Hooked on Gold Gazette 5/23/08

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $924.20
· Spot price last week: $901.60

________________

Calendar of Events

MAY

9-11th Let’s Go Gold Panning Days – Point Bar, Colorado
11th Mother’s Day
14th GPOC Regular Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th Prospecting Introduction and New GPOC Member orientation Class – Reservation required at the Mining Museum in Colorado Springs
24-26th Memorial Day Weekend
30th Memorial Day

JUNE

11th GPOC regular meeting
14th Flag day
14th-15th Breckenridge Kingdom Days GPOC Panning Demo
15th FATHER’S DAY
20th Summer Solstice (YAAH)
21st-22nd Gem Show-Colorado Springs Phil Long Ford Expo

JULY

4th - Fourth of July
9th GPOC Regular Meeting
26th – 27th Burro Days – Fariplay

AUGUST

1st – 3rd - COLORADO STATE GOLD PANNING CHAMPIONSHIPS Breckenridge, Co.
9th – 10th Gold Rush Days in Buena Vista
13th GPOC Regular Meeting
_______________________________________
NEWS

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND TO ALL OF YOU GOLD PROSPECTORS! Take a moment to remember all who have fallen in defense of this country. I have posted a Memorial Day poem for you called The American Hero. Enjoy your BBQ’s, and don’t forget what has been sacrificed for you to be able to do so.

Are you watching gold recover from its low a few weeks ago? The ETF funds have stopped taking profits, and so the gold market will begin to recover from the sell off. The stock market is expected to take some more hits with banks having additional losses from the mortgage lending mess and the rise in oil prices. Gold is expected to rise as the stock market falls, this time, and not follow the stock market in its present downward trend. We aren’t looking for a total meltdown of the markets as there are many parts of the economy that are strong, and the weak banking sector is pulling everything else down. The oil situation IS affecting all businesses as gas and energy prices rise, but we are confident that the U.S. economy will pull itself up by its bootstraps and find a better footing on the other side of the storm. Besides…..copper is holding around $4.00, a good sign that the world economy is doing OK. Oh, half way mark for the gold rally is around $940. Look for a possible pull back when it gets there.

Are you having a “gas attack”? Boy, everyone I know is! Congress has had the big oil guys back on the hill to testify about the black gold. Same story as last month. 4 cents of every dollar goes to their profit line. Where does the rest go? Taxes, refining and the fall of the dollar, and competition in the market. Taxes you understand, you have to refine oil to get gasoline, and if the dollar has half its value, oil costs double. No confusion there. But what about the competition factor? Sure, China and India are making it tougher to buy oil, and the oil producing countries who have control over their oil have said they will not pump more, but a new report I saw this week added another competitor to the mix. Hedge funds. Yup, you read me right. Oil and gas hedge funds now control almost as much oil and gas as China buys, so you can add the stock market to the major players in black gold.

Am I off topic? I don’t know. I always think that the price of gas and equipment and laws for our public lands are relevant to our topic of gold. They all affect how and where you can go and find gold, not to mention how much it will cost you and how you will get there. Once you have found your gold, all of these things effect your bottom line as to how profitable your gold finding trip is. Laws are being changed that will effect where you can find gold and how much it will cost you to do so on public lands. These changes will pertain to anyone who goes afield to find minerals, gemstones, fish, pick up plain old rocks, file a claim, or enjoy the out of doors. There are revisions to the mining laws that could require to you to file a plan of operation, file a bond, and have a use permit to use a 4 inch dredge, highbank, collect gemstones, or collect rocks on BLM or Forest Service public lands. As stated right now, they will not provide an agency to get a bond from, so you can’t get one even if you file. HMMMM. This sounds like they want you to “Keep Out” of “Public Land”. How come “Public Land” is getting put into protected status so the “Public” can’t use it?

In case you have been away from a T.V., newspaper or computer, we had a tornado run through the north eastern part of Colorado yesterday with the worst damage west of Greeley in the town of Windsor. One life was lost as he ran for cover, and hundreds of homes were damaged. Trees were uprooted and evergreens snapped off their trunks leaving large stumps standing. The whole town and surrounding areas were pelted with up to golf ball sized hail. One report was of hail as big as small oranges. The most unusual aspect of this storm was its tract. It moved from the southeast to the northwest….exactly opposite of the usual tornado path.

News on the Odyssey Marine was out this last week. The Odyssey, to remind you, is the treasure recovery ship that found the debris of a sunken ship off the coast of England last year, containing substantial treasure including gold and silver coins. The Spanish government seized the Odyssey claiming the treasure belonged to them shortly after the announcement was made that the sunken ship had been found. The Spanish Government has sued Odyssey alleging that the found ship is to them as the USS Arizona is to the U.S., as a memorial. They also wanted the court to believe that “looting” it would be a crime against humanity. The Odyssey argues that the 200 year old site contains only debris, no bodies or actual ship intact, and that under international law it is fair game for recovery. This looks to be in court for a long time and quite possibly stay there for some time. I heard someone ask if the countries where the gold and silver originally was taken from have any claim against the Spanish government for taking it from them in the first place. And so it goes on and on.

I saw a report on what might be called the “golden liquid” that may be interesting to you. As most of you know, Denver will be hosting the Democratic National Convention this August, and one of their big things is that everything be as “green” as possible. Yesterday, Coors Brewery donated ethanol to them for use in E85 vehicles that will be used to get everyone around. I found it interesting to read that Coors has been making ethanol since 1996, and produces 3 million gallons a year of the fuel alternative. They make ethanol from their rejected or damaged beer, and mash waste. Now, if Coors can do this, how many other brewers and distillers can….or do. Do we really need to grow corn? The more I read about this, the more waste products I see that can and are being used without committing large tracts of farm land and additional fresh water to it.

World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: http://www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com/ .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now opened TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT until October 1st.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Metal Detectors at Auction
info@hookedongold.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. These “cookies” are generally harmless and are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them. The “track” is usually to tell the advertiser which website you came from, not to steal information from you or your computer.

Metal Detecting in Idaho Springs

Small Rail Spike with Mining Scene, Great Gift for the Prospecting DAD

Did you see what gold is doing today? $916 as I write.

Can you believe we can finally put away the WINTER clothing here in the Denver area this week? Gorgeous weather and a mild wind Sunday sent us in search of gold up in the Idaho Springs area with the metal detectors. We did not find any yellow metal, but we did find our share of bullet casings, machine parts, and other junk. The day was wonderful even without finding anything substantial. Just finally getting out was a treat in itself!

