BLACK BILLIE
Next
Meeting April 28, 2009
UPCOMING CALENDAR OF EVENTS
(Mark
your calendars ! ! !)
Apr 28, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
May 26, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
Jun 23, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
Jul
28, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
Aug 25, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
Sept 22, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
Oct
27, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
Nov 24, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
1 Year Gold – NYSE
4/10/2009 – Closing $ 887.10
One Year High 993.20
One Year Low 709.50
1 Year Silver – NYSE
4/10/2009 – Closing $ 12.55
One Year High 19.09
One Year Low 8.92
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
Happy spring! Having moved to Nevada just a few years ago I
am getting accustomed to the frequent weather changes. My wife’s favorite expression about the
weather here is, “This is Nevada. If you
don’t like the weather, wait 15 minutes.”
It’ll soon be time to get out and do some serious prospecting. Get out there and have some fun!
I’m very grateful for the increased
involvement from Club members in volunteering their time and knowledge for the
good of the Club and the community. We
now have a group that will plan outings for our Club. Thanks to those members
who are volunteering their time. By the
time you read this we will have had a hands-on gold panning demonstration for a
local school. Remember that we are an
educational organization. There is also
a demonstration being planned for a Boy Scout troop. The best way I know to feel like a part of a
group is to get involved and spend some time with others in that group.
I’d
like to say a big “THANK YOU” to the set up crew. They come in early every month to set up the
chairs and tables. Then they stay after
the meeting and put them away. They also
make sure that our new meeting place looks better after we are done than when
we walk in. If you haven’t been able to attend
a meeting, try to make one soon. I think
we have found a great place to meet.
Michael Wiegand
The Club wishes to thank you
for all your contributions to the raffle table. It helps to pay for the meeting
hall. Please remember to contribute. It does not really matter what
it is. Clean out your garage. If you don't have a use for it, someone
else does. Don't throw it away; put it on the table. ONE MANS GARBAGE IS ANOTHER'S MANS GOLD!
Thank you.
Mike Maxwell, Member at Large
WELCOME
TO OUR NEW MEMBERS
Dave Beck - Sparks, NV
Ronald Beck - Fernley, NV
Edward Beroza & Analiza Zamora -
Sparks, NV
Matt & Tomi Blevens - Carson City, NV
Alan Cardoza - Crescent Mills, CA
Brian Cardoza - Crescent Mills, CA
John Clayton III - Sparks, NV
Kate Cooke & Todd Roberts - Portola, CA
Nina Couch & Darell MacFarland - Reno,
NV
Christy & Jeremiah Davis - Fallon, NV
Donna & Jack Craig - Reno, NV
Linda & Tom Davis - Fallon, NV
Frederick Duffy Sr. - Vancouver, WA
Frederick Duffy Jr. - Vancouver, WA
Danita & Dean Fallen - Reno, NV
Manuel Figueiredo - Reno, NV
Ivan Fortin - Glendora, CA
Diane & David Foster - Sparks, NV
Dave & Verna Furtado - Fallon, NV
Bert Gamble & Debbie Nelson - Reno, NV
Misty & Robert Garner - Dayton, NV
Ken Harrison - Sparks, NV
William Helsley - Reno, NV
Carl & Ernie Hoch - Chewelah, WA
Bill Johnson - Elk Grove, CA
Brian Johnson & Christi Lauer - Sparks,
NV
Marc Leukhardt - Reno, NV
Bill & Leona Lorenzen - Reno, NV
Bill Martz - Portola, CA
Alvin Mickelson - Truckee, CA
Marilyn & Tom Newell - Carson City, NV
Donald & Margaret Novak - Reno, NV
Becky & Casey O’Connell - Sparks, NV
John O’Connor - Fallon, NV
Kyle O’Connor - Fallon, NV
Ronald & Sallie Orbas - Carson City, NV
Lenore & Les Pipella - Sparks, NV
Robert Proehl - Reno, NV
Keith Reed - Orange, CA
David Smith - Reno, NV
Gary Snodgrass - Reno, NV
Michael & Shelly Syriac - Fernley, NV
David Wade - Sparks, NV
Notes From Our
Membership
Chairperson/Historian:
Membership:
The
annual update process for Life and Honorary memberships has been good this year
but there are still some members we haven’t heard from for a couple of
years. These members are Jake and
Theresa Chavez, Ron and Sherrie Keith, Shirley Schilling, Floyd and Tammy
Schneider, and Ann and Steve Matsumura.
