Chad Lewis of Sacramento got into a good bedrock seam on Monday and was pulling out small chunks of bedrock with embedded gold from he lower pit. Mark Dayton of El Dorado was about ten yards away on the same line, but his spot had some visible quartz mixed in.

Our second year’s Summit, held over five days in mid-May, was even bigger and better than last year’s gathering. We had more vendors, more hands-on classes and a very full slate of lectures and presentations. Over 2,300 prospectors attended...