Memorial Day outings in Colorado will be put on hold for many people as the campgrounds in the high country are still under FEET of snow and are closed. Looks like they will actually get Trail Ridge Road opened (You should see the walls of snow they are showing on the T.V.), but Independence Pass will not. We are looking at temps in the mid 80's here and mid 60's above 10,000 feet, so run off has begun and I will start posting stream flows on the website by Friday.

Father's Day will be here in a few weeks, so make sure you order your Prospector's Mining Scene from the catalog in time to get it. Dad will be surprised!

Good Prospecting to You,

Shirley Weilnau

www.hookedongold.com Share this site with your friends

www.hookedongold2.com Metal Detectors at Auction

info@hookedongold.com

Hooked on Gold Gazette 5/16/08

New Silver ore jewelry, rings and pendants in Sterling Silver available along with a Gold Nugget men's ring in Sterling Silver. Ladies ring is size 7, men's ring is size 9. info@hookedongold.com for more information.

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $901.60
· Spot price last week: $886.00
________________

Calendar of Events

MAY
9-11th Let’s Go Gold Panning Days – Point Bar, Colorado
11th Mother’s Day
14th GPOC Regular Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th Prospecting Introduction and New GPOC Member orientation Class – Reservation required at the Mining Museum in Colorado Springs
24-26th Memorial Day Weekend
30th Memorial Day
JUNE
11th GPOC regular meeting
14th Flag day
14th-15th Breckenridge Kingdom Days GPOC Panning Demo
15th FATHER’S DAY
20th Summer Solstice (YAAH)
21st-22nd Gem Show-Colorado Springs Phil Long Ford Expo
_______________________________________
NEWS

WOW! Is it Friday again already! For anyone (and, yes, this means YOU) that is interested in the changes in the mining laws going on right now, information is leaking out about those changes and the impact on you. They are substantial and will go a very long way to keep you out of the forests. More on these changes as the information becomes available and is confirmable. Be aware that there will be a lot of rumors flying around and sent to you that may or may not be true. Do your due diligence and check them all out.

Gold is coming back up with the rise in oil and the easing of profit taking in the gold ETF’s. I found an interesting story on gold and the use of corn for ethanol you might like to read at http://www.kitco.com/ind/palha/may122008.html . An interesting point of view, well presented and one I share. How about using waste products? Colorado has thousand of acres of dead trees that will be totally wasted unless we have a plan in place to use them. The beetle kill cannot be stopped only minimized as much as possible. AND while you are here in my State, PLEASE be careful about fires. Our forests are ripe for fire.

Did you know it snowed here in the city last Monday night? Well, it did and the mountains have gotten upwards of 2 FEET of the white stuff THIS WEEK!!!!! To boot, the owner of the place we have our camp called to say they still have 8 inches on the ground (before the last two storms), and they will not be opening at the usual time, but a week later. That means we have to find something else to do Memorial Day weekend. Choices, choices.

New additions to the site this week include a couple of mining scenes at Gold ‘N’ Store and two new articles under the Articles of Interest called “Black Sand, What Is It?” and “Selling Your Gold”. Hope you enjoy them.

Hope you got yourself signed up at the Western Mining Museum in Colorado Springs for their Spring classes. They have lots of speakers lined up as well as demonstrations of both large and small equipment used in mining in the past as well as modern small mining methods. GPOC will have several people there with equipment for “show and tell”. HookedonGold has to work this weekend keeping your lights on. Soon the “job” won’t interfere with our activities in mining. Until then we are at the mercy of the company.

World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now opened TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT until October 1st.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
www.hookedongold2.com Metal Detectors at Auction
info@hookedongold.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. These “cookies” are generally harmless and are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them. The “track” is usually to tell the advertiser which website you came from, not to steal information from you or your computer.

Hooked on Gold Gazette 5/9/08

More 14K gold, gold in white quartz, nugget and silver in white quartz in Sterling Silver jewelry

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $884.00
· Spot price last week: $855.60

________________

Calendar of Events

MAY
9-11th Let’s Go Gold Panning Days – Point Bar, Colorado
11th Mother’s Day
14th GPOC Regular Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th Prospecting Introduction and New GPOC Member orientation Class – Reservation required at the Mining Museum in Colorado Springs
24-26th Memorial Day Weekend
30th Memorial Day
JUNE
11th GPOC regular meeting
14th Flag day
14th-15th Breckenridge Kingdom Days
15th FATHER’S DAY
20th Summer Solstice (YAAH)
21st-22nd Gem Show-Colorado Springs Phil Long Ford Expo
_______________________________________
NEWS

Are you set up at Point Bar for “Let’s Go Gold Panning Days” today? The three day event is always populated with prospectors from all over and is an excellent way to meet others and see all sorts of equipment in use.

The Western Mining Museum in Colorado Springs will be hosting their annual, reserved seating, prospectors’ orientation and information day May 17th. There will be speakers, demonstrations and fun for all, so get your reservation in NOW. Seating is already filling up fast.

Well, my nephew is now married and the wedding went off with very few hitches. The weather was a bit chilly while the ceremony was performed, but was pleasant enough for the time of year. A hawk was seen flying in the background as the bride and groom exchanged vows in the golden, setting sun. The Lyons setting was beautiful and very romantic, with breathtaking colors of red and cream adorning the outdoor ceremony and hall where the reception was held. A magical evening.

Ok, ok. Back to GOLD!!!! After a sharp downturn in the yellow metal last week, it is making a strong comeback, what with oil spiking above $125.50 and the dollar sliding still further into the dumper. Memorial Day is approaching and the traditional opening of the summer season, with gas prices expected to peak around $3.75 a gallon in June. All gold prospecting areas are expecting a rise in the number of people out there looking for gold. We have had many requests for information about many areas. If you have done that and we have not gotten back to you lately, we will. Life has a way of getting in the way sometimes, and we have had a few time challenges lately. Information IS coming your way next week. Thanks for your patience in advance. We have not forgotten you!

In the news is the number of additional acres of western lands being put into “protected status”, effectively creating wilderness areas without an act of Congress. Much of this land is being purchased with State and private dollars to effect land control in the name of habitat conservation. If you control the land, however, you control the people very effectively.

I read an interesting article this past week that concerned the repeal of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 that has allowed the worldwide banking industry to return to their largesse that led to the Great Depression of the 1930’s. There is a possibility of it returning in the 2010’s due to this repeal, and the worldwide banking industries inability to restrain itself from repeating its’ mistakes of the past without government regulation. You can read this article at the kitco link here: http://www.kitco.com/ind/schoon/may052008.html You KNOW what I’m going to say now, right? You got it. BUY GOLD!!!!!

