“I can remember when I was nine or 10 years old. I was raised in New York City, and every summer we used to go out to places like Rockaway Beach and Jones Beach. I remember vividly in one of the areas there was a boardwalk. I never paid attention to it until one day I saw a man under the boardwalk with something and I was curious enough to go look and ask, ‘What are you doing, Mister?’ And, he said, ‘I’m sifting for money.’ You know, as a kid when I heard the word “money,” I started asking how you are doing it. He had a box and a sifter and he kept throwing stuff in it and by golly he found some coins and it knocked me for a loop. It intrigued me, and that’s why I read books about treasure and adventure,” said Auerbach. “I think I’m the persona of what the American dream is all about.”

My first day working for the GPAA was a very exciting day in my life. I had grown up around this organization from the age of about 9, and looked up to those who were involved at the time like they were generals leading an army of prospectors. People like my grandfather George “Buzzard” Massie, Tom and Perry Massie, my grandmother Wilma Massie, Corey Rudolph, Jake and Lynn Hardwick, Woody Caldwell and others. They were always so busy during the outings, but I do remember that, at the end of the day, they always had a smile on their face. It was very exciting to think that, one day, I would be part of the team. What kid doesn’t get excited at the idea of playing in the dirt with friends as a profession?

Gold Prospectors magazine and the Pick & Shovel Gazette have been accessible online for a couple years, but just recently has viewing these publications on the web been an interactive experience. We’ve implemented a new e-viewer with enhanced capabilities, giving you more control over the way the content is displayed. When you first access the new viewer, you’ll be given an opportunity to take a tour of the many features available.

When Minelab dealers and various media outlets from around the world attended the recent Minelab Worldwide Dealer Conference in Las Vegas, Nev., we were introduced to what Minelab described as a new “entry level” gold prospecting detector; the Gold Monster 1000. The detector created quite a bit of discussion along with a certain amount of skepticism among many of us that have been detecting for decades. Coming from Minelab, a company that has been known for innovation since the 1980s, the Gold Monster 1000 was not what we expected.

After years of drought, prospectors in the California Mother Lode and Desert Southwest are preparing their packs and checking over their mining equipment for the deluge of flood gold that is sure to await them when the winter rains subside and mountain snow melts.