All Articles
News from the Editor
August 2014 by Scott Harn
Our goal is to reach out to the next generation of prospectors and miners who might prefer reading our monthly issues on their desktop computer or portable device. Before you start worrying, we have no plans whatsoever to discontinue the printed version of our publication!
Those subscribers who have an online subscription, or those who paid the additional $4 annual fee to have online access added to their print subscription, will receive an email when the new flip version is released each
month.If you would like to check out the online version, a free sample copy is available on our website at www.icmj.com
One very nice benefit is that all website and email address links in the flip version are “live.” If you click on a website link in an article or in an advertisement, you will be taken to that website. The same is true for email addresses.
On another note, we want to remind you that 2015 mining claim maintenance fees are due on or before September 1, 2014. You can still file the small miner’s waiver in lieu of fees for ten or fewer mining claims, mill or tunnel sites, which is also due on or before September 1, 2014.
Mining claim maintenance and location fees have risen—see "BLM Raises Location and Claim Fees" in this issue for the article.
The Bureau of Land Management has set up an online payment system for all states except Alaska. However, I received an error message when trying it out. I sent off a message to BLM and hopefully they will get the bugs worked out. I recommend that you plan to complete your forms and send in or drop off your payments at this time. Even if they get the payment system up and running, there is always the chance that it could break down when large numbers of miners and prospectors attempt to login at the same time.
Enjoy the last two months of summer and go find yourself some gold.
Scott Harn
Editor/Publisher
ICMJ’s Prospecting and Mining Journal
Ghost Towns of Washington County, Utah
As people race by on Interstate 15 through the southwestern portion of Utah, they miss many relics of early silver mining and agricultural days hidden just off the freeway. Washington County had a rich mining and farming history dating back to Civil War times, and there are some that believe it still holds some hope for future mining.
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Idaho continues toward elimination of EPA suction dredging regulations
• EPA makes preemptive strike against Alaska mine
• Proposed Mines Act permit fees
Reality of the Klondike
I saw gold this summer. The kind of gold that I haven’t seen since ‘81. The kind of gold that rattles in the pan. The kind of gold that would start a stampede—even in 1898.
Looking Back
Excerpts from California Mining Journal, our original title, published 50 years ago this month.
A Break in the Weather
Back at the entry point of the mine, we took turns slowly crawling down the slope leading into the mine portal with our metal detectors, hard hats and flashlights. The mine was hand dug and is about 75 yards long.
Butte, Montana—The Richest Hill on Earth
I recently had the opportunity to spend a day exploring around Butte, Montana and was amazed by the amount of mining that has taken place there. The old-timers called Butte “the richest hill on earth” and had pretty good reasons for doing so.
Maitland Bar Nugget to Go On Display
The box sat in a hallway and employees began using it for impromptu cricket games, no knowing what it contained.
Subscription Required:
Bawl Mill
• Ask the Experts
• Ask the Experts
• Conductive Minerals and Your Metal Detector
• A Model Mining Operation
• BLM Raises Location and Claim Fees
• I Finally Made It to Northern Nevada
• Clarification on Oregon's SB838
• Drilling for Ore
• Sniping for Drought Gold
• Successful Rally for Suction Dredge Miners in Idaho
• Over the Divide
• Gold Ores of the Delamar District, Nevada
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