So, are you concerned about the recent slide of gold? Are you nervous that the gold bull market is over? Well, get over it. The long range charts are showing support price levels at around $835 to $850, and if it breaks out from there, it will most probably settle again around $750….a DEFINITE buying opportunity, and the up trend is at around $1200 by the end of the year. It might not get there quite that fast, but then again there is a lot of pressure on it to rise. The buying for the festival and marriage season in India is over, with a less than stellar buying season for the yellow metal. Apparently, the Indians are not thrilled with the high gold price and did not purchase as much this year as in previous years. On the mining end, less gold is being produced world than demand, and the South African problems with electrical power is persisting. On the stock side, the EFT fund GLD had its largest sell off at the end of the first quarter it has had since its inception as investors took profits. All of these indicators point to a rise in the price of gold.

Look for a couple of new articles this week under the “Articles of Interest” page this next week. More pages coming in the next few weeks. Under the “Gold in Colorado” page, I will be adding information to the Fairplay page, and starting a page on the Ouray/Silverton/Creede areas.

World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now opened TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT until October 1st. _______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
www.hookedongold2.com Metal Detectors at Auction
info@hookedongold.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. These “cookies” are generally harmless and are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them. The “track” is usually to tell the advertiser which website you came from, not to steal information from you or your computer.

HookedonGold Gazette 5/2/08

Gold Nugget Bear Pendant

Gold in Black Quartz Bear Pendant

14K gold and Gold in Wht Quartz ladies ring

Gold in White Quartz Heart Pendant with Diamond

Carved Jadeite

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $855.60 Low this week was around $845
· Spot price last week: $886.00

________________

Calendar of Events

MAY
9-11th Let’s Go Gold Panning Days – Point Bar, Colorado
11th Mother’s Day
14th GPOC Regular Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th Prospecting Introduction and New GPOC Member orientation Class – Reservation required at the Mining Museum in Colorado Springs
24-26th Memorial Day Weekend
30th Memorial Day
JUNE
11th GPOC regular meeting
14th Flag day
14th-15th Breckenridge Kingdom Days
15th FATHER’S DAY
20th Summer Solstice (YAAH)
21st-22nd Gem Show-Colorado Springs Phil Long Ford Expo
_______________________________________
NEWS

Is it MAY already? There have been many days this past winter and spring when I thought it would NEVER get here, and here it is. Let’s Go Gold Panning Days is NEXT WEEKEND! GPOC and Woody Regal team up to put this event on each year, usually the first weekend in May before they start sending lots of water down the Arkansas River to the Pueblo Reservoir for the summer run off. Bonding permits are needed to run motorized equipment on the Arkansas, so make sure you have your 2 year bond in place for the season. There are several extra requirements for certain areas this year, so heads up. Highbanking requires a special bond FOR EACH SITE you are highbanking on, and the Cache Creek area is also an extra LIMITED bond of 10 days. You can apply for an extension of another 10 days at the Salida office for an additional fee.

It is reported that the Arkansas is already above normal flow and you can begin to watch the stream flows that I will post each week until run off is over. Those can be found on the charts and regulations page. I will announce it here when that will begin. Also, we have heard from the BLM that the Arkansas River Headwaters Group has been saying in their meeting that prospecting is ruining the river. A reporter for the Mountain Mail contacted the BLM for comment and Dan Grenard said some nice things about us and is sending him to the Let’s Go Gold Panning Days weekend for some hands on experience with prospectors. Along with all the regulations you need to comply with for your prospecting, be aware that the State of Colorado is enforcing a no campfires outside a metal container rule. This means that you are not allowed a campfire unless it is contained within a metal container of some type. It cannot be in direct contact with the ground, and you must drown the fire COMPLETLEY in the metal container before you empty it. This is a compromise with campers who want their campfire and the State of Colorado who wants to keep forest fires to a minimum. Campfires and cigarettes are two main causes of forest fires, so please comply with this rule so that we can preserve what forest is left. There is so much beetle kill here that the entire state is in jeopardy of burning. And, no, pine trees should not be copper colored.

We have been super busy lately, but not so much with finding gold. (bummer!) We have a nephew getting married next week and have had a few things to do for that, as well as preparing for guests who will stay with us for few days for the wedding festivities. Along with that, work seems to be insisting we stay home on the weekends, or at least pretty close to home. Of course, getting a few inches to a few feet of snow around here and just to the west hasn’t exactly meant that we could do much anyway. The Fossil and Gem show last weekend was great! I picked up a beautiful piece of carved jadeite for a VERY reasonable price. As you can see above, it is a large piece, but not as large as some of the pieces were, just the best carved.

Also pictured above are some of the new gold nugget jewelry items I have posted on a slide show with information below the slideshow about ordering. These instructions are not as complete as I would like, so I will be working on them this next week. These are items I have in stock and there are about 50 of them. I posted these few to test this way of showing the items instead of each one individually. I’m not sure I will keep this format, but it looked like a possible way to post everything without taking up so much page space that the page was way too long to deal with. If you have comments on this idea contact me at info@hookedongold.com , I would love to hear your reactions as I am always striving to make everything easier for you to use. Oh, I will be using PayPal invoicing for these items as I feel a little more contact with the customer is in order for them so that you can request more pictures or ask questions before deciding whether or not you are interested. I do not want you to be unhappy when you get them and want to be able to answer ALL your concerns before you order. Also, if you have seen the pieces somewhere else, you can look at the again.

How about that gold price this week, eh? Talk about a tumble, but it was not unexpected. Most analysts I have read in the last 3 months were expecting it to fall to around $850 and it fell to $846.20 at its low. Not to worry, though. It will make it back and more in time for Christmas. Oh, if you are thinking of purchasing gold, do it now. You probably will not see these prices again for quite some time. Today’s reports blamed the lower price to selling off in several funds that have been long in the metal. Support price remains at about $850.

I noticed this week that my audio ads are finally active. Did you hear one? I was surprised when I heard one when I had to check a webpage to see if it was working correctly. Since it is now working I will put the code of a couple more pages. NOT WORRY! I will not have it on every page, just a select few.

World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now opened TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT until October 1st. (Sorry, I thought I had changed this a few weeks ago)
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
www.hookedongold2.com Metal Detectors at Auction
info@hookedongold.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. These “cookies” are generally harmless and are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them. The “track” is usually to tell the advertiser which website you came from, not to steal information from you or your computer.

Hooked on Gold Gazette 4/25/08

Gold 'N' Store items

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $886.00 - Low for the week was $877.60
· Spot price last week: $916.20

http://uk.reuters.com/article/goldMktRpt/idUKL2565882620080425 Reuters/UK gold article today
________________

Calendar of Events

APRIL
1st APRIL FOOLS DAY – Arkansas River is open for Motorized Equipment
9th GPOC General Meeting
12th GPOC Panning Demo at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science 10:00a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
25th – 27th SPRING Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show – Denver, Co.