The annual update is a requirement of Article III section 2b of the
Club’s by-laws and the Board has requested that for Life and Honorary
memberships the updates take place during the first quarter of the year.
All
members need to submit a completed and signed application every year. This application should reflect any changes
that have occurred with the membership including any changes that may have
occurred with the adult members of a family membership. If one of the adult names is left off of the
application (a common event) and the membership is still family, I have no way
of knowing what is going on. It could be just an oversight or it could be a
separation has occurred and the family membership is being kept because of
children. A similar dilemma is faced
when a second adult is not listed and the membership changes to
individual. It would help a great deal
if members would write on their applications the reason for a change of the
types mentioned and if members would not leave off the second adult if there is
one.
Thanks
to the limited availability of old records and the fact that over 84 percent of
the Club members have joined since 2000, I have managed to identify when most
members joined the Club. I have since
talked to those whose dates I could not pinpoint and so this task is completed. One bit of trivia from this process is - the most senior members who joined in 1986 or
1987 are Darryl Nelson, Ben Spengler, Robert Voshall and Bo Zema.
Historian:
I
wish to thank the following members for providing past newsletters: Lee and Gary Nielson, Darryl and Jennifer
Nelson, Joseph and Vicki Bremmer, Harley Ponsler, and Robert Voshall. A 1990 newsletter that Robert supplied was
found at a garage sale. This leaves me
in good shape between 2000 and the present but there is a big hole between 1986
and 2000. So keep looking through your
old boxes and get to me any past newsletters you find (I will photocopy and
return the originals, if that is your desire).
I
would also like to ask that all past officers look through any materials they
have from the Club. There seems to have
been a breakdown over the years of passing on records from one person to the
next. I am going to work backwards
contacting as many past officers as I can but if you find some material before
I get to you, please send it to me.
Bill
Vogt
GETTING
INVOLVED
One way to get involved with the Club is to send me your
gold-prospecting related stories -- a
story about your prospecting trip -- a story about that new metal detector or
dredging equipment that you have -- or a story about any gold-related topic of
interest -- so that these stories can get into The Gold Pan. If you find
something interesting, take a picture and send it to me. You don’t even have to be a member who lives
close enough to attend the meetings in order to participate in this way.
You can also get involved by being a volunteer for outings and
demonstrations, teaching new members the tricks of the trade, or by researching
a new claim for the Club.
Thank YOU in advance,
Lee Nielson, Editor
Send your stories and/or pictures to me by email at leenielson1@aol.com
Or by mail to 4242 Spring Dr., Carson City, NV 89701
CHASING GOLD ON
BEDROCK
Bedrock is
essentially an exposed portion of the Earth’s crust and comes in all sorts of
varieties. Sometimes it is schist, other times granite or volcanic, and
sometimes it is not even a true rock, but rather a false bottom like caliche.
Whatever it may be, it is a good place to search with a detector because the
gold will almost always be within a machine’s depth range. Hunting bedrock
requires different techniques than regular dirt because there are many possible
hiding places for a nugget. Even after the signal is pinpointed a prospector
cannot be 100% certain where it is lodged within a crack. If the bedrock is
highly weathered it will typically break apart easiily. If it is composed of a
harder rock it can be a chore.
There are
two items I always bring along when targeting bedrock: 1) a strong rare earth
magnet, and 2) a flathead screwdriver. A powerful magnet is brilliant for
quickly removing ferrous junk like wire fragments, boot tacks and bits of
decomposed cans. It saves a lot of precious detecting time and is easy to use.
