October Newsletter 2013

Gold Fever !!!             Gold Man

 Tomah Wisconsin GPAA Chapter – October, 2013

Welcome

Welcome to the 2013 GOLD FEVER Newsletter.  The Tomah, Wisconsin GPAA Chapter newsletter is your newsletter, please let me know what you would like to see in it, we hope to bring you more information in the coming year.

 I hope you enjoy the information and articles included in this newsletter.   You can receive this Newsletter by mail, by either attended a meeting, or sent a book of stamps for postage.  

We are also always looking for speakers.  If you have taken a trip or just have a story about somewhere, we would like to hear about it.  You do NOT need to be an expert speaker; everyone likes to hear about what other members are doing.

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

 www.huntforgems.com/gpaatomahwi/

President’s Message

It was nice to see so many of you after several months without regular meetings. I know some of you made the outings but not all could attend. It seems as if a lot of members got out to prospect this summer, most of them to Alaska! It was good to hear their stories it gives you ideas for the coming years.

     This month is election time. We are always looking for new officers come and nominate someone. The wedding I was planning to attend has been postponed. So I will be at the meeting like always.  However, I would take any of the offices I would be nominated for, but wouldn't be upset if all the offices were fill by others.

    Normally our November meeting is more to the second weekend because of deer season this year deer season doesn’t open until the fourth weekend so our meeting will stay on the third weekend.

See you in the creeks Mike Fait               

 

Tomah Wisconsin GPAA Chapter Minutes for September, 2013

Old Business:                                                                                                                                                              

The September Meeting was held at the Town Hall at the Town of Lagrange on Route #20 west of Tomah Wisconsin on September 21st .  28 Members attended the February meeting.

Many of the members attending told of what they had done on their summer vacations.  Several talked about going to Alaska, some others had vacations closer to home.  Like Thermal City, NC, Rock Hunting, medal detecting, and another member went to Australia.  Capt. Bob also did a talk on his trips to Australia and showed some of the finds that he found there..  All enjoyed their time in the outdoors.

News from GPAA – there will be 40 Gold and Treasure Shows next year.  Also “Alaskan” Goes off the Air – After an amazing run, and climbing to the 3rd highest rated show on the network, Alaskan will stop airing on the Outdoor Channel as of July 31, 2013. However Gold Fever will Premier on November 12, 12:00 pm eastern with “Diggin' Pannin' Sluicin' n Such"   Tom Massie is in North Carolina at the LDMA property of Vein Mountain. After multiple request to get back to the basics, Tom's doing just that. Consider this episode a beginner’s course in multiple methods of prospecting.

 

 Another show of TV will be on the Travel channel on Wednesday nights called “Dig Fellows”.

New Business:

September’s meeting will be on the 3rd Saturday of October on the 19th at 1:00 pm.

Guest speakerWanda and Johan Riel will be a next month’s meeting, to talk about the laws in Wisconsin on prospecting and what they are doing to change them for the better.

Finds were:

Richard Niemyjski - 1 Gold Pendant with Topaz stone, 1907, 1950S, & 1943 Dimes, 1964 50 cent piece, and 15 Wheat cents.

Donations to the raffle were from:  Bev Bender, Capt. Bob Minshall, Diane North, Mike Fait, Valery Thompson, and Wayne Ellefson.   Everyone is always so generous with their donations, with new and useful items that a lot of you have donated.  We thank all of you.

Raffles: 

50/50 raffle winner – Richard Niemyjski - $33.00.  But, he gave away more than half of it, to the boy that picked his ticket.

Gold raffle winners: Diane North – gold nugget, Jeff Hastings – gold nugget, & Bob Wysope – Thermal City paydirt.

 Gold Price on 10/2/13 was $1287.50                Silver Price on 10/2/13 was $21.17

 Respectfully submitted by Diane North – Secretary & Newsletter Editor

Why Miners Walked Away From the Planet's Richest Undeveloped Gold Deposit in Alaska

Before pulling out of the Pebble Mine project last week, Anglo American (AAUKY), one of the world’s biggest mining companies, had invested six years and at least $541 million—in a partnership with Vancouver-based Northern Dynasty Minerals (NAK)—to develop the site in southwestern Alaska. Wait, pause on that number for a sec: $541 million. That’s right, the London-based multinational and its U.S. subsidiary (AA Pebble) just forfeited a return on more than half a billion dollars of its shareholders’ money. By the end of its 60-day withdrawal from the project (mid-November), that figure will probably end up closer to $580 million. Anglo American has also indicated it will write down a $300 million loss (misreported as a “penalty” elsewhere) to remove the proposed mine as an asset from its books

Although a far smaller player, Northern Dynasty will soon own 100 percent of the project, thought to be worth $300 billion or more, and vows to carry on. Having completed more than a million feet of exploratory, diamond-core drilling in 1,200 holes, the former partners also amassed a 27,000-page study of the terrain, but had not begun the formal permitting process. In fact, Northern Dynasty has plowed $180 million into Pebble since it first secured the rights to the region in 2001. Huge mining consortiums frequently seed nine-figure projects, but $760 million-plus is still a large sum, so why did Anglo American bail now? In the statement that accompanied the Sept. 16 decision, its chief executive officer, Mark Cutifani, explained that the move was not driven by a reassessment of the site’s potential, but an effort to “prioritize capital to projects with the highest value and lowest risks.”