MAY
9-11th Let’s Go Gold Panning Days – Point Bar, Colorado
11th Mother’s Day
14th GPOC Regular Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th Prospecting Introduction and New GPOC Member orientation Class – Reservation required at the Mining Museum in Colorado Springs
24-26th Memorial Day Weekend
30th Memorial Day
JUNE
11th GPOC regular meeting
14th Flag day
14th-15th Breckenridge Kingdom Days
15th FATHER’S DAY
20th Summer Solstice (YAAH)
21st-22nd Gem Show-Colorado Springs Phil Long Ford Expo
_______________________________________
NEWS

BUSY gold week! Busy site week. You can find some wonderful gold specimens and other minerals at the Spring Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show this weekend in Denver, located at the Holiday Inn North, on Broadway south of the 58th Street exit. Broadway is west, over the bridge and a left hand turn at the light.

I got so caught up in photographing and posting new items in the Gold ‘N’ Store, I forgot how much time it takes to do the description pages! You have 4 new items in the store this week, and more will be coming. I have a lot of prospecting design scenes, and will probably put more than one on a description page so there aren’t so many pages to format. Each item will be bookmarked to their specific spot on the page. I also have two pages of information I am working on, so watch for some new articles in the next couple of weeks.

On the Federal level, the Congress has asked the Energy & Resources committee, updating the 1872 mining law, to add a “fair royalty” as well as a roll back of tax preferences to their considerations. They propose an 8% royalty for new mining interests and 4% for those existing on net revenues. Spokesperson Luke Popovich for the National Mining Association, said they would support a “modest” royalty on net revenues, and that 4-8% on existing and new interest respectively, would be more than the mining community could endure. So far, little news on the changes has been seen by us, but the changes are destined to effect all of us, whether you are in mining or not.

I had a report from Arizona that a 4 ounce nugget was found in the Prescott area recently. (Probably while we were there, but it wasn’t US! LOL!) No one has actually seen it who knows anything about the area yet, but it supposedly was lying on top of the bedrock that had been washed away due to the building of a new bridge…..that’s right. Just sitting there. Me thinks this size of gold would be the size of the palm of my hand. Not bad for a day’s walk! The value of this baby? Somewhere in the $40,000 range. Makes your mouth water, doesn’t it?

I can smell the mountain snow melting. It is one of the pleasures of spring that I always missed the most while I lived out on the prairies of Colorado. I never realized what that smell was until we moved back to the Denver area 8 years ago. It has a fresh smell like no other anywhere else I have been, and since our prevailing winds are out of the west and southwest in the spring, it comes on a warming wind, too. Makes you yearn for the mountains and the chance to find gold.

GOLD is having a downturn this week, as expected, spurred on by heavy withdrawls from several ETF’s. Price supports have been predicted to be in the $880 range before beginning to rise again. No one is quite sure when that will be, but $1200 gold is expected by the end of the year. Now is a good time to add to your gold holdings, too.

Governor Ritter announced this week that he will be supporting an effort to repeal the tax credits the mining industry has benefitted from in Colorado for so long. Mining interests here are, of course, opposed to the new changes.

Anyone who is getting ready for Let’s Go Goldpanning Days in May needs to make sure they register for their bond with the BLM. The new forms can be found at http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo/minerals/locatable_minerals/placer_mining.html That’s Woody with the gold pan. Check around the pages to see which bonds you will need for whatever work you are planning to do on the Arkansas.

World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
www.hookedongold2.com Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. They are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them

Hooked on Gold Gazette 4/18/08

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $916.20
· Spot price last week: $913.90


________________

Calendar of Events

APRIL
1st APRIL FOOLS DAY – Arkansas River is open for Motorized Equipment
9th GPOC General Meeting
12th GPOC Panning Demo at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science 10:00a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
25th – 27th SPRING Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show – Denver, Co.

MAY
9-11th Let’s Go Gold Panning Days – Point Bar, Colorado
11th Mother’s Day
14th GPOC Regular Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th Prospecting Introduction and New GPOC Member orientation Class – Reservation required at the Mining Museum in Colorado Springs
24-26th Memorial Day Weekend
30th Memorial Day
_______________________________________
NEWS

As announced yesterday, there are site changes. I will be putting up 1 to 4 pages each week on the catalog pages, depending on how many links on each page will be required. I want to repeat that if there is any problem with the paypal buttons, please contact me so I can send an invoice to you with the specific items you want to purchase. I can sometimes adjust the shipping for your particular order, too. These invoices are similar to what you use with eBay, and are very user friendly. I know my last store was not as user friendly as I would have liked it to be, and so that, along with other problems, sent me in search of better solutions for you. I think the new site is working better and has several features I could not get anywhere else. I hope you think so, too. I will be making a push to get pages changed before the end of May, as the season heats up and we get extremely busy with other things. Not to worry, though. Orders were always, and will always be processed in a timely manner. Our first priority is you. If you have any suggestions, or have problems with anything, please let us know at info@hookedongold.com . In the mean time check out Gold ‘N’ Store and the sub pages under it, and come back each week to see what else is up. I have jewelry that is in stock, prospector’s gift ideas, highbanker DIY plans in pdf e-book form, a highbanker/dredge combo unit coming, and an addition to your 4 foot sluice box that we are developing and testing in May. On to news.

I haven’t gotten back to the conference in Dubai yet this week, so here you go. In case you don’t know about the Dubai, “City of Gold”, gold market, it is the largest in the world. The report this year was that they imported 559 tonnes in ’07 up from the 489 tonnes in ’06. Of that, they exported 274 tonnes out of the gold market in jewelry. It wasn’t stated where the rest went, but I would assume it was sold for coinage to minters and as bars to governments and banks who deal in the metal as a commodity. Their goal for this year is to position the city as the “Jewelry Destination of the World”. In conjunction with this lofty goal, they wish to develop a skilled and employable workforce, as well as encouraging entrepreneurialism.

On the home front, how does it happen that you get a 200+ point rise in the stock market on news that Citigroup only lost 5.1 BILLION dollars in the first quarter of the year?!!!!! This sent the dollar higher and gold lower, but how can this continue? It makes no sense, but really looks like desperation. Buy gold.

“Okay, okay, check it out”, as Randy Jackson from American Idol would say, I found this hilarious take on gold, the stock market, and the dollar on Kitco this morning, and I just had to share it with you. Sadly, this could very well be more reality than comedy, so follow the link for some levity on gold and the markets after you finish reading the Gazette. http://www.kitco.com/ind/Daughty/apr162008.html

Anyone who is getting ready for Let’s Go Goldpanning Days in May needs to make sure they register for their bond with the BLM. The new forms can be found at http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo/minerals/locatable_minerals/placer_mining.html That’s Woody with the gold pan. Check around the pages to see which bonds you will need for whatever work you are planning to do on the Arkansas.

