Jun 27

Written by:
6/27/2012 3:47 PM 

By GPAA Staff

The Gold Prospectors Association of America is proud to announce the arrival of its new full-color Claims Club Membership Mining Guide, hot off the press and now available to members.

In a recently released video promoting the new publication, GPAA Executive Director of Development Kevin Hoagland said the new Mining Guide will demonstrate that the GPAA is committed to our members.

“Most people don’t realize how much gold is still available in just about every state of this great nation,” Hoagland said. “Our organization was founded to preserve your rights to be able access to find gold on public lands in a safe and responsible manner. And, now after 40 years and three generations, we are proud to unveil our newest Mining Guide, the most comprehensive guide to date. This new guide features over 350 member-exclusive claims throughout the United States.”

Redesigned from cover to cover, the new Mining Guide, uses cutting-edge GPS and mapping technology.

“Our team set out with one goal in mind — to help you find more gold,” he said. “When you find gold on our claims, it’s yours to keep.”

The biggest misconception about gold today is that it requires a huge investment to recover your first ounce, Hoagland said.

“That’s not true! All you really need are some basic tools and a better understanding of how gold naturally forms in deposits in the areas that you’re going to be prospecting. Our organization knew years ago that having places to go that were quickly and easily accessible was the key to getting people involved,” he said.

One of the questions Hoagland is asked by new GPAA members who have learned how to find gold is where to find it. The new Mining Guide gives you all of those locations in one, easy-to-use book. Each mining location page features up to six guidance references from turn-by-turn directions with details on ease of access, to GPS coordinates and topographical layout for advanced terrain analysis. All of your maps are high resolution and in full color so water, trails, roads and highways are easily visible and clearly marked.

Claims are grouped by location to help members find the locations they intend to prospect. With these new groupings, you can easily identify other claims within a reasonable distance of where you are prospecting.

“As you start traveling more often, you’re going to find that not all lands are the same. Federal lands can differ from state to state, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, pay-to-dig sites and open areas that are open to the public. Then you’ve got leases and so on,” Hoagland said.

“The guide has been updated to include these issues with complete reference material. First to identify the land type on each mining location page, letting you know if that claim is located on BLM land or in a National Forest.”

Pages featuring pay-to-digs or public areas are easier to identify with changing colors and clear labels. Each section also contains reference material to federal, state, and local agency offices and any available websites to provide necessary reference material before you visit.

“The answers you need are all organized in one place, easy to take out in the field with you whenever you decide to go prospecting,” he said.

Mining location pages also contain suggested types of equipment for that location based on regulations, the presence on water access versus a dry claim, reports from members on the geology, landscape and gold recovery for a number of our more popular destinations.

Another noticeable upgrade in this Mining Guide apart from any other prospecting resource available was a move to two maps per claim as opposed to one.

“The guide shouldn’t leave questions as to what to bring or how to get there; the goal is to give you all the tools you need be successful in the field. Our team has drawn from the experiences and knowledge of our members and condensed that wealth of information into each page so that you are more informed about the location before you ever set foot on it,” Hoagland said.

“Not only is the GPAA a great way for somebody new to started prospecting, the benefits of being a member are unmatched anywhere else. We have the largest Mining Guide in the world and it’s only available to you as a member of the largest prospecting organization. Our goal is not just to have you as a member, it’s to keep you active and excited about your right to prospect and mine and develop your understanding of how to find more gold!”