After you have most of the sand and gravel out of a crack, simply rub the
magnet into the hole. I attach mine to the end of my pick, so it also works as
I’m digging. Just be careful if you carry your pick on your side and your
wallet in a back pocket. I’ve wiped out more than one credit card this way! The
trusted flathead is another tool I’ve put to good use. It is much easier to
maneuver in tight bedrock cracks than a pick head, plus you can take your time
making sure a nugget does not get damaged. Don’t use an expensive one, instead
go for a “junker” in your toolbox or pick up a cheapo from the hardware store.
I have lost many of them over the years after digging up a nugget and in my
excitement walking away. Now I leave it stuck to the magnet on my pick. Another
inexpensive device you can use while bedrock hunting is a straw. That’s right –
a straw! Grab a few from McDonalds the next time you swing in for a burger.
They are great for blowing out sand filled cracks. It might seem goofy, but it
works!
Most of the
gold I’ve pulled from exposed bedrock has been small (2 grams and under), but
it is still one of my favorite places to detect. Sure chances of finding a big
lump on bedrock are slim; even so I get a real charge from picking tiny bits in
between the folds of rock in a gully.
(Thanks to Chris Gholson
for this article from arizonaoutback.com)
FLOAT, VEINS, & FREE GOLD
It has been suggested that the prospector may look for the mother
lode in the vicinity of localities where nuggets are found. It is equally logical to look for nuggets in
the vicinity of gold-bearing veins which outcrop. Such prospecting should of course be at
points below the outcrop and in line with gravitating forces.
Float is the name given to
particles of quartz or vein matter which becomes scattered about the country as
the result of the disintegrating of outcropping veins. These are distributed by such forces as water
and gravitation. They are valuable aids
to the prospector who seeks to locate veins.
Sometimes this float contains particles of free gold, and the
prospector is at once assured that the vein is of value, wherever it may be
located. Again, the pieces show rusty
spots and cavities, showing that metal has been oxidized and lost
therefrom. This is a promising
indication, though not a positive guarantee that the vein is worth finding.
The language of the float is easily read. Small particles having worn or rounded points
and edges have traveled far. Large
chunks with sharp edges and corners have come but a short distance. Pieces are, as a rule, more numerous in the
immediate vicinity of an outcropping vein than farther away.
If, in following a line of float, the prospector comes to a place
where it ceases, it is time to turn aside and look for the vein. The finding of it, however, may not be so
easy, even now, for it often happens that veins once exposed become covered
many feet deep with earth and debris as the result of landslides, floods, and
other agencies. Men sometimes spend
months locating a vein after they have traced it to its immediate locality. It is only by laying bare the rocks that it
can be found.
Free Gold is that which is not
confined to veins, such as that found in placers, or gold which appears in
rocks in its pure state, uncombined with other metals. When it is combined with other metals, its
presence can be determined only by tests.
(by Arthur J. Burdick, pp. 43-45 , The Prospectors’ Manual.
This article appeared in The
Prospector’s Quill, newsletter of Gold Prospectors of Colorado, Nov. 2008)
MINUTES OF THE BOARD
MEETING
March 24, 2009
President Mike Wiegand called the meeting to
order at 6:05 p.m.
Board
Members Present: Bill Vogt, Mike Maxwell, Nadine Miller, Claire Wiegand, Mike Wiegand, Jennifer
Nelson, Jim Richards, Grant Garrison, Lee Nielson, Gary Nielson
Absent: Leland Wong
Corrections
to Minutes: None
Treasurer’s
Report: Nadine Miller
The Treasurer’s Report was read and
approved.