World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
www.hookedongold2.com Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. They are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them

New Gold 'N' Store Is Up and Running

ANNOUNCEMENT! Check out the new Gold 'N' Store page at http://hookedongold.com/gold_n_store.htm
I know, I know. Long time readers thought this would never happen, and, quite frankly, I was beginning to wonder myself! My tech got the last bits finished late last week, and I got on a roll this week, and have published several pages, including some of the Orocal pdf pages so you can see a small amount what they have available. You can find them under the Gold 'N' Store pages as sub pages.

Who is Orocal? Well, they are a family owned and operated company that has been designing and making 14K gold and Sterling Silver nugget, gold in white quartz, and gold in black quartz jewelry for more than 40 years. Their catalog of gold jewelry is some 40 pages long, front and back. I have put up a few of the pages for you to view, with more to come, and will rotate them every month or so. If you would like to see a selection of the pages, like all the earring pages in gold in white quartz, I can send them to you in pdf files. The prices on any of the pages may or may not e current, due to the ups and downs of the gold market, and their sources.

On the front page of the Gold 'N' Store page you will find our corrugated mini sluice and kit, Madam Queen Shirley's Magic Panning Sand, and our geode pendants with gold or silver plating on the rims, with links to more information on each item. More will be added as time permits. I have a selection of gifts with prospecting themes, as well as close out items I have picked up with Orocal when they are in Denver.....some real deals, there.

I have decided to use PayPal buttons for payment, and you can either use PayPal or a credit or bank card of your choice to pay with. You will see the option to use a credit card on the log-in page, on the left toward the bottom of the page. You will click a link that will take you to a page to fill out with your credit card information. I'm not sure if this will handle multiple items, but we will go with this for now. We never did get very many requests for multiple items, anyway.

Also, if you have an item that you would like to order from the Orocal catalog, you can e-mail us about it and we can invoice you with a Pay Pal invoice, much like you get from eBay. You can do this also with anything in the catalog by e-mailing us and requesting that we invoice you. We have done this with many other customers and it works really well, and is easy for us and the customer. Other customers who have used this method have really liked it, and said it was very easy and user friendly, so don't hesitate to ask for an invoice for anything you would like to order.

Another note about Orocal. With items ordered from them, you get a 30 money back guarantee so that the item can be returned if you are not satisfied with it. Also, shipping will be made directly to you, so there is no double shipping charges. I can also offer very good prices as I do not have a storefront, and can offer items at a discount, so the prices you see on the pages are probably going to be higher than the price I will charge.

Take a look around at the new Gold 'N' Store. We are offering FREE shipping on most of the items on the front page.

Good Prospecting to You,
http://www.hookedongold.com/
info@hookedongold.com
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Metal Detectors at Auction

It's Sunday afternoon, and where is my Gold Pan?

Are you getting the "itch" to go play in the water with your gold pan? It is in the mid 60's today, and we have to be in HOA meetings today! Bummer. Our gold pans are in the truck waiting to find some more pay dirt like we did in Arizona. We did get to go and play in the water INSIDE yesterday with GPOC and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, teaching gold panning to the people coming in and out of there. It was way too cold to be outside in the morning, so they put us indoors. Anybody who came to see us and expected us to be outside was probably disappointed. We didn't know we would be inside until about an hour before we were to set up. We still had a large crowd and had a hard time breaking the troughs down, as usual, and everyone seemed to have a great time. The GOLD MIMES stuck around while we were there and played with the crowd. They are a great couple of guys who do their jobs very well. If you haven't been out there to see the gold show, do go. You won't regret it.

A lot is happening in gold. It has started back down this afternoon. The big gold conference is going on in Dubai this weekend, and I will have few insights on that later this week.

Let's Go Gold Panning Days is coming up faster than I expected! It will be May 9th - 11th at Point Bar Recreational area. You can check the GPOC Temporary Pages for more information now and as we get closer to the event. It is and always has been open to the public. Come and have some fun! Hooked on Gold won't be able to be there this year as we have a wedding going on the same weekend and will be hosting relatives for a few days. Don't think we are going to get out of it, either. Are you new to prospecting? Well, you have found a place to get some good, basic prospecting information at Hooked on Gold. Check it out!

www.hookedongold.com

info@hookedongold.com

www.hookedongold2.com metal detectors at auction

Hooked on Gold Gazette 4/11/08

Arizona Alan......That's my little brother!

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $924.90
· Spot price last week: $913.00

________________

Calendar of Events

APRIL
1st APRIL FOOLS DAY – Arkansas River is open for Motorized Equipment
9th GPOC General Meeting
12th GPOC Panning Demo at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science 10:00a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
25th – 27th SPRING Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show – Denver, Co.

MAY
9-11th Let’s Go Gold Panning Days – Point Bar, Colorado
11th Mother’s Day
14th GPOC Regular Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th Prospecting Introduction and New GPOC Member orientation Class – Reservation required at the Mining Museum in Colorado Springs
24-26th Memorial Day Weekend
30th Memorial Day
_______________________________________
NEWS

Hey all you gold bugs! We have been BUSY the last two weeks. Good news on the Hooked on Gold website front. My tech has completed all the updates and the search buttons are now working. Click on the “Go” button or the search bar and it will take you to the search page. Type in the prospecting word you are looking for in the search bar in the middle of the page, and the page will populate a list of pages on the site that contain that word. Pretty cool! More pictures of our trip will be posted this week on the blog along with some commentary of what we saw. I had hoped to get that up this week, but the website changes came in first. I have a store page up and accessible only from the home page, right now, to test the buttons on, and see what it looks like, as well as posting the return page after you have purchased an item. Mini Sluice Kit (poop tube) is on it now, with more to come. I have lots of stuff and some equipment to post….gold, too. Time is what I need more of!

The pressures on gold are still the same as reported earlier this week on the blog, so look for gold prices to stabilize and maybe drop to under $900 before taking off for the $1200 mark later this year. If you are thinking we are out of the woods with the stock market, the predictions are that we are only 1/3 of the way through the mortgage problems and more banks will need to adjust than have so far. This does not bode well for the dollar, BUT it will push gold prices up.

