presidents corner - roadrunner prospectors'...

August 2013

Volume 27-8 A Monthly Newsletter Published by the RoadRunner Prospector’s Club August 2013

PRESIDENTS CORNER

August 2013

The rains have come and the fire restrictions have been lifted and we can resume outings. The

fires for this year are over, we hope. At this point in time, water is pooling but I am not cer-

tain if its really flowing yet. If the rains continue we will have flowing water by September.

The Board is moving forward with plans to have prospecting training at outings. We are not

planning a rigid schedule of subjects, but rather different subjects on a more informal schedul-

ing basis. I think Pete will teach GPS at one of the winter outings and I intend to take it again.

I may eventually master it, if I take it often enough. One of our Board members is publishing

another article in this newsletter about the proposed training events for the August outing.

On another matter, I would like thank those members who responded to our questionnaire

concerning access to the Map 19 claims. We are still looking for more responses so if you are

planning to send it, please do so now. We will keep you updated on our progress.

Lastly, we are planning on another coin shoot at the November outing. It will be limited to

RRPC members and their guests, but not the general public. There are just too many compli-

cations to schedule something of this nature that is open to the public. If anyone wants to be

in charge and run the event, they should contact the Board this month, before the Board meet-

ing. Otherwise, Bill and Carol Nickel have agreed to do it, after I did a full grovel to persuade

them. They will be in charge of the event and all arrangements, but as always, they will need

assistance. We will have volunteer sign up sheets at the general meeting. Volunteers are the

heart and soul of a successful event. Last years coin shoot was one of the most successful

events and was due to the efforts of those who graciously donated their time. Thank you, one

and all.

Good luck out on the claims and be careful of the heat this time of year.

Frederick Horn, President

August 2013

MONTHLY MEETINGS General Meetings:

3rd Thursday of the month - 7:00 PM @ Arizona American Italian

Club 7509 North 12th St. Phoenix, AZ (No meeting in December)

Monthly outings:

Held on the weekends following the Third Thursday of the month.

Guests are welcome to attend regular meetings and outings.

Board Meeting:

forthTuesday of the month - 7:00pm Club Office

New Member Orientation:

Club Office 7:00 p.m.. See calendar for dates.

The Bird Tailings is published as a service to Roadrunner Prospectors’

Club, Inc. members. Opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of

the management or of its members. Publication of information in this

newsletter constitute, no guarantee of accuracy. Use of any information

found in this newsletter is at the sole risk of the user. Neither the RRPC,

it’s board of directors, nor the editor of this publication assume any

liability for damages resulting from the use of information found within

the newsletter content.

The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in part or

in whole without written consent of the Roadrunner Prospectors’ Club.

The newsletter encourages submissions of any article mining related,

opinion pieces, cartoons, want-ads, sales of items, etc.

Roadrunner Prospecting Club phone numbers:

Voice message 602-274-2521

Office Fax: 602-274-4335

Mailing address:

RRPC

P.O. Box 56804

Phoenix, AZ 85079

Email:

[email protected]

Website:

http://www.roadrunnergold.com

Club Office is located at:

2744 W. Osborn R.

Phoenix, AZ 85017-5023

(Open 9:00am to 1:00pm Wednesday). Between Thomas Rd

and Indian School Rd, west of 27th Ave.

Member Address Change Form: Send to: RRPC, PO Box 56804, Phoenix, AZ 85079-6804 or email: [email protected]

Member Number: ________

Name: ________________________________________

New Address: __________________________________

__________________________________

Phone Number: _________________________________

BOARD & OFFICE DIRECTORY

PRESIDENT

Fred Horn

VICE PRESIDENT

Karl Weber

SECRETARY

Carol Nickel

TREASURER

Bill Hunt

3 YEAR BOARD MEMBERS

Bob Wierzal

Bruce Myers


Jack Engbrecht

Randal Stockwood


Reeve Kahabka

Bill Nickel

News Letter

—————————————————————

Office Manager Membership Manager

Pete Baker Pete Baker

Website

Pete Baker

Brian Jost

Dues/Fees:

• Annual dues are due by December 1st

of each year.

• Annual Maintenance Fee (AMF =

$44.00) due by December 1st of each

year.

