If you’ve been thinking that mining for gold, metal detecting, or rockhounding seem like exciting hobbies you and your family would like to start, or if you've been doing it for years and just want to find out what's new in the industry, then make plans this spring to attend a Gold Prospectors Association of America (GPAA) Gold & Treasure Show and/or the 2-day ICMJ Prospecting & Mining Summit.
Whether young, old, or somewhere in the middle, the shows offer something for everyone and provide the best opportunities to learnnew skills, see product demos, and rub elbows with some of the most respected miners and metal detectorists in the business!
GPAA Gold & Treasure Shows: Browse the show floor to find the latest and greatest gold mining and metal detecting equipment, attend free seminars, ask questions of the pros, and enter to win thousands of dollars in door prizes—metal detectors, pans, sluice boxes and MORE! In addition, spread out amongst the vendors, are panning troughs for both kids and adults where you can learn new techniques and keep all the gold you find! Visit the GPAA website for details and to buy your $5 tickets online. Children 12 and under are free, as are active duty military and veterans with ID. Saturday shows run 10 am - 5 pm and Sunday 10 am - 4 pm.
February 20-21 Pomona, CA
February 27-28 Las Vegas, NV
March 12-13 Phoenix, AZ
April 2-3 San Francisco, CA
April 9-10 Portland, OR
April 16-17 Seattle, WA
June 11-12 Boise, Idaho
June 18-19 Denver, CO
Gold Prospecting and Mining Summit April 16-17 in Placerville, CA: The Two-Day Summit features 20,000 square feet packed with the latest in mining and prospecting equipment & expert instruction from the writers and staff of ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal. Learn everything from gold panning, basic prospecting and metal detecting, up to advanced gold recovery and small operations. On Sunday, kids can participate in a FREE scavenger hunt to earn prizes. In addition to the Summit, two extra days of hands-on training are available to subscribers of ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal. Hands-on classes fill up FAST, so register early!
On April 15 a full placer operation will be up and running on a private mining property near Iowa HIll, approximately 2 hours northeast of Placerville, so attendees can see first-hand how the process works for only $20. You will have the opportunity to pan, power sluice (highbank) and metal detect for gold.
April 18 features an introduction to underground (lode) mining class located on private mining property near Foresthill, approximately 1.5 hours northeast of Placerville. This $35 class will focus on mining methods, explosives, hardrock mining (ore body blocking, assays, mill flow), timbering, exploration, types of gold deposits and processing. Click here for all the details of the 2-Day Gold Prospecting and Mining Summit and the Hands-On Training classes.
Mark your calendars and we'll see you there!