Snow again this week in Denver has us pinning for Arizona and warmer temperatures so we can go prospecting. We do miss the activity out of doors, and prospecting is what we like to do the best. We seem to work harder and longer in the pursuit of gold than any other activity. We always come home sore and tired after a week in the field, but we are always ready to go back for more. Join us this Saturday at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science from 10-2 where we will be volunteering with GPOC to teach the public gold panning. Come on out and say “Hi!”, and see the Gold Show they have going on, as well as the excellent museum. Dianes pocket is being shown in the minerals hall. In case you don’t know about that, it is the aquamarine and smoky quartz vug found on Mt Antero, Colorado a few years ago. You can also view some of the largest gold found in Colorado, as well as a lot of smaller (?) pieces on display in the hall.

Check out the new posting on the Articles of Interest page for some pictures and comments on a prospector in Arizona who only uses a gold pan to find gold with. Pretty impressive!

Off to do some more updates and work on the “store”. Have a great week!


World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: http://www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com/ .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now open TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE SUMMER UNTIL October 30, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. They are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them

Back from Arizona Gold Country

Gold closed Friday at $913.70


Back from Arizona with a little gold and a lot of fresh air. It really is good to get out and clear the cobwebs early in the Spring. We had good weather going and coming back, and stopped off at the Rock Doc in Nathrop to chat with Cindy for a few hours. She usually isn't too busy this time of year like she is later on. She says she will be having a hard time getting equipment in this year as most everything is already back ordered. Something to do with the price of gold being up and everyone wanting to get in on the action. More pictures will get posted this week along with some commentary on where we went and what we saw. Thanks to everyone who asked for information or asked questions during the week for being patient while our internet connection was so spotty. I have better access in B.V. than in Humbolt, Az. LOL!

Finding Gold near Rich Hill

Rich Hill, Arizona Area






Oh my! What a difference warmer weather and digging in the dirt makes! We had the good fortune to get permission to prospect on private property in the Rich Hill area. The desert is awake and blooming. Air is warm but not stiflingly hot….yet. Snakes are out, but we did not see any. We did find gold, but not a 2 pounder. We were really there to help the owner read his wash and give him some ideas of how to go about working some of the surface until he can afford to bring in bigger equipment and excavate. He told some amazing stories of others in the area who have found hundreds of pounds of gold nuggets, but they sit on bedrock and you have to use front end loaders and elevators to get to it.

Because we helped him the first time we were there, weren’t there to just “take his gold”, and were happy just to have the day out and the opportunity, we were invited back. Believe it or not, manners and politeness matter even in the back country.

We had been talking about researching your area the past couple of weeks, and this is a good example of how to get really good information……know someone, or know someone who knows someone. Locals have the best information about their areas. Yes, it takes time to make those connections, and sometimes you get lucky meeting someone. The only way to make those connections, though, is to be out there finding gold. Enjoy!

Good Prospecting to You,
Hookedongold

Hooked on Gold Gazette 3/28/08

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $930.90
· Spot price last week: $919.20


___________









Calendar of Events

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado, Spring forward!
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter

APRIL
1st APRIL FOOLS DAY – Arkansas River is open for Motorized Equipment
9th GPOC General Meeting
25th – 27th SPRING Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show – Denver, Co.
_______________________________________
NEWS

Arizona gold prospecting is on our minds this week. We spent a very nice three days with our grandsons after Easter playing Clue 4 hours straight, and four games of Monopoly. It looks like we will have good weather for our trip and our week away. Be advised that e-mail will be slow this next week as we will not have a connection close by. There probably will be no newsletter next Friday, but I will post a few times to the blog so you can keep up with what we are doing. Maybe even PICTURES!

The Arkansas River will be open for motorized equipment this Tuesday, and there is no snow in Salida right now. Buena Vista still has two feet of snow on the ground.

Gold is down again this week and it looks like it may stay down through the end of the quarter, with profit taking being a large part of the slide, as well as the stronger dollar and higher oil is keeping it down. However analysts expect this downtrend to be short lived and that it will approach and possibly exceed $1,000 once again.

The Colorado legislature is looking at putting up toll booths to collect tolls through the Tunnels during peak days and hours to discourage people from going into or coming out of the mountains all at once. A solution to the I70 problem needs to be found, and they will need money to do it. Since we have Democrats once again controlling our legislature and governorship, we can expect them to tax us under the table in more ways than we can count, and tolls to pay for infrastructure they let go for so many years in the 80’s and 90’s would be par for them. You will need three or more people in your car to avoid the tolls. That means truckers would get caught and those who can now travel in the HOV lanes in Denver would need to pay the tolls through the Tunnels on I70. Oh, it WILL cost money to put the booths up and people to run them, too. This is supposed to cut down on congestion, but if everyone is stopping to pay a toll, Me thinks perhaps it will add to the problem. Naw, that can’t be right. Probably my lisdecxia cropping up again. Gotta go pack the snake gaters. Tah.

World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: http://www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com/ .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. They are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them

Local Resources for Finding Gold

BEEP BEEP!

Did I say I would have this posted this weekend? I think I must be on some other planet not to remeber that I was slated to be away from home for Easter. DUH! Blonde, ya know. By choice, watch out! LOL! Well, with the grandkids playing Wii for a little while, I'll get back on track and get the next session of researching your place to play in the dirt and water. Let's see, I think I was supposed to tell you about some of your local resources for researching places to find gold.

As we have stated before, go first where gold has been found before. The more recent the information, the more current they will be on any areas that have lost mineral entry or been placed into protected status. We have gone looking for treasure and gold only to find out that the area was included in some study or had protected status and was only reached by hiking in 2 or 3 miles and back.

The local library of your area may have some old information, as well as the local Chamber of Commerce. Any rock of prospecting shops in the area will have books and people around who would also have information about open areas. You can also look online to see if there is information out there from local clubs, or rock hounding and gem hunters.

The best local sources are local prospecting clubs. If you are going to prospect an area regularly, a membership in these can be its weight in golden information. We get our best information from people in clubs and books on local areas, although the books may not be up to date enough. Many times we must find gold by the old hit and miss methods. Sometimes we hit, but mostly we miss in new areas. To truly find gold in a new area you have to spend some considerable time getting to know the area and people there. You CAN get lucky, but most lucky people have a partner with them that knows the area.

April 1st is just around the corner and the Arkansas River will be open again to motorized equipment. The last we heard they still had snow on the ground in B.V., and we will get to see how much is still there Friday evening. There will be short newsletter on Friday. Gold is up a bit from it's low around $912. How the mighty fell on Monday!

Good Prospecting to You

Hooked on Gold Gazette 3/21

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $919.20
· Spot price last week: $1002.50
After topping out at $1034 Monday, the low was $903.60



______________________________________

Calendar of Events

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado, Spring forward!
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter

APRIL
1st APRIL FOOLS DAY – Arkansas River is open for Motorized Equipment
9th GPOC General Meeting
25th – 27th SPRING Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show – Denver, Co.
_______________________________________
NEWS

WOW! Gold sure has been in the news this week. Hope you did not buy yours on Monday. LOL! The price got too high for the Swiss to ignore, along with a lot of other folks, and so a lot of profit taking has been bringing the yellow metal’s price down. This next week should be interesting.