To the energetic opponents of the mine, and they are not scarce, the greatest risk remains the one posed by the Pebble Mine to the salmon fisheries in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, as well as to the overwhelmingly Native American communities that harvest the fish. Close to one-half of the world’s sockeye salmon spawn in the watersheds downstream from the mine site. Could it be that Anglo American believes the Environmental Protection Agency will block the mine? (Under the Clean Water Act, the agency has the authority to veto the mine on environmental grounds.) Certainly the agency’s most recent watershed assessment (PDF) suggests it might. And what of the No Dirty Gold campaign, in which more than 50 gold buyers and retailers, including Zale (ZLC), Wal-Mart (WMT), QVC (LINTA), and Balfour (the graduation ring company), signed a pledge not to buy gold from the Pebble Mine? 

The project is located 200 miles southwest of Anchorage on state land designated for mineral exploration and development in a region of rolling tundra 1,000 feet above sea level, 65 miles from tidewater on Alaska’s Cook Inlet.  The Bristol Bay watershed is home to 25 federally recognized tribes who have maintained a salmon-based culture and subsistence-based way of life for at least 4,000 years.

More than half of the world’s sockeye salmon swim through Bristol Bay as do Chinook, coho, chum, and pink salmon, as well as rainbow trout and Dolly Varden trout, and the risks posed by the proposed mine to these fish are well known.  Bristol Bay commercial fishermen said Monday that three-quarters of almost 900,000 public comments submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on its watershed assessment of mining in the region were critical of the proposed mine.

Trout Unlimited Alaska warns the Pebble Mine could be the largest open-pit mine in North America and it would be located in the headwaters of two of Bristol Bay’s most important rivers – the Nushagak and the Kvichak.  “The risk of acid mine drainage, heavy metal leakage, toxic dust and huge water withdrawals are just some of the myriad threats that Pebble poses to Bristol Bay and its salmon spawning grounds,” warns the fish advocacy group.

The proposed mine could cover anywhere from 15 to 54 square miles, according to preliminary designs filed with the State of Alaska. Pebble Mine could construct the world’s largest earthen dam, some 4.3 miles long and 700 feet high, to contain billions of tons of mining waste.

 Items for Sale:

Tomah Gold Club t-shirts – with Gold Club emblem and created either with your personal name or without your name.  Contact Mike Fait if you are interested.

Officers

President – Michael Fait (mgfait@charter.net) 715-384-9265

Vice-President – Gary Morrison 715-316-2160

Secretary – Diane North (dbnorth@centurytel.net) 608-635-7031

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

Outing Chairman – Richard Niemyjski (richnski@frontiernet.net) 608-637-3295

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

State Director – Mike Flint (mwink12@excite.com) 608-372-0694

Upcoming Events

October 11-13, 2013 - Wausau Gem, Mineral and Fossil show Fri 12-5 sat 9-5 sun 10-4 - East Gate Hall, Marathon Park - 2101 Stewart Ave. Wausau, WI

October 19, 2013 – Club Meeting at Town of LaGrange Town Hall – at 1:00 pm

November 16, 2013 – Club Meeting at Town of LaGrange Town Hall – at 1:00 pm

 

     

 Wisconsin Area Clubs

Greenbush Wisconsin GPAA Chapter – holds their meetings on the 2nd Saturday of each month at 3:00 pm in the Greenbush Town Hall, N644 Sugarbush Rd, Greenbush Wi. – Contact: Ron Smith 920-207-4092

Midstate Metal Detecting Club – meets every 3rd 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 1st Saturday of the month at 11:00 am in the community room at Cedar Creek Mall next to I-39 just north of Gander Mountain.  Take I-39 exit 185.  Contact:  Kurt Bublitz 715-340-2831 or e-mail lizzy101@charter.net

Wisconsin Northwoods Adventures GPAA Chapter – holds their meetings on the 2nd Saturday of every month at 11:00 am, at B.S. on Main, 34 N Main St. Rice Lake, Wi.  Contact: Mike Wiersma 715-833-7603

 

MAY THERE BE GOLD IN EVERY PAN !!!!