Featuring 80 booths with the latest in mining and prospecting equipment
& expert instruction from our writers and staff
Dates:
Saturday & Sunday, May 12-13, 2012
Parking:
The Fairgrounds Association
charges $5 per vehicle per day.
Venue:
El Dorado County Fairgrounds
100 Placerville Dr
Placerville, CA 95667
Admission:
$5 at the door per day; children under
12 are free with a paid adult. Food and
drinks will be available for purchase inside.
Show
Hours:
10am - 5pm Saturday
10am - 4pm Sunday
Lecture Schedule for Saturday, May 12, 2012
TIME
TOPIC
SPEAKER
10:30am
How to Locate a Promising Location for Gold Prospecting
Don Robinson
11:30am
Staking and Holding Mining Claims
Chris Ralph
12:15pm
-- Lunch Break --
1:00pm
Hardrock Mines of the Mother Lode
Professor George Wheeldon
2:00pm
Basic Gold Prospecting
Chris Ralph
3:00pm
Current Regulations
Charles P. Watson
4:00pm
Gold & Precious Metals Markets
Leonard Melman
Lecture Schedule for Sunday, May 13, 2012
TIME
TOPIC
SPEAKER
10:30am
Gold Prospects in Wyoming
Chris Ralph
11:30am
Setting Up a Placer Operation
Chris Ralph
12:15pm
-- Lunch Break --
1:30pm
Prospecting for Gold in Alaska
Jim Halloran
2:30pm
Using a Detector to Find Gold
Chris Ralph
Our experts:
Chris Ralph is our Associate Editor. Chris has worked for precious metal mining companies conducting both surface and underground operations, and has a degree in Mining Engineering from Nevada's Mackay School of Mines. He is an individual prospector who has been searching the hills of California and Nevada for many years, finding some nice gold and gems on many occasions. He just returned from his first metal detecting adventure in Australia. Chris is based in Reno, Nevada.
Leonard Melman is our Financial Columnist. Leonard has been reporting on the financial markets for the Journal, with an emphasis on precious metals, since January 1986. Leonard draws on his previous experience as a securities and commodities broker, and he’s reported on mining operations on four continents. He’s also been a frequent speaker at mining investment conferences in Canada. Leonard lives in Nanoose Bay, British Columbia, Canada.
Don Robinson is a Senior Writer. He has over thirty years of full time mining, including underground and open pit placers, and hardrock under his belt. During these years, he served as a consultant, manager and superintendent of various projects, and he was also an assayer for Goldfields, Nevada. He has worked with multiple government agencies dealing with all aspects of mining. Don co-founded the Mother Lode Goldhounds, a California non-profit minerals education corporation, serving as its president for many years. Don is also a California licensed blaster, and he resides in Foresthill, California.
Jim Halloran is a Contributing Writer. He is an AIPG certified geologist based in Alaska and has authored over a dozen articles for the Journal on the geology and gold deposits of his home state. Jim is a Qualified Person as per Canadian Instrument 43-101.
George Wheeldon is a Professor of Geology, teaching at Folsom College in northern California. He has been a resident of northern California's geographically diverse and scenic El Dorado County since the early 1960s. There, he has pursued his boyhood passion for discovering how "stuff works" as he says, and especially for uncovering the secrets of Earth's foundation -- rocks.
Charles Watson is President and Chief Geologist for Advanced Geologic. Charles has over 30 years of academic and professional experience. He is a Qualified Person as per Canadian Instrument 43-101 and a California Professional Geologist.
*Best Western Placerville, 6850 Green Leaf Dr, Placerville, CA 95667; (530) 622-9100; *CALL them to receive discounted rate of $109 and mention you will be attending the "Gold Prospecting Summit"
Gold Country Inn, 1332 Broadway, Placerville, CA 95667; (530) 622-3124
Super 8 Auburn, 140 E Hillcrest Drive, Auburn, CA 95603; (530) 888-8808
RV Camping at the Fairgrounds:
Reservations are on a first come, first served basis. You need to call ahead to see if there is availability due to ongoing events.
Fair Office: (530) 621-5860
Evening Hours: (530) 919-5869
Weekends: (530) 919-5860
Cost is $30 per night, and must be paid to Fair personnel. Check-out time is 1:00pm. Amenities include:
Water
Electricity
Showers
No sewer hook-ups, no dump available on site. (Nearest dump is at the Shell Gas Station, south side of Hwy 50, Cameron Park.)
DIRECTIONS:
From Sacramento, California:
(Approx. 45 minutes.) Take Highway 50 east. Take the Placerville Drive exit. Stay to the right and pass back over the highway.
From Reno, Nevada:
(Approx. 2.5 hours.) Take Highway 50 south to South Lake Tahoe, then continue west on Hwy 50 to Placerville. Take the second Placerville Drive exit. Turn right at firt stoplight.
From Medford, Oregon:
(Approx. 5.5 hours.) Head south on I-5 toward Sacramento. Turn south on CA-99. Merge on to eastbound I-80. Keep left at the fork and merge on to eastbound Hwy 50 to the Placerville Drive exit. Stay to the right and pass back over the highway.
From Auburn, California:
(Approx. 1 hour.) Take Hwy 49 south to Placerville. Turn west on Highway 50. Take the second Placerville Drive exit. Turn right at firt stoplight.
From Bakersfield, California:
(Approx. 5 hours.) Take CA-99 north to Hwy 50 east toward Placerville/South Lake Tahoe. Take the second Placerville Drive exit. Turn right at firt stoplight.
From San Jose, California:
(Approx. 3 hours.) Head north on 880. Take the Mission Blvd exit to 680 north to Sacramento. (See Sacramento above for last leg.)
REVIEWS OF THE 2011 GOLD PROSPECTING AND MINING SUMMIT
Registration for classes opened January 5, 2012. They fill up quickly, so don't wait too long!
ONLINE REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED. IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND A CLASS, PLEASE STOP BY OUR BOOTH AT THE EVENT TO REGISTER.
Hands-on #1 (H1):Friday, May 11, 2012
A full placer operation will be up and running so attendees can see first-hand how the process works. Attendees will have the opportunity to try power sluicing and detecting. Several power sluicing stations will be set up. Those who wish to try detecting must bring their own equipment.
Hands-on #2 (H2):Monday, May 14, 2012
Same as H1. In addition, several vendors will have equipment present so you can see it in action, and knowledgeable instructors will be present to assist those who need it.
Venue: Private mining property near Iowa HIll, approximately 2 hours northeast of Placerville.
Hours: 8:30am - 4:00pm (Caravan leaving Auburn for site at 7:00am.)
Cost: $10 for subscribers to ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal; $35 for non-subscribers.
Additional Details: Directions and rendezvous points will be provided to those who register. Bring a sack lunch. Space is limited.
Hands-on #3 (H3): Monday, May 14, 2012 * THIS CLASS IS FULL * Introduction to Underground Mining. Class will focus on mining methods, explosives, hardrock mining (ore body blocking, assays, mill flow), timbering, exploration, types of gold deposits and processing.
Venue: Private mining property near Foresthill, approximately 1.5 hours northeast of Placerville.
Hours: 8:30am - 4:00pm (Caravan leaving Auburn for site at 7:00am.)
Cost: $30 for subscribers to ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal.
Additional Details: Directions and rendezvous points will be provided to those who register. Bring a sack lunch, notepad and pen. Space is limited.
