Russ Steele
This story appeared in The Union today: Eureka! 9-POUND NUGGET TIP OF THE ICEBERG?
Jim Sander a San Francisco business man found a 9 lb gold nugget on his property in Nevada County. He refused to identify the location.
For security reasons, Sanders and The Union agreed to not divulge the exact location of his land. In addition, he asked that photos for this story did not show his face.
It looks to me like some of the hydraulic placer mining areas near the Malikoff Diggings State Park.
Now look at this photos of the Malikoff Photo on the right Looks at the similar trees and bushes characteristic of this area of Nevad
a County.
Is this a real find and could mining operations start up on the Sanders property? A real find yes. Chance of opening a mining operation, slim to none if our local environmental groups have any say in the matter. Any successful mine, producing real economic recovery, might lead to more mining and more economic recover, and they cannot have that threat to their green economy myths.
Our local environmental groups will use existing laws and the courts to keep any mining operations from starting up in the County, lest gold fever take over the local community which is seeking real economic development. Real economic development that might impede local going green economic visions.
This story appeared in The Union today: Eureka! 9-POUND NUGGET TIP OF THE ICEBERG?
For security reasons, Sanders and The Union agreed to not divulge the exact location of his land. In addition, he asked that photos for this story did not show his face.
It looks to me like some of the hydraulic placer mining areas near the Malikoff Diggings State Park.
This picture accompanied the story.
Take a close look at the trees and bushes in the photo on the left.
Now look at this photos of the Malikoff Photo on the right Looks at the similar trees and bushes characteristic of this area of Nevad
.Now, to the issue is it real? There was gold in the diggings when the State of California shut down hydraulic mining with the Sawyer Decision. This decision shut down the North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company which became the first environmental ruling in California and the Nation.
On January 7, 1884, after two years of litigation in the case of Woodruff vs. North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company and over 2,000 witnesses with 20,000 pages of written testimony taken during the trial, Judge Lorenzo Sawyer's decision was handed down. This decision did not stop miners from using the big water cannons but it did prohibit the discharge of debris in the Sierra Nevada regions. It imposed strict laws regarding any debris sent downstream and it did close all loop-holes. In essence the ruling stated that "all tailings must stop."
This ruling essentially shut down the mining operations as the only means of removing the overburden covering the gold was high pressure water cannons, which produced tailings.
Today miners have hydraulic operated backhoes and bulldozers to remove the overburden and metal detectors to find the nuggets. Finding the flower gold flakes in the gravel will require water washing or leaching operations. Both an anathema to local environmental groups.Is this a real find and could mining operations start up on the Sanders property? A real find yes. Chance of opening a mining operation, slim to none if our local environmental groups have any say in the matter. Any successful mine, producing real economic recovery, might lead to more mining and more economic recover, and they cannot have that threat to their green economy myths.
Our local environmental groups will use existing laws and the courts to keep any mining operations from starting up in the County, lest gold fever take over the local community which is seeking real economic development. Real economic development that might impede local going green economic visions.
