| October 2005 Meeting Minutes | |
| Main Page |
The meeting started at 4:40 pm at our regular meeting hall. There were 20 total attendees. New members were identified and introduced: Chip Burnette Kevin Green spoke about the last outing at Long’s. It was held September 17th and 18th. The weather was very hot and gas prices were at an all time high. Even with that, about 20 people showed up from all over the place. Many new prospectors came out for their first time. Saturday was spent in the river, developing concentrates. Several folks brought their homemade sluices. Even though it was hot, the river provided some relief. The potluck dinner was as good as any and many thanks to Claude Dotson for cooking the meat. Sunday was another hot day but that didn’t stop the prospectors. A very large rattlesnake was spotted down in the creek. Several pictures were taken. Many thanks to all those who braved the elements and attended. Daniel Klepac discussed the upcoming plans for the topaz outing in Mason. There are 2 places to go to dig. It was suggested the outing take place in January. More to follow. Laurie Klepac gave the Treasurer’s report. There is $930.31 in the account and $50 in the petty cash box. Our newest member, Chip Burnette, recently moved from Pennsylvania. He said there were about 6 chapters in that state. He also described how they held their outings and meetings. John Griffin spoke to Bill Farr, a rep from the General Land Office, about the 16% rule. Current Texas mining laws require that the state receive 16% of any gold found while mining. According to Mr. Farr, that only applies to commercial or for profit operations. The group had a discussion about where gold can be found in Texas, for the new members. Daniel also explained the definition of “claims” in Texas for them. Grady and Katy Wallace recently returned from a trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. They detailed their trip and the costs involved. The next meeting will be held December 10th. This will be the last meeting of the year. This will be our Second Annual White Elephant Gift Exchange and Potluck Dinner. Kevin will update the website and send out email reminders. Daniel gave a short workshop on trapping fine Texas Gold. He showed the group the differences between a standard sluice and one that was modified. A good Texas sluice has no riffles and a longer header area. They can use either carpet or miner’s moss along with expanded metal. If using miner’s moss, then a ribbed rubber matting needs to be under it. Fine gold and black sand will work its way through and under the moss and may eventually work its way out of the sluice. There is a good article written in the ICMJ magazine about fine gold. It is the October 2005 issue, volume 75 #2. Paul Kirk brought his Trinity gold pan for everyone to see. He gave a short demonstration on how to utilize the many traps and riffles in it. There were no Door Prizes awarded this meeting. The meeting adjourned around 6:30 pm. |