March is sliding by and the open date for the Arkansas River to motorized equipment is sneaking up on us. April 1st is more than just April Fool’s day around here. Do you have your equipment repaired and ready for it? Remember to have your bonds up to date before you go out, and that Cache Creek does not open until the end of May. If you are wondering what is going on with that, we have some new information posted for you at http://www.hookedongold.com/arkansas_river_drainage.html . Scroll down to the NEW for ’08 under the Cache Creek dialogue.

Now, this doesn’t have anything to do with gold, but our oldest son has started a business that places RFID boluses into dairy cows to track their temperatures, as well as a lot of other helpful information, so if you are a dairyman you want to check out this link. If not, please indulge me here and know that the purpose of this sentence is to provide a backlink to their site. http://www.bellahealthsystems.com/ Gonna be hugely golden!

We get to go and find our first gold in a couple of weeks in Arizona. I wish I could say we were finding gold in Colorado, but Aspen reported 450 inches of snow fall so far this year. Now, that isn’t Buena Vista, but they also have had their fair share and the April open on the Arkansas River could be slippery and a bit chilly. Last week they still had 3 feet on the ground. It is warming up, but it will take a little while to melt it even if they don’t get any more. If the precip changes to rain, then the snow will melt super fast. Hopefully that won’t happen at high elevations, or we could be in for a very wet spring with the snow melting faster than rivers can handle it. Of course, that DOES move gold around and into the rivers to get classified for us.

Oh, and while we are gone to Arizona, e-mail will be slow as my brother lives way out in the boonies and has dial up, so we have to go into town to try and find a connection. We will do that every so often, but our main goal is to find gold, so please be patient while we are out having fun! I know. You’re jealous, but SOMEONE has to do it while you are working.

Tomorrow I will be posting my next blog in the series on gold prospecting resources. I have been busy trying to put the first store page together. No idea when that will be finished. It could be in the next few days, or it could be never…..or at least SEEM that way. New things are going up on most pages, though, and some of the copy has been revamped, so watch for updates and maybe a new page or two on new subjects. I think I will be putting up some of my past articles on the articles page, too.

World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: http://www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com/ .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. They are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them

Hooked on Gold Gazette 3/14

Prospecting Fever

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $1002.50
· Spot price last week: $972.40
That’s right folks. We have a weekend close above $1,000



______________________________________

Calendar of Events

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado, Spring forward!
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter

APRIL
1st APRIL FOOLS DAY – Arkansas River is open for Motorized Equipment
9th GPOC General Meeting
25th – 27th SPRING Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show – Denver, Co.
_______________________________________
NEWS

Do you have cabin fever in a big way? Are you waiting for that first opportunity to go prospecting and find some gold? Boy, WE sure do!!!! Looks like the trip to Arizona will be sometime the first part of April. In the mean time, there are birthdays, Easter, Spring vacation, when we get to visit with the two older grandsons, and snow. Temperatures are moderating into the 50’s, so we will get to go and play on Clear Creek in the next few weekends just to get our prospecting fix. In Arizona, we will be in the Prescott area where my brother lives. Always a fun time for us, early in the season. We are trying to make connections with my brother’s friend near Stanton to see if we can find some of his gold for him with the metal detectors.

I saw a very interesting report on the newswires about mining in India this week. Their cabinet voted to ease their mining policy to shorten the time it takes to get new mining leases granted. It is expected to take 6 to 12 months with the new system. Now, you might wonder why this is so important. Well, it seems only 10% of India’s minerals have been explored for, and as we all know, India needs more and more minerals for their booming economy. If they can get those in country, everyone wins. There will be less pressure worldwide in the competition for these minerals. However, don’t expect it to be over night. It does take years to develop these things.

So, is everyone tired of the promised changes in the site as I am? Man o man, there seems to be one thing after another that gets in the way of my moving forward. Take heart. There should be things going up this next week. Hopefully, by Saturday night the changes my tech needs to make to the pages will be complete and I can start duplicating the template to get additional pages up. If not, I’ll do it anyway and we will have to deal with the additional pages when the time comes. Time is a wastin’ and summer prospecting will be here before we know it.

I have a couple of new link partners, so check them out. Also, here is a link to prospecting books that I don’t find too many other places. http://www.research-unlimited.com/index.html

More researching information will be out this weekend. While I know most of you only want someone to point you to a spot to dig gold, at these prices, there aren’t many who will give you that information willingly, and there aren’t many sites out there that will even tell you where the open spots are. We are trying to give you that information for some of Colorado. If you have information that the public can use for other states, we can start pages for each of those areas.
World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
www.hookedongold.com
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
www.hookedongold2.com Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. They are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them

More Sources for Finding Gold

Finding a piece of gold like this beauty from California is the dream of every gold prospector I have every talked with. Learn about some of the resources you have available to help you find your own mother lode.

I am having a hard time believing it is March 12th!

Nobody is watching gold right now with the DOW going up, but gold is also back on the upswing. Many were hoping it would reach the magic $1000 mark early last week, however, it fooled most people and reversed course a bit.

As promised, I am continuing my article on research sources to help you in your search for gold. Friday we talked about local sources of information in your libraries and newspapers, and the people who are affiliated with your local prospecting clubs. Another source of information can be found in the official reports done by the USGS geologists and mining engineers sent into the field in the 1800’s to collect data about mineral deposits, along with other information needed by government agencies. Many of these old reports are still available from the USGS (United States Geological Survey).

The USGS also has a couple of databases you might find interesting in your search for gold. One is the Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) and the other the Mineral Availability System (MAS). The first database contains mineral occurrences as well mine sites for industrial mineral and metallic mine sites that are known worldwide, and can be a source of information to obscure deposits often never mentioned anywhere else. However, the quality of some of this information may be in question, so you still need to do your prospecting on any information you might obtain. Some of this information may simply point you in the right direction, but values may not be enough or in a form that is practical to mine. Also, some of the coordinates may be off the mark, and are more in a general area than pinpointed, with a few off by more than a mile, and should be used in conjunction with other resources for a better overall picture. We’ll talk some more about sources to help you find gold in the next blog.

OOPS! When I read this post, I realized I had NOT talked about your local resources before, so I will include that in the next posting.

