Hidden Profit In Old Workings

Even though we do not stake hazardous mines, we know some of our readers do in fact have claims with old workings on them, in some cases even claims we have sold. Not all old workings are hazardous and some can even prove to still be lucrative.

Many of the workings you will find out in the Arizona desert today were put there a hundred years ago or more. At that time gold was priced at $16 an ounce. In 1942 the government closed all gold mines under their War Production Board's order No. L-208. During this shut down period many of the gold mines got flooded, timbers deteriorated and most of the miners found work elsewhere. Very few gold mines reopened leaving many abandoned that still contained valuable ore. By 1980 the price of gold had reached $850 for a short time. The hills were flooded with prospectors once again and consequently more workings. Shortly after its peak, the price of gold dropped to $250 by 1999-2000. This again left numerous gold mines abandoned before their time. September of 2011 gold reached an all-time high of $1900 per ounce and it currently ranges between $1250 and $1400.

With the understanding of the rise and fall of the price of gold in relation to the ore in the ground it seems the ideal time to revisit those old mines. We know that prospectors long ago were working by candle light before carbide lamps came around. That along with the fact that they did not have much, if any technology to assist them, raises a good question. How many veinlets, stringers, and indicatory metals were missed? All of that is fine and great, but how do you truly profit from one of these old workings or mines?

Everyone knows before you invest in a mining operation you test the land. Old workings are no different. Test the dump site, screen the material and process it yourself or even send off a sample for an assay. Test in several locations. These old timers were using touchy equipment, and every time they moved, it had to be recalibrated. Their use of the equipment at one dump site may have pulled more gold than their use of the same equipment at another site. Using the advanced equipment available today there are excellent opportunities to revisit old workings and pull the ore that was left behind.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at Team@minefindergold.com or (623) 374-5413.