Tomah Wisconsin GPAA Chapter – January 2020

Welcome

Welcome to the 2020 GOLD FEVER Newsletter.  Another year, another gold prospecting opportunity.  If you have not tried to find gold, you need to give it a try.  Let us know if you need help to get started, there are many people with experience that the help you.

 Do not forget the Newsletter and pictures can always be found at:

President’s Message

Happy new year to all! I had a good time at the Christmas party in Dec. It was good to see some old faces return for the day!

    Next month Kurt Bublitz and Mick Whalen are going to talk about reading a river, and where to look for gold. Remember it is winter and any big storm could cause the meeting to be cancelled. I will try and contact as many members as possible and also get it to Carl to put on our website. You will have to decide for yourself, if it is too bad to drive in your area use caution it not worth getting in an accident on stranded for a meeting.

 Now that Christmas is over maybe I’ll have some time to do some panning in my basement. I still have five bags of dirt I purchased at various sites to pan out. It’s fun to go and get your concentrates yourself but if you add the cost of gas, food and hotels or camping into it it is cheaper to order it online if you have a good spot to buy from. If you have a place where you can get more than 50% back on your cost you are way ahead and without all the work and time.

See you at the meetings Mike Fait    

Upcoming Events

Planned Outings:

-       January 4, 2020 - Wausau meeting program on coin collecting and care of coins

-       January 18, 2020 – Tomah Club Meeting - reading a river for gold - Kurt Bublitz and Mick Whalen

-       February 1, 2020 – Wausau Meeting – Alaska Gold Mining & reclamation by Dean Race.

-       February 15, 2020 – Tomah Club Meeting

-       March 21, 2020 – Tomah Club Meeting

-       April 18, 2020 – Tomah Club Meeting

-       May 1-2, 2020 - Central Wisconsin Rock and gem show Marshfield

-       May 16-17, 2020 - GPAA gold show Milwaukee Wisconsin at the state park fairgrounds

-       June 5, 2020 -  Lacrosse rock and gem show

-       June 5,6,7, 2020 -  Black Hill south Dakota outing (Wausau Chapter)

-       June 26,27,28, 2020 - Tomah chapter outing to Nugget Lake

-       July 17,18,19, 2020 - Wausau outing to Snyder  county Park

-       July 24,25,26,2020 - Midstate metal detectors club 24th annual open hunt Nekoosa

-       Aug 25-30, 2020 - GPAA diggers party in Athens Michigan Wausau/ Tomah

-       Sept 18,19,20, 2020 - Wausau outing to Nugget Lake - this is Tomah’s  weekend so we will join them       (individual dig  for  yourself)

-       somewhere this summer we will try and squeeze in a metal detecting outing

Tomah Club Meeting - Town of LaGrange Town Hall. 22731 Flint Ave. Tomah WI. 54660 - 1.8 miles west of the 12/21 Hwy intersection in Tomah. – At 1:00 pm on the following dates, speakers will be announced as they are scheduled:

Tomah Wisconsin GPAA Chapter Minutes

December, 2019

Club Business:                                                                                                                                                              

Pledge to the Flag was said, and finances were reported. 17 members present.

Mick Whalen talked to the group on Wisconsin Geology.  He mentioned the following book:

Roadside Geology of Wisconsin Paperback – by Robert H. Dott & John W. Attig, was a great book to carry with you when you travel around Wisconsin.  This book has 400 pages and can be purchased on Amazon for $17.16.

Robert H. Dott Jr. and John W. Attig wrote Roadside Geology of Wisconsin to help residents and visitors alike "envision mastodons roaming in front of glaciers 12,000 years ago, feel storm waves pounding sea cliffs 500 million years ago, and hear volcanoes exploding 1,900 million years ago." With lively prose, detailed maps, black-and-white photographs, and shaded-relief images, the authors succeed in their goal: unraveling the 2,800 million years of geologic history recorded in Wisconsin's rocks.

Introductory sections describe the geology of each region, and thirty-five road guides locate and interpret the rocks, sediments, and landforms visible from the state's highways, including the Great River Road in the Mississippi Valley. Roadside Geology of Wisconsin delves further into the geologic history of specific sites such as Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, the Wisconsin Dells, the geologically renowned Baraboo Hills, and more than twenty-five state parks. Features of and access points to the Ice Age National Scenic Trail are noted.

Door Prized Hams went to Jeff Hastings and Wayne Ellefson.  Everyone that brought a Christmas gift received a gift.  Special Prize – Gold nugget was won by Dave Ambroes.

 Donations from Larry Bender, Mike Fait, Merlin Meyer, Jeff Hastings, Steve Miller, John Schwingle, Harold, Ken Olp, and Diane Kollins, sorry if I probably missed anyone.

50/50 drawing - Wayne Ellefson

Gold Nugget – Larry Bender

Gold Bag - Wayne Ellefson

Tourist gold vile – Jeff Hastings

Gold Price on 12/01/19 was $1,522.20              Silver Price on 12/01/19 was $17.91

Respectfully submitted by Diane North – Newsletter Editor

 Gold Panning in Wisconsin

Published on April 30.2019 by SilverRecyclers

Gold was first discovered in Wisconsin towards the end of the 19th century. Numerous discoveries were made but they were never sizeable enough to warrant commercial mining. Today, prospecting in Wisconsin is strictly recreational. On occasion it can be fun and rewarding to prospect here in The Badger State.