Good Prospecting to You,
Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
info@hookedongold.com
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Metal Detectors at auction

Hooked on Gold Gazette 3/7/08

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $972.40
· Spot price last week: $974.30



______________________________________

Calendar of Events

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado, Spring forward!
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter

APRIL
1st APRIL FOOLS DAY – Arkansas River is open for Motorized Equipment
9th GPOC General Meeting
25th – 27th SPRING Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show – Denver, Co.
_______________________________________
NEWS

Well, we are still waiting for gold to reach that magic $1,000.00 mark. It is expected to meet with resistance at that price before rising higher later this year.

More snow is falling in the mountains and even the northern mountains are now showing totals over 100% for the year. Look for high water during run off this spring and early summer. Should be a great year for white water rafting.

This seems to be a slow week for news on gold, other than how high it is right now. It did dip to $958 earlier this week, but rebounded right back the next day. This seems to be a good place to talk about researching your areas for this season prospecting trips. I don’t think I have taken time to talk about that, so I thought I would start today and continue this next week with some tips about where to find your research materials. Today I will discuss your local resources.

The first one that comes to mind is your local prospecting club. You will find a wealth of information there, but don’t think that those “old” timers will just give up their secret or best spots to you. They WILL tell you about the best places to get started and even give you a hand with the basics. Anything more than that will require time invested with them and the club to “prove” your worthiness. Along the way, you just might find that special place of your own to share with them. Good reciprocal information is always appreciated.

Next, your local library or the newspaper or libraries of the area you are interested can yield some good information, but remember that newsmen of the 1800’s exaggerated findings to sell papers with sensational news. While there usually is a thread of truth there, the whole truth may be somewhat different than the printed “truth”. (A good rule of thumb for today as well. LOL!) I’ll give you some more tips next week so I can get this published before supper.

Website changes continue, but the search function is still not working right. Hopefully it will be fixed by early this next week. After I get everything working, I will begin rebuilding the store. Some of the older items will go up first, and I will then work on getting up newer items that have been found this past Fall. While I know many of you will be looking for equipment for this next season, it is simply too expensive right now to have a distributorship for larger equipment, and so we will stick with what we make ourselves and what we can drop ship. Those items will be the corrugated mini sluice for black sand separation from gold and the Madam Queen Shirley’s Magic Panning Sand, with 7 grains of real Colorado gold.

One fantastic find this last Fall was a source for Gold Nugget and/or Gold in White Quartz Jewelry from a company that has been in business for over 40 years and two generations. Items are available in 14K gold and sterling silver. We stock a few items, and anything else can be ordered and drop shipped with a 30 day return policy on the jewelry. Another part of what they have available is prospecting gift items made from redwood bark, geodes, and amethyst with mining and gold panning scenes. VERY reasonable in their cost. We stock some of these items, also, and those we don’t can be ordered and drop shipped. I’ll tell you, I sold quite a few of these off site this last year, and I am sure you will be pleased with them as well.

World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: http://www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com/ .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact usPLEASE BE ADVISED: Ads that you might find on this blog or on a website using ads, may use cookies or other tracking means to track your movements on the web. They are easily removed by going into your computer’s control panel and deleting them, or you can also use a virus scan to look for them and delete them

Golden Snow

Golden snow is falling in the city and mountains again today. Lots of snow means gold will get moved around this spring in the rivers and streams and more float gold will find its' way into tributaries for us to find.

Since finding gold is what we are about, I can't be too much against falling snow. It does make my job easier by helping to concentrate more gold in the public placer areas where I want to look for it this summer. Spot gold took a roller coaster ride yesterday down to $958.50, but is up again this morning to around $987 again.

Are you spending your time repairing equipment? Prospecting season will be here soon, and the snow will be melted so you can find gold. Larry has his plans for constucting a highbanker/dredge combo just about finished, and they will be for sale on site early in the spring. The corrugated mini sluice will be back up as well, and I have an excellent source for nugget jewelry in 14 K gold or sterling silver lined up, with MQS Magic Panning Sand reappearing, too.

The gem show this past weekend was slow, with people holding on to their money. A lot of work with few results. Still, it is fun to work with the public and talk about gold and gemstones.

Our youngest grandson will be one year old this next week. That whole year has gone by so fast, and what a golden year it was. Thank you to all of you who made it so for us! We met so many wonderful people this last year, and had so much fun with all of you. Hopefully we will see you all again this year and make more new friends of those who we will meet this year. Good Prospecting to You!

Hooked on Gold Gazette 2/29

Yes, it's Gem Show week and time to spend my weekend in the "green" booth.

· Gold Spot Closing Price for Friday: $974.30
· Spot price last week: $944.60

pssst......silver was $19.81

______________________________________

Calendar of Events

FEBRUARY

TUCSON GEM, MINERAL, and FOSSIL SHOW – Tucson, Az.
13th GPOC Meeting 7:00 p.m. Colo. Springs
15th Gold Show opens at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
22nd – 24th Gem and Mineral Show Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Colo.
29th Leap Day

MARCH

9th Daylight Savings Time Begins in Colorado
12th GPOC General Meeting 7:00 p.m.
17th St. Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
21st Good Friday
23rd Easter
_______________________________________
NEWS

Short newsletter this week. Gold is trying to break out and run for $1000! Warmer weather is making us itch to get out and do some prospecting. In case you haven’t been online and onsite, you will find the change we have been talking about for months. Wish I had the weekend to work on it, but I have to go and sell emeralds. I know, I know. SOMEONE has to do it and it might as well be me. LOL! The jewelry comes in nice buttery 18K gold and is really remarkable.

I was reading that the Thai’s are selling their family gold to keep their heads above water with the inflation rate there. It’s getting melted down and shipped off to better markets, as most people there are selling and not buying.

Have you heard the rumors going around about us beginning another mini ice age? I’ve been hearing bits and pieces for about a month now, and the charts seem to bear this out. Could be all that talk about global warming might be short lived if we continue to cool off globally. What’s up with the earthquake in England? Indonesia, yeah, but ENGLAND? How long has it been since that happened?

3 weeks until the first day of Spring. Can you smell it in the air? With mid 60’s and low 70’s this weekend, we are both bummed that we BOTH have to work. I’ll put up some more thoughts early this next week.

World Open Panning website has this year’s world wide panning competitions listed and they add more all the time. A great site to visit: http://www.worldopenpanning.homestead.com/ .

Until next week……
___________________________________
If you find a broken link, please let us know
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is now closed TO MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT FOR THE WINTER UNTIL APRIL 1, 2008.
_______________________________________
Good Prospecting to You,
Larry and Shirley Weilnau
http://www.hookedongold.com/
http://www.thevideosense.com/user/MQS/ Prospecting Videos
http://www.hookedongold2.com/ Looking for metal detectors on e-Bay? Click here
info@hookedongold.com contact us