfg.ca.gov/suctiondredge/ to review the draft and to e-mail comments. The next step of the lengthy EIR process is a public comment period of 60 days. Written comments may be submitted no later than May 10th to Mark Stopher, DFG, 601 Locust Street, Redding, CA 96001, or by email: Mark Stopher, dfgsuctiondredge@dfg.ca.gov.  A public hearing will be conducted in Southern California on Wednesday, March 23rd beginning at 6:45 PM [after an introductory period beginning at 5 PM] at 25320 The Old Road in Santa Clarita [Residence Inn by Marriott]. These regulations are not expected to become final before 2012.

     PCSC PLANS: Outlines of suggested written comments and oral statements will be presented at the March 18th PCSC meeting. Additional details will be forthcoming by way of a supplemental e-mailing to those members who have signed up for receiving the "Treasure News" electronically.

     B. SB 657: Recently elected Senator Ted Gaines introduced this bill to allow suction dredging to resume in California during 2011. It also provides for the reimbursement of dredge fees to holders of 2010 dredge permits. Details of the bill may be viewed on-line [Google: 2011 California legislation, SB 657].

     PCSC PLANS: It is important to contact your individual State Assembly Member and State Senator to signal support for this bill. To find out who your individual legislative representatives are, use the following web site: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html.   On this page you should enter your zipcode to be directed to a page showing both your Senator & your Assembly member for California.  By clicking on each of their names you will be directed to their individual websites.

     There are 4 different methods of contact. 1.Telephone [easiest but least effective], 2. e-mail [a little more time consuming but better], 3. snail mail [takes a stamp but is even more effective] and 4. a personal visit to your local politician’s office [by far the best impact is made this way]. YOU MAY EMPLOY ALL FOUR AND YOU MAY CONTINUE FOLLOWING UP!!! Since there are more legislators from urban areas, it is particularly important for supporters of this bill to contact their urban legislator.

Martin Milas, PCSC President

(FEBRUARY 2011)

PCSC PURCHASING YOUR SCRAP GOLD ON 2-18-11

PCSC will purchase your scrap gold on Feb. 18th. Here are the details:

1. Scrap must be marked 14K or higher in purity.

2. Scrap first will be tested to confirm purity.

3. Scrap will be weighed.

4. Current spot price as of COB on 2-18-11 will be employed.

5. Current value will be determined using standard formula.

6. Seller will select one of two payment options as follows:

[a] Entire payment to be made in Grand Drawing Raffle Tickets at the standard rate of $10 per packet of 12 tickets rounded down to thenearest whole number of packets, remainder credited against additional purchase of tickets.

[b] Payment to be made composed of 50% cash and 50% in Grand Drawing Tickets.

7. Payment will be made as follows:

[a] Packets of Grand Drawing Tickets will be delivered to seller as soon as packets are available.

[b] Checks will be issued by PCSC to seller on date of sale for those selecting 50% option and the remaining 50% balance will be delivered to seller as soon as packets are available.

8. EXAMPLE: Assuming seller selects option [b], has a confirmed14K ring weighing 5g and spot price of gold is $1400, then: Standard formula is applied as follows: 5 x .585 = 2.925g pure gold. 2.925 x $45.016 = $131.67 [note: $1400/31.1 = $45.016 per gram]. Seller receives check for $65.83 plus 6 packets of tickets plus gets a credit of $5.83 toward purchase of additional packets of tickets.The resulting gold will be used to make some of the best Grand Drawing Prizes ever!! Don’t miss out. Bring your scrap gold to the meeting!!!

Martin Milas, PCSC President

(JANUARY 2011)

Some Low Tech Tips For High Tech Detector Problems

     Metal detectors utilize high technology -- especially the expensive pulse induction varieties. Along with this electronic wizardry come a handful of issues that have low tech solutions. The following tips primarily refer to the Minelab PI detectors, but generally are applicable to others.

1. Falsing: This is an electronic impulse that causes a detector to give a false signal. The most common sources of these impulses are movements of the search coil wire either [a] at the connection to the control box or [b] relative to the search coil itself. One solution to the type [a] cause is to employ a fastening system that immobilizes the wire itself so that there is no 'wiggle' at the connector. This can be done by running the final several inches of wire directly to the UNDERSIDE of the upper shaft. Some folks use electrical tape, but this presents a difficulty when changing coils. Others use small velcro straps that are reusable and relatively easy to apply and remove. Some employ electrical fasteners similar to those used for fastening phone or cable wires to pipes. The type [b] cause of falsing occurs because of the flexing of the lower shaft. This is so because the search coil is super sensitive to the slightest field changes. Thus, as the lower shaft "distorts" ever so slightly [at the end of a vigorous swing or when the coil itself strikes an object], the coil actually reads the wiggling or flexing of the copper wire that leads up the shaft to the control box. One way to reduce such falsing is to tightly fasten the search coil wire straight as far up the shaft as you can before winding the excess wire around the upper shaft. That way there is less of a chance for the wire itself to wiggle relative to the coil and there is less metallic mass near the coil for the detector to balance out [note: the copper wire must be balanced out by the detector along with any other metallic thing near the search coil].

2. Static and Weak Signal: A dirty connection due to dust getting into the connection can cause a weak or noisy signal. It also can be due to a buildup of oxidation that must be cleaned occasionally. A tiny pipe cleaner brush anointed with an electronic parts solvent is good for the female housings. Also, a toothpick will serve if first wrapped with a small layer of cotton or cloth. The male pins are easier to clean and a Q-Tip will work quite effectively.

3. Coil Failure: Erosion of the plastic cover can be fatal to the coil. The application of a layer of epoxy to the skid plate will harden it and extend its life. Excessive weight on the coil may damage or warp its internal wiring. I suspend my stored detectors from hooks to avoid such weight stress.

Martin Milas, PCSC President