Sean.C

They are based out of Gold Hill, Oregon. Alot of people up here seem to think they are the real deal but I'm not convinced. They put out this video a few months ago of them pulling a coil behind a jet ski to locate "mineral hot spots" and then claiming the gold dredged up was proof of it working.

You can't waive the first years fee's for a new claim, which is part of their plan to price the common citizen out of claim ownership. Rarely will they let you claim using metes and bounds anymore and force you to adhere to the survey lines, which makes you need to claim more acreage and now they are penalizing you for that. I mean seriously they call it a maintenance fee, but what is that fee buying us? All they do is collect your money and file the paperwork. They do nothing else but keep and update the records on your claim, where is the justification in these outrageous fees?

Nice nugget Rick! Definitely different looking than the gold down here! Glad you guys had a good weekend. Maybe next time we get together Steve will come to. Talk to you soon. Sean

Anyone who's ever been detecting with Rick and Robin knows that they make one hell of a team. You can't ask for any better company when you're out with them. Nice work from both of you!

They claim he used a backhoe to dig it out, otherwise I would say it was a stretchy ruler. It could be they have the order of details wrong. Maybe they dug the hole first as a test hole and were detecting as they pulled dirt out.

His metal detector went off and then he dug down 10 FEET!!!!!!!.....What kind of detector did he have?

I never understood how someone could lose a claim this way. Worst case scenario, I would think, would be they end up sharing a claim with another person. I still don't understand why BLM won't make it there business to check . I mean all they have to do is look at the map before they accept the new claim. Keep the money as processing fee's which include checking to see if the new claim is infringing on an existing claim. Don't they check the land status (ie: mineral entry) before accepting a new claim? Whats the difference? Why not do another simple check? The responsibility should be on both the claimant and the managing department. Removing the claim system would be a travesty in my opinion. Its our public land, and its our cultural tradition, as well as our granted right, to freely prospect and stake a claim to mine valuable minerals. If loopholes are being exploited then the managing authority needs to step it up and serve the interests of the public.

This seems to happen in all the popular area's. I've heard of several instances of this happening up near the Klamath. The sad thing is that it seems you can only protect your rights if you can afford the lengthy judicial process.

Thanks for sharing Rob. Its a beautiful nugget.

Happy Birthday Steve. It really has been a pleasure hunting with you. See you soon. Sean

Who knew copper wires and some plastic could be worth so much... Retail prices were already highway robbery for whats actually inside a coil and now prices are near double. Its a crazy world

From my understanding, metal detecting in a national forest, especially for mineral prospecting purposes, is a legal activity except in "known" area's of historical interest. If you happen upon protected historical artifacts you are supposed to leave them where you found them. I don't believe they can legally prevent you from metal detecting for gold unless the area is closed to mineral entry. If I were the person cited I would challenge the citation in court just like a traffic ticket.

I'm pretty sure just about any metal detector could find those chunks.

Another negative is what it is doing to the prices of the older used models. A used, stock gp extreme frequently sells for around $2000 now and used 2100v2 for up to $1600. There are very few deals to be found these days.

It seems the ideology of "if we can't enforce it then close it off" is becoming popular. In California they have suggested as part of the new regulations for dredging to close down remote area's because they can't enforce the rules. It seems funny to me though, because if you openly admit that you can't enforce it then a person can go about there business without much worry...