August 2013

The following folks have joined RRPC since our

last newsletter. Please welcome them into our

club:

Edward & Mary Venatta Humboldt, AZ

Dan & Mary Ann Fogarty Phoenix, AZ

Stephen Jarrard Prescott, AZ

James & Cheryl Springfield Phoenix, AZ

Kirk Landers Idalou, TX

VIP Winners from the July Meeting:

Wayne George – Claims Marking

Tim Hicks – Meeting Refreshments

Laura Cawley – Meeting Support

August 2013 Classifieds

For Sale: Life Membership #2098. $400, Buyer pays $250

transfer fee. AMF paid for 2013. Please call Paul Bilant at:

(512) 516-2194(home) or (575) 574-8760(cell).


transfer fee. AMF paid for 2013. Please call Joe Lickar at (480)

288-8339.


transfer fee. AMF paid for 2013. Please call Bob Jackson at

(480) 926-1298.


transfer fee. AMF paid for 2013. Please call Debi Wyman at

(623) 842-2910.


transfer fee. AMF paid for 2013. Please call Jon Kettenhofen at

(706) 726-3491.


transfer fee. AMF paid for 2013. Please call Jackie Wilson at

(623) 877-2497.


transfer fee. AMF paid for 2013. Please call Ray Henningsen at

(928) 899-8621.


transfer fee. AMF paid for 2013 Please call Kevin Vancleve at

(920) 848-7788.


transfer fee. AMF paid for 2013 Please call Alan Chatfield at

(602) 540 4728.

For Sale: Life Membership #3583. $400. Buyer pays $250

transfer fee. AMF paid for 2013. Please call Bud Drummond at

(480) 830-7949.

Classifieds—Continued

For Sale: Life Membership #3181. $300. Buyer pays $250

transfer fee. AMF paid for 2013. Please call Mike Bothwell at

(719) 495-4479.


transfer fee. AMF paid for 2013. Please call Kay Lemker at

(712) 832-3747.

For Sale: Deep Seeker – If you’re after large, deeply buried

treasure, the Whites TM808 is for you. Use Cave Mode to lo-

cate caves, wells or tunnels. Paid $700.00, asking $400.00.

Please call Charlotte Turgovich at (928) 636 0598

Wanted: Aluminum impeller for older Gold King 1 1/2" dredge

pump. Please call Preston Pieper at 928 -7711782 or email:

[email protected]

For Sale: Whites Gold Master metal detector. $200.00. Please

call Bill Hunt at: (602) 348-8261.

For Sale: Accurate Locator PI 5500 deep target detector. Find

treasures, gold, meteorites. Also have the 18" blaket. $3,500.00.

Gold Getter Buggy Recirculater/sluice. Holds over 300 gallons

of water. Gas motor. $4,000.00. Call Jack Tucker at: (928) 427

-9597.

For Sale: Trommel (home made) 2.5 gas motor, reverse helix

$1,200.00. Call Jack Tucker at: (928) 427-9597.

For Sale: The Roadrunner club is selling the Gold Screw tram-

mel. Just serviced with a new foot valve. Includes a complete

service manual. $1,500.00 Call the club office (602) 274-2521

or email: [email protected].

For Sale: 3000 Mine Lab metal detector, 3 coils, 4 small batter-

ies, other accessories. Also, all 2” & 3” dredging equipment.

And, a pull-along ATV trailer. Please call Hans Sommer for

details and pricing – (928) 237-7318

Use the form on page 6 to order your

30th Anniversary Silver Round.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

August 2013

During 2001 and 2002, Gene Mrotek published several outstanding articles in “Bird Tailings”. We are proud

to present some examples of these great stories and will try to have more of Gene’s work in coming issues.

Thank you, Gene….

**************************************************************************************

GENE SEZ – December 2001

A Story about Treasures and Ghosts

One of the real knowledgeable miners during the heyday of mining in Arizona in the 1870's and 1880's was a

man named Fermin Mejia. He helped develop some of the rich mines in the Prescott area, ran some of the re-

covery mills, and located a number of excellent mines.

During a bad storm he located some really rich quartz ore. In the November 1883 issue of the Prescott Miner

paper the story appears as follows:

Two years ago Fermin Mejia found near the old Senator Mills, on the upper Hassayampa, seven

pounds of gold quartz ore, from which he extracted $414.00, calculating gold at $18.00 an ounce.

Since that time he has on various occasions made search for the rich source from which this ore came.

Although this report is not fully clear it would seem that he has found a very rich float and had not located the

exact vein it came from. Float material is sometimes found quite a distance from the actual quartz vein.

Mr. Mejia waited two years after finding this bonanza ore to report the find to the Prescott paper. Being an ex-

perienced prospector, I wondered if he didn't file a mining claim on the area where he picked up the specimen.

I checked Yavapai County claims for that two-year period, and sure enough he filed two claims in May and

July of 1882. The first was aptly named the "New Senator" and his description was as follows: "Situated about

one mile northeasterly from the old Senator Mine and some 700 - 800 feet east of the Senator Mill." The sec-

ond claim was named the "Mamon" and adjoined the first claim on the north end.