Type of Gold Found in Wisconsin

Most of Wisconsin's gold drifted down from Alberta, Canada. The Canadian glaciers often crushed the gold into tiny fragments during migration. As a result, gold in the state is usually flour or placer.

It has been said that lode gold lies beneath Wisconsin soil. However, there is little evidence to confirm this. Even if it were true, it's likely that the gold would be low quality. It would be so contaminated that a prospector would probably lose money extracting it.

Laws and Regulations

Because it's not widely practiced in the state, Wisconsin's prospecting laws aren't particularly strict. Gold panning here does not require a mining permit.

Wisconsin's earliest prospectors generally preferred sluice boxes to gold pans. This was likely because a sluice box is more effective in capturing the small pieces of gold that are common in the state. Today, a permit is not required for using small sluice boxes.

The use of motorized equipment is more heavily regulated and requires permission from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Best Spots for Panning

Flour gold flows through most of Wisconsin's rivers. Of course, dedicated prospectors are rarely happy with such small pieces of gold. If you want a chance of capturing placer gold, then read the section below for a list of some of the richest rivers and streams in The Badger State.

Black Earth Creek

Black Earth Creek runs through the town of Cross Plains in Dane County. It's a Class 1 trout stream that attracts fishing fanatics from all over Wisconsin. Some people even travel from neighboring states to fly-fish in the creek. But Black Earth Creek is also an increasingly popular spot among Wisconsin prospectors. Many prospectors have reported extracting placer gold from its waters. Even fishermen has reported inadvertently finding gold in the creek on occasion.

Lake Superior

The black sand beaches of Lake Superior are one of the most consistently rewarding prospecting spots in all of Wisconsin. Running through Douglas County, Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes of North America. It should then come as no surprise that this lake boasts more placer gold than most other bodies of water in Wisconsin. Flour gold has also been reported in Lake Superior. So even if you don't capture placer gold, it's unlikely that you'll leave empty-handed.

Plum Creek

Much like Lake Superior, Plum Creek has proven itself to be a regular producer of placer gold. Plum Creek is located in Pierce County, where some of the state's earliest gold discoveries took place. Between 1887 and 1890, Plum Creek was particularly fruitful. During this period, prospectors reported some of the most significant finds in Wisconsin's history. It's worth noting that many of these discoveries were made using a sluice box. While panning Plum Creek certainly isn't futile, you should consider using a sluice box for greater success.

Rock Elm Creek

When Plum Creek was at its most productive, prospectors were reporting similar success at Rock Elm Creek. This isn't all that surprising given the close proximity of the two creeks. Rock Elm Creek is also located in Pierce County.

Poplar River

The Poplar River is decent option, but it's generally not as good the other spots mentioned above. This river runs through Douglas County, where it's panned by locals with varying degrees of success.

Conclusion

It's not worth going out of your way to prospect in Wisconsin. At the very least, you should put Wisconsin on the back burner until you've prospected states more noted for gold production. Nearby Michigan will give you a slightly better chance at success.

But if you're a native of Wisconsin then we encourage getting out there and panning its waters. While you'll likely have to leave the Midwest to find any significant gold, the placer gold of your home state makes it a good place to develop your prospecting skills.

Officers – elected for 2019.

President – Michael Fait (mgfait@charter.net) 715-384-9265   (Cell phone to be used only on meeting days = 715-305-8319)

Vice-President – Gary Morrison 715-316-2555

Secretary – Jeanne Morrison 715-316-2555

Newsletter Editor - Diane North (dbnorth@centurytel.net) 608-635-7031

Treasure – Gayle Fait (mgfait@charter.net) 715-384-9265

Outing Chairman – Jeff Hastings (monkeyhast@frontier.net)  (608) 637-3097

Claims Director – Richard Niemyjski (richnski@frontiernet.net) 608-637-3295

State Director – Mick Whalen mj-whalen@hotmail.com  715-612-2800

APPROVED DEALERS:

Deer field Detectors.  Dealer for Whites, Fisher, Garrett, Minelab, Bounty Hunter, Detector Pro Detector & Pinpointers, Sunray Detector Accessories, & many misc. detecting accessories.  Deerfield Detectors, N3091 CTY Rd. B, Hancock, WI 54943 (715) 572-1845 or e-mail stmill@uniontel.net or http://www.deerfielddetectors.com/

Wisconsin Area Clubs

The Kettle Moraine Prospectors of Wisconsin – We still meet in the Community Center in Plymouth, Wi.  on the second Saturday of the month, providing the church doesn't have something else on their schedule .- 1:00 PM Meetings  Contact: Chuck Riel – 414-328-3194 or visit wisgold.org/index.html

Midstate Metal Detecting Club – meets every 3^rd Wednesday at 7:00 pm at Shooters Bar and Restaurant at the intersection of Hwy 39 and 54, next to the Shell Station.  Contact: Steve Miller 715-572-1845

Wausau Prospectors – meets the 1^st Saturday of the month at 11:00 am at the Village Town Hall in Brokaw Wisconsin. Address is: 218 2^nd St., Brokaw, WI. Take US 51 north of Wausau and take exit 197. Then go east on county road WW. At the 4 way stop in Brokaw take a right. You are there (just past the Credit Union).  Contact:  Kurt Bublitz 715-340-2831 or e-mail lizzy101@charter.net

Wisconsin Michigan Prospectors.GPAA Chapter – holds their meetings on the 3^rd Saturday of every month at 11:00 am, at meeting location for the next few months at Newinghams Supper Club at 722 Main St. Wausaukee, WI 54177. Contact Ron Smith.