Motion to Accept: Mike Maxwell, 2nd Grant Garrison
Claims
Report: Grant Garrison
The new claim on Nelson Creek, the
“7&7”, is ours. Maps will be available soon. Gary, Al and Mike W. will
drive and get the mileage, landmarks, etc., and get the maps done. We currently
have 6 claims in California, 2 in Nevada. The Club is interested in possibly
another Nevada claim. There isn’t a specific claim at this time, but if anyone
hears of anything available please contact Grant. The Procedure for Maintaining
Claims will be available soon. Jim Richards, Mike Wiegand and Grant Garrison
will work on these procedures and get copies to all board members.
Old
Business:
The Club received an extension for our 2008
taxes. Our new tax person is Nellie Rymke. Nellie will prepare our taxes and
reestablish our non-profit status.
The Club still needs a trailer for our
equipment. We need a used enclosed trailer, 14 – 16 feet. We need the trailer
ASAP. If anyone knows of one please contact a member of the board. Our maximum
price is $2,000.00.
We discussed and voted on the 300 member
rule. Should the 300 be members or memberships? Originally the Club roster
counted only memberships, currently it is counting individual members. A family
membership would count as 1 membership regardless of the number of family
members. We would still have the maximum capacity of 300, but we need to
determine 300 members or 300 memberships. It could mean the club could have
over 500 members but still only 300 memberships. At election time there would
only be 300 ballots, 300 votes. With a vote of 7 to 3 the 300 memberships won.
This will eliminate the current waiting list until the 300 memberships number
is reached and then there will be another waiting list if needed. A family
membership is one person, significant other, and any children under 18 years
old. If a child is over 18 they would need to be a separate individual membership.
New
Business:
Pleasant
Valley Elementary School has asked if we could do a panning demonstration at
the school on Tuesday April 14th at 10 a.m. We will ask for volunteers at the meeting.
There is also a Boy Scout Troop with 8 or 9 members that need lessons and 1
weekend panning for Merit Badges. No date yet for that one.
The Club needs to start planning group
outings. We need an Outings Committee. We will ask for volunteers at the
meeting.
The Club has flags available with a member’s
name and type of equipment, the club name and logo. The flags are $21.00 each
and will be made to order. The example Mike brought in was black with yellow
lettering and logo. It said “Comstock Gold Prospectors”, “Dredger, Mike
Wiegand”. These flags are optional, not required, and would be available with
your name and which piece of equipment, dredge, drywasher, etc.. Please contact
Mike or Claire to order. The flags are just another way to determine if someone
on the claims is actually a member.
The mesh hats are also available to order.
Please let Claire know what color you would like.
We will raffle a Gold Miner Spiral Wheel at
the Christmas party. Tickets are available now. Tickets are $1.00 each or 6 for
$5.00. The raffle is open to everyone, not just members, and you don’t need to
be present to win. The Gold Miner Wheel is $299.00.
Next month’s Board Meeting will be at the
normal time, 6:3 p.m.
Motion
to Adjourn: 7:10 p.m. by Lee
Nielsen, 2nd Bill Vogt
Minutes prepared by Jennifer Nelson
Please, oh please, if you
have a computer and email service and a printer, consider receiving your copy
of The Gold Pan by email. You will receive it many days sooner than if
it is mailed to you, and you will save the Club the cost of printing and
postage. Believe me, I have so much
gratitude to those of you who receive your newsletter by email. For each newsletter that I can send by email,
it saves me the folding, inserting, folding again, sealing, labeling, stamping
and mailing -- and I believe you will receive your newsletter in better
condition than those that are sent through the mail. If you would like to receive the newsletter electronically,
please send me an email giving me the okay.
Thanks,
Lee Nielson, Editor.
email: leenielson1@aol.com
MINUTES
OF THE GENERAL MEETING
March 24, 2009
President Mike Wiegand called the meeting to
order at 7:35 p.m.
Corrections to Minutes: None
Treasurer’s
Report: Nadine Miller.
The
Treasurer’s Report was read and approved. Motion to Accept: Al Gottsch, 2nd Larry Smith
Claims
Report: Grant Garrison.