This is a very accessible area going out Mount Vernon Street on the Senator Highway until you look down at

the old Senator. The mill at this point is up to your left.

What a super place to try to find another chunk of quartz that is 1/3 gold, using our modern detectors. Even

better than that would be finding the vein it came from.

We will permit the first two members finding some of this ore to display it at the general meeting and brag.

Good Luck!

Another Treasure Story

Somewhere, 20 to 30 miles southeast from Salome, Arizona is a rich red clay ledge of gold.

A rancher in the 1960's was in his pickup looking after his cattle. He was attracted to a red clay ledge and

stopped to examine it more closely. He noticed shining particles in the clay. It was gold! He loaded a fair

amount in the truck, drove home and contacted a prospector friend to find out what he thought about the sam-

ples. The prospector's eyes grew wide just looking at the clay. Panning brought enough gold to easily see that

the rancher had found a real bonanza. Plans were made to mine the deposit as soon as the rancher could return

from Colorado where he was closing a land deal. Unfortunately, in Colorado he suffered a heart attack and

died. The prospector and his friend, a Mr. Rush, who still lives in the Salome area, made attempts to find the

ledge, but to no avail. This ledge would be a rich prize for a finder. Seldom can you prospect for something

like this while driving in your vehicle. If you do and you "see red" let me know!

August 2013

August Outing

Equipment Demo's and Panning Lessons The August outing will be held at the Betty claims on Map #6 in your map package with gold prospect-ing equipment demo's and panning lessons. The equipment to be demonstrated and present may be dependent on the amount of water in the creek, mois-ture in the soil and include, but not limited to, dry-washing, dredging, and recirculating/powered sluice. If you are new to the hobby and want to see it in action (and maybe give it a test drive!) or need some tips/pointers or have questions, here is your chance. Gold pans, water and tubs will be available for the panning lessons. -- Bruce Myers

Did You Know?

You have to drill through 250 tons of rock, then pul-verize and chemically treat it to get enough gold to cast a single wedding ring. No wonder gold is one of the most expensive and most sought-after precious metals. On July 26th, 2013 gold was at $1340.00 per troy ounce.

Annual High And Low Gold Bullion Prices Since 1972

*The spike seen in 1980 was due to the Middle East War

Year Yearly

High

Yearly

Low Year Yearly High

Yearly

Low

1972 $70.00 $44.00 1993 $406.70 $326.10

1973 $126.00 $64.00 1994 $397.50 $369.65

1974 $195.00 $117.00 1995 $396.95 $372.40

1975 $185.00 $135.00 1996 $416.25 $367.40

1976 $142.00 $102.00 1997 $367.80 $283.00

1977 $168.00 $127.00 1998 $314.60 $273.40

1978 $243.65 $165.70 1999 $323.50 $252.80

1979 $524.00 $216.55 2000 $325.50 $264.10

*1980 $850.00 $474.00 2001 $291.45 $256.65

1981 $599.25 $391.25 2002 $342.75 $277.75

1982 $488.50 $296.75 2003 $417.25 $319.90

1983 $511.50 $374.25 2004 $454.20 $375.00

1984 $406.85 $303.25 2005 $536.50 $411.10

1985 $340.90 $284.25 2006 $725.00 $524.75

1986 $442.75 $326.00 2007 $841.10 $608.40

1987 $502.75 $390.00 2008 $1,011.25 $712.50

1988 $485.30 $389.05 2009 $1,212.50 $810.00

1989 $417.15 $358.50 2010 $1,421.00 $1,058.00

1990 $423.75 $345.85 2011 $1,895.00 $1,319.00

1991 $403.00 $344.30 2012 $1,791.75 $1,540.00

1992 $359.60 $330.20

Buddy List

Echo Maurer, (623) 377-0808, [email protected]

Area: Surprise

Available: Any day, Cannot drive.

Equipment: Drywasher, Dredge, Hi-banker, final recovery sys-

tems.

Have pickup. Limited driving due to vision problems.

Preferred claims: Any claims area

Dick Tucek, (623) 975-2849

Area: Surprise

Available: Any day but Sunday, Can not drive

Equipment: Metal Detector

Preferred claims: Stanton area, Leave No Holes, Bumblebee

King

Mike Landgraf, (602) 678-6789, [email protected]

Area: 7th Ave./Dunlap - Sunnyslope

Available: Any day, Can drive, 2WD, Intermediate

Equipment: High-Banker, Metal detector

Preferred claims: Turkey Creek

“Have 650cc buggy for offroad, carries a lot. I’m retired.”

Randall Stockwood, (928) 501-7901, [email protected]

Area: Pleasant Harbor Resort, Peoria

Available: All days except Sunday, Can drive, 4WD

Equipment: Dry washer, Metal detector

Preferred claims: Any and all

“Need some one to be with”

Don Tennis, (575) 535-4463

Area: Meyer, AZ.

