looking for mentor/guide, topic Options

[Mireton]

Hello everyone. My name is Michael and I'm new to the site and prospecting all together. I moved to Colorado over the summer and when I heard about prospecting, it's like something in me woke up. I knew that's what I wanted to do. So I began learning everything I could about it. But you can only learn so much from books and the internet, I need experience. So I am looking for someone who would maybe be willing to teach me the ropes. Sort of like an internship. Right now I'm not interested in money, just knowledge. I'm very serious about this and want to do it right. So if anyone needs a helper or just wouldn't mind teaching me a thing or two. Please let me know. :-)

[fenixsmom]

What part of the state are you in?

[Mireton]

I am in the northern area (Longmont to be specific). I am more than willing to go anywhere though.

[russau]

Goodmorning and welcome! being new to mining/prospecting and im assumeing your a younger person, id say the first thing would be is to join the Colorado Prospecters club for 1 year to see how you like it and for the info and people that are in the club. this will give you all the info training youll need, PLUS somesort of protection for you being out there. its always better to be with someone while out prospecting and learning the ropes!you picked a great site to ask this question!

[fenixsmom]

Russau is right, there are wonderful people that are apart of CP. Many years of experience put together. I'm new to prospecting myself. If I was seasoned I would take you out in a heartbeat. Experience is gained by basic knowledge of how gold works and what areas to look in. There are a thousand different ways to pan for example. As long as you follow a few basic rules you're good! I am still practicing like I said, there are people on this forum that will jump in, they're probably nit awake yet so keep checking in. I'm going to Arapaho bar in wheat ridge (Clear Creek) you're welcome to learn alongside me :)

[Mireton]

Thanks for your replies guys. Yes I'm young (21). My main issues right now is that I haven't the slightest clue on where exactly I should be looking for a claim when I get to an area. I know nothing about the lay of the land. or how to spot potential mineral pockets. Things like that. I guess I don't need to much, just to be pointed in the right direction. I haven't put much thought into gold panning But I would love to learn that as well.

[fenixsmom]

Ahh, become a member for those answers! Gold, quartz, igneous and sedimentary rocks are like a gang. They all like to hang out together. Look at the law section of the forum and through the process guide in the forum.

[fenixsmom]

I have so many questions for you I keep coming back and leaving LOL!
1. How much money are you really willing to risk on a claim?
2. What's your endgame?
3. What gold recovery system do you have in mind?
4. What area have you thought of?
5. Can you work the LR 2000 system on www.blm.gov?
6. How can you test an area if you can't gold pan? (There are ways around this but it's pricey)
7. What scale is your operation?
8. Placer or lode claim?
9. What topo maps have you bought?
10. What's your BLM office phone number?

I only ask all this because I was like you. Well, still am, but I've slowed my role. What you want is not a small deal. A good goal indeed! But I highly recommend seriously asking yourself these questions to decide where you stand. As a recreational prospector, a small scale miner (symantecs(sp?)) or on a large scale.

[Mireton]

1. Howmuch money are you really willing to risk on a claim? [/b]
Depends, am I just supposed to pay for a random are that hasn't been claimed, or can I inspect said area and see if it has any promise?

2. What's your endgame?
Ultimately, my endgame is just to do something with my life that makes me happy, and I think this is it.
3. What gold recovery system do you have in mind?
Like I said, I hadn't thought much about the gold. What are the systems?

4. What area have you thought of?
Mostly lake George. But I talked to a fellow the other day who said that Estes Park and Boulder canyon might be a good place to pan for gold, on account of the flooding

5. Can you work the LR 2000 system on www.blm.gov?
I'm not sure. Ill check it out.

6. How can you test an area if you can't gold pan? (There are ways around this but it's pricey)
Is this a retorical question? Haha

7. What scale is your operation?
Just starting out. So small.
8. Placer or lode claim?
What exactly is the difference?
9. What topo maps have you bought?
I haven't purchased maps yet, but I plan on it once I decide where to begin.
10. What's your BLM office phone number?
I can't seem to find it online for some reason.

Thank you so much for helping me. So the CP is an actual place? I thought it was just a website.

[swizz]

Hi Mireton and welcome to CP!
You've come to the right place for help with your prospecting interests.
This thread has quickly opened up a LOT of questions which will need to be addressed eventually but I'd like to dial it back about 10 notches so that your questions can be answered at a progressive rate. One step at a time.... definitely don't want you to get overwhelmed right out of the gate. There is a lot to learn and you'll have to be patient. We also have an awful lot of information archived here if you are handy with the search feature. If you can't find an answer please ask anything.... but one question at a time or threads like this quickly get sidetracked.
Before we get into land status research, County and BLM contacts, claims, mineral recovery process techniques, LR2000, etc, etc, etc.....
I'd like to start with a very simple question... let's roll from here:
Do you own a Gold pan and know how to use it?

[Mireton]

yes. Thank you, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. No I don't own one, nor have I used one. All my researched has really been focused on other minerals.

[Mireton]

But I would still love to search for gold as well. I just don't know much about it.

[swizz]

What would you like to 'start' looking for?
Minerals/gemstones.... you will immediately need to learn land status research so you are not committing Mineral Trespass while in the field collecting. That is the first order of priority.
Gold.... you can learn and practice this on County Open Space or other Recreational Designated areas (following their rules) that permit this as a recreational activity. If you decide that you like it and want to explore out in the wild on your public lands that do not have Recreational or other special designation (REAL prospecting) we will need to talk about land status research.
Mineral Trespass is a very serious matter and land status research is 100% relevant to either activity.

[Mireton]

Yeah, I think I'd like to start with gems.Yes. That's why I'm trying to learn as much as I can, I don't want to be a claim jumper or anything, just a genuine prospector. I have spent some time looking into the laws and how to make claims and such but I'm having issues fully comprehending it. that stuff is something I need explained in an auditory or visual manner I think.

[fenixsmom]

Haha sorry to have overwhelmed you! I meant that the same way as Swizz put it in a much better way. I wanted to ask you the series as something for you to contemplate. I apologize for my very blunt nature. Thank you Swizz for calming it down. Swizz is a great guy with valuable information!

In my unprofessional, inexperienced opinion, I'd buy a gold pan kit (2 pans, classifier, sniffer bottle, glass vials, shovel, tweezers and MAYBE a magnet. Season your pans and head to an open river. (open as in open to prospecting) and learn the very basic method of retrieval. You'll also be able to talk to the locals who will always give you a tip or two! Once you learn that you can learn the pros and cons of different recovery systems and figure out what will suit your needs. Some folks are happy as pie with the basic sluice set up.