Next month we’ll be going to all the claims
to check them out and repair/replace claim signs where necessary. The “7&7”
claim on Nelson Creek is ours. We can change the name if wanted. Some ideas
were the “Harry & Billie” claim, the “Billie Harry” claim, to honor our
past Presidents Billie Canham and Harry Z. Suggestions for new names are welcome. Maps to
the new claim will be available next month. The new claim has lots of bedrock,
perfect for sniping. Dredge size will be determined by the amount of water, it
will probably be limited to 2 or 3 inch, maybe 4. We don’t want any more California claims at
this time but may be interested in a Nevada claim.
Guest
Speaker: Our scheduled speaker, Bruce Broadhead, had to
reschedule. Member Rick Herron had material of his own prepared and spoke in
his place.
Old
Business:
We still need to find an enclosed trailer
for the equipment. The trailer needs to be 14 to 16 feet and in the $2,000.00
price range. Anyone who knows of one or has one available please let a board
member know.
Guests this month, the Syriac family, Mike,
Shelly, and Tim, presented the Club with a panner trophy and plaque that read
“Presented To Comstock Prospectors In Appreciation For Your Service To The Boys
Of Cub Scout Pack 494, Fernley Nevada, May 23rd 2006”. The Club had
done the Scout show in 2006 and the Syriac’s recently found the trophy and
brought it in for the presentation.
We have returned to the original counting of
memberships. The maximum number of memberships is 300. Family memberships will
count again as one instead of counting each member in the family. This will
temporarily eliminate the waiting list. The waiting list will be reestablished once
we hit the 300 memberships number again.
For dredgers and others using other
equipment on the claims there are flags available with the club name, logo and
member name on them, to display on your dredge or other equipment. This will
help all of us determine if people using the claims are in fact club members.
The flags are $21.00 and are optional, not required. All members using club claims for dredging
must have a dredge permit from the state of California. No exceptions. There
are currently club bumper stickers also available for sale.
There will be a raffle at the Christmas
party for a Gold Miner Spiral Wheel. Second prize will be a package of cut and
faceted gemstones worth $200. Third prize will be a package of cut and faceted
gemstones worth $100. Member Eldon McElhaney donated the gemstones. Thank you
Eldon! Tickets are available at the meetings and at Reno Prospectors Supply.
Tickets are $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. Members may sign out blocks of tickets
to sell. The raffle is open to anyone, not just members, and winners need not
be present to win.
New
Business:
Pleasant Valley Elementary School has
requested a panning demonstration at the school on Tuesday April 14th
at 10 a.m. Many members raised their
hands to volunteer, but I didn’t have time to get all the names. The names I
did get are Tom Rose, Al Gottsch, Casey O’Connell, Bill Vogt and Richard Erd.
Also a local Boy Scout Troop, and an LDS Church Youth Group would like panning
demo’s. No dates for these yet but volunteers will be needed. Volunteers so far
are Larry Smith, Al Gottsch and Eldon McElhaney.
We need a committee to plan and organize
outings. Larry Smith volunteered to chair the committee, other committee member
volunteers were Al Gottsch, Kim Pon, and Tom Rose. The Outings Committee will
get together and determine times, dates and places for outings. Day trips and
also possibly overnight trips. Also possible training for members who need/want
some help with prospecting in general.
Possible future shows and demos will be the annual
Scout Show at the end of May, and possibly Camp Signshine, a camp for deaf
children in California. These demo’s and shows are necessary activities for the
Club to maintain it’s non-profit status.
Casey O’Connell, a guest that did join and
will be a new member next month is interested in any information on all aspects
of prospecting. Casey said, “I’m a greenhorn that wants to learn!”. Anyone
interested in helping Casey – or anyone – let Jennifer know and she’ll hook you
up!
Guests: There were 10 guests present. John O’Connor,
Dave Fartano, Dana Allen, Ed Beroza, Casey O’Connell, David Wade, Dave Beck,
David Roper, Brian Johnson and the Syriac family, Mike, Shelly and son Tim.