Available: Fri., Sat., Sun., Can drive, 2WD

Equipment: 2 ½” High-Banker, other misc.

Preferred claims: Big Bug 1&2, Turkey Creek claims, Mercers

“I am open to suggestions. Please call and we can go from

there.”

Rich Nipko, 321 432-8209, Email: [email protected]

Area: Goodyear

Available: All days, Can drive, 2WD, Experienced

Equipment: Metal detector, panning

Preferred claims: Any

“New to club, recently retired”

Michael Schratt, 815 814-2145, Email: [email protected]

Area: Tempe

Available: Saturdays, Sundays, Can drive

Equipment: Metal Detector, pan

Preferred Claims: all claims

Interests: Nugget hunting, coin hunting, ancient artifacts, an-

tique treasure maps, tales of lost or buried treasure

Brian Venetz, 602 486-5976, Email: [email protected]

Area: Phoenix

Available: Fridays, Saturdays, Can drive, 2wd, Beginner

Equipment: Sluice, Pan

Preferred Claims: All

August 2013

Roadrunner Prospectors Club, Inc. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Please use this form to make Dues or AMF payments and for ordering replacement

Maps or Badges or for ordering the 30th Anniversary Silver Rounds

Name: _________________________________________________ Member Number: __________

Street Address: ___________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: ___________________________________________________________________

Phone Number: ___________________________________________________________________

Replacement Maps: $20.00. Replacement Badges: $10.00 each.

Dues Pymt: $__________AMF Pymt: $_______ Maps Pymt:$_______ Badges(s) Pymt: $_______

If ordering replacement badge(s), the name(s) as you want it to appear on the badge:

(first name): ___________________________________________

(second name): ___________________________________________

********************************************************************************

Use this section to order the 30th Anniversary Silver Round. Quantities are limited to TWO per mem-

bership. The price is $50 per round w/o display box and $55 per round with display box.

(price includes shipping, handling, insurance and tracking).

# of Silver Rounds (limit two) ___ @ $50 = $________. # of Display Boxes ___ @ $5 = ________.

Total amount of order: $ ____________

********************************************************************************

Please make Check or Money Order payable to: Roadrunner Prospectors Club, Inc.

PO Box 56804


********************************************************************************

Use this form if paying with a credit or debit card Please Print Legibly

Credit/Debit Card: ___ ___ ___ Total Amount: _______

Card Number: ________________________________________ Exp. Date: ____/______

CVV Number: ______ (on back of the credit card) mm / yyyy

Billing Address:

First Name: _______________________ Last Name: ____________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________________________________

August 2013

ROADRUNNER CLOTHING AND PRODUCTS

Pro Gold Prospecting Equipment &Supplies is now the new distributor of the

clothing and products for the club, you can go directly to the mining shop to pur-

chase your shirts hats and decals, also Pro-Gold will be soon be offering some new

items, such as hat pins Car window decals, Sweat pants and many more neat new

things to show your support of the club. If you plan to go and buy the product from

the store keep in mind that they will want to see that you are a current member so

be sure to bring your current membership card, The store does not want to be sell-

ing club merchandise to non members. You can reach the mining shop at 623-670-

9732 if you have any questions.

Shadow Mountain

Screw Products Prospecting Equipment Repair

2545 E. Marilyn Rd.


Ph - (602) 992-9173

Cell - (602) 625-4572

Howard R. Bentley

NUGGET-SHOOTER

Authorized Minelab & Nugget Finder Dealer

Bill Southern 623-910-0345

Your Guide To Finding Gold Nuggets!

Website: www.nuggetshooter.com

Mail Address: PO Box 576

Morristown, AZ 85342

“e” Mail [email protected]

Falcon Metal Detectors

PO Box 8353 Mesa AZ 85214 (480) 396-1181 www.falconmetaldectectors.com

Wally DeShon

BunksArizonaProspecting.com

Home of the Hermit Pick

Dry Washers, Maps, Accessories, Carbon Fiber Detector Shafts

Calvin “Bunk” Bunker, 928-830-5350

PO Box 2581, Chino Valley, AZ 86323

Gold King Mfg LLC Prospecting Supplies

Mavis (623)-386-6430

Scott (623)-694-4389

August 2013

Roadrunner Prospectors’ Club P.O. Box 56804 Phoenix, AZ 85079-6804

Support the 1872 Mining Law

PRESORTED FIRST-CLASS MAIL US POSTAGE PAID

PHOENIX, AZ PERMIT NO. 5419

presidents corner - roadrunner prospectors'...

Documents