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Ask The Experts - Is California dredging going to return in 2019?

October 2018 by Chris Ralph

Q: Hi Chris. My name is Brian and I am a GPAA member. I thoroughly enjoy your videos and all your prospecting information. You are a great asset to the small prospecting/mining community.

My question is how strong is the possibility that dredging will be allowed in California in 2019? I’m only asking because right now I can purchase used 4- to 6-inch dredges almost anywhere online for an amazing deal. What do you think? Would it be a pretty sure bet we will be able to gold dredge in California? I hope the odds are in the prospector’s favor because if it looks really hopeful and promising as it sounds I would sure like to make a purchase of a nice dredge while I have the opportunity before the prices go sky-high again. Thank you.
Brian

A: I am getting a lot of questions on this topic. California is a very Left-leaning state, and very politically unfriendly to mining in any form. Many mineral exploration companies will not even consider mining properties in California for this very reason. In the September 2018 issue, Scott Harn, Editor of the ICMJ, gave his thoughts on the matter and how things appear to be shaping up at this time. You can be sure that we will keep our readers up-to-date on anything that develops as the possible permitting of dredging moves forward, but so far it does not seem very optimistic that the final result will be practical or the fees affordable enough to allow miners to get back in the water.