Many of these guests ended up joining the club! Thank you for attending – and
for joining to those who did.
New
Members: The Davis family:
Andy, Christy and son Shaydon. As the only new members they won the gold! Thank
you for joining!
Attendance: Ken Brown won the silver round. Congrats
Kenny!
Membership:
Nicole
Rose of Gardnerville was drawn, not present and more than 50 miles away. Connie
Grandfield of Springville CA was drawn, not present and more than 50 miles
away. Marlin Isbell of Fernley was drawn, not present and less than 50 miles
away. The drawing for April will be for 2 silver rounds.
Motion
to Adjourn: 8:25 p.m. by Al
Gottsch, 2nd Virginia Brown.
Minutes prepared by Jennifer Nelson.
Dick Thieben had surgery and was unable to
attend or bring the flag. Thank you to
the Wiegands for bringing the flag this month!
Comstock
Gold Prospectors
PO Box 20781
Reno NV
89515-0781
Web site: http://www.cgpgold.org
General
Meeting
4th
Tuesday of each month
7:30 PM at the
Masonic Wadsworth
Lodge #25
2425 Pyramid Way,
Sparks, NV
(Corner of Pyramid
& York Way)
Board
Meeting
4th
Tuesday of each month
6:30 PM – prior to
the General Meeting
Masonic Wadsworth
Lodge #25
2425 Pyramid Way,
Sparks, NV
(Corner of Pyramid
& York Way)
ALL MEMBERS WELCOME
Club Officers – 2009
President: Mike Wiegand - 775/835.6780
Email: bethemiracle777@sbcglobal.net
Past President: Leland Wong
Email: Llw1345@cs.com 775/882.5704
Vice-President: Grant Garrison
Email: woodygmg@aol.com -- 775/359-9238
Secretary: Jennifer
Nelson
renoprospectors@sbcglobal.net
– 775/329-7553
Treasurer: Nadine
Miller
Email: nmiller@cccomm.net
-- 775/867.3550
Membership/Historian:
Bill Vogt
Email: Wvogt@sbcglobal.net -- 775/747-3145
Editor: Lee Nielson
Email: leenielson1@aol.com -- 775/884.2656
Board Members at
Large
Mike Maxwell
Email: mdmbfb@aol.com 775/348.1620
Gary Nielson
Email: cgnielson@aol.com 775/884.2656
Jim Richards
Email: rsmokinguns@yahoo.com 775/225-2494
Claire Wiegand
775/835.6780
Email: bethemiracle777@sbcglobal.net
Remember, if you have been elected to a
Board position, your attendance is required at all Board meetings.
If you can not attend, be sure one of the Board members has your proxy
to allow for completion of necessary business.
Notice to All :
The Board welcomes new ideas about outings, claims, speakers, programs,
activities, social events, fund raising, public awareness, training programs, prospecting successes, anecdotes,
hints, tall tales, lies, and gossip.
CLASSIFIED
SECTION
650W Honda
Generator.
$275.00. Good for travel trailer or camping. Contact Dick Tieben (775) 887-9085. Cell (775) 720-3331.
Blue Bowl (Deluxe
Kit). Includes a 12v car battery. $160.00
Contact Myron Wolff (775) 331-5740.
To place or renew a business ad, send a check to Comstock Gold
Prospectors, c/o Editor, 4242 Spring Drive, Carson City, NV 89701. Include your ad layout, and your phone number
or email address. Personal ads
are free to members for a maximum of 3 editions of the newsletter.
Full Page
Ad: $50.00 per month
Half Page
Ad: $25.00 per month
Quarter Page
Ad: $12.50 per month
The
Club drywasher may be rented by Club members for $5/day, $15/week. A VacPak is
also available. The drywasher is kept at
Reno Prospector’s Supply (775/329-7553), 315 Claremont St., Reno.
