Come and Enjoy our New Meeting Place!

Cathy Hopper Clairmont Friendship Center

Since March, the SPMA has been meeting at the Cathy Hopper Clairemont Friendship Center. The address is 4425 Bannock Avenue, San Diego, CA 92117. The doors open at 6:30 P.M. on the third Tuesday of each month. Click this link to make your own Google Map with directions.

AUGUST ASSAY NEWSLETTER - Now Available On-Line!

Click the link to the right to view and read your latest ASSAY, Assay Newsletter-August 2020 . Previous issues of the Assay can be found at the bottom of the Library page. You'll need Adobe Reader to view the file. If you need it, you can download and install it using this link. Adobe Reader.

General Meeting Are Suspended Until Further Notice

Due to the state's COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Order. Meetings will resume when the order is lifted.

Outing to Banner Grade Claim August 22nd

The group will meet at a parking lot at Hwy 78 and 2nd Street in Julian at 8:00 AM and then proceed to the claim. Please check the July ASSAY for more information.

Outing to Red Mountain Claim in September

The dates and details for this will be in the September Assay.

Outing to the Araz Claims in October

The dates and details for this will be in the next Assay.

Outing to the Potholes Claims in November

This is the Annual Thanksgiving Potluck. It usually runs Wednesday through Sunday. Attend for all the days or just a few. Dates and details for this will be in the next Assay.

Metal Detecting at Local Beaches

Since our local beaches are closed no metal detecting outings are planned.

7-10 Day Yuba River Mining Trips with Richard Mueller

Richard Mueller is looking for a few adventurous people who want to find gold in Northern California. Work is involved in removing large boulders with electric winch and come along. The mining claim is an 11 hour drive from San Diego and only a 4 x 4 will make it the last few miles. This is basic tent camping only. Call Richard Mueller at 619-445-0800 for more details as plans change frequently.

New Email System - Sign up to have The Assay sent to you!

To better communicate with our members, the SPMA has decided to create a comprehensive email list. Our new email management system will allow us to email the monthly Assay at a great cost savings. To sign up, just go to the Contact web page and fill out the 3-line form. This is a good thing so please sign up. If you wish to, you can always discontinue SPMA emails by clicking on the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of each email. The Assay will still be posted on the SPMA web site each month. A few printed copies will be available at the monthly meetings but we will no longer be sending printed Assays out by regular mail. We are on a tight budget.

Legal News from ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal

Keep up with the latest court cases and regulations on ICMJ's Legislation and Regulation page.

Latest news from Public Lands for People, the PLP

Another great defender of the miners rights is the PLP. Scroll down their news page to see why you don't need an Adventure Pass at National Parks. Print a copy and bring it with you. PLP News page.

Share Your Photos With Your SPMA Friends

SPMA members are encouraged to add photos to our photo page slide shows. Albums (or folders) have been set up in our Photobucket account for each month of 2018. In many cases the web manager has already created a slide show link to our Photobucket account. For example, you can share the photos you took at the Christmas party by uploading them to the Christmas Party slide show. To learn how please click here: PhotoBucket Instructions. If you have questions please contact Tom Heffernan via email.

General Meetings, 3rd Tuesday of the month

Under the COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Order all meetings are cancelled. When they resume, our general meeting will be held at 7:00 PM at the Cathy Hopper Clairmont Friendship Center, 4425 Bannock Avenue, San Diego, CA 92117. This will be our first meeting at this new location so come check it out. Click this link to make your own Google Map with directions. Hope to see you there.

SPMA Board Meetings, 2nd Monday of each month

Under the COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Order all meetings are cancelled. When they resume, our monthly SPMA Board of Directors meetings are held on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 PM in the Gem & Mineral Building, Spanish Village, Balboa Park. All members are welcome to attend.

Our NEW Email Claim Use Form is now available

We now have two types of claim forms, a Mail-in Claim Form. and an Email Claim Form. Just click the links for each to check them out. We hope that by making the forms quick and easy to use, more people will send them in. Collecting these Claim Use Forms is important because it shows the BLM that we are actually using our claims. It also shows that we are being responsible stewards of the land. Hauling away old trash and filling in dangerous holes also shows that we're pretty good people to have around. When we apply for new claims, the BLM takes all of this into account.

Gold fever still alive with local prospecting groups

Check out this recent Union-Tribune article by Gary Warth. He tagged along with trip leader Lee Darling on an SPMA outing to our Potholes claim in early April. Just click the links and enjoy!  Article and photos.  If the link should break, here's a PDF copy.

PEW Environment Group

It's time you knew what the PEW Environment Group is up to and how they are lobbying to change the laws that regulate prospecting and mining. Download their 38-page booklet and read their own literature. PEW Environment Booklet.

Dinner is Served!

If you're attending your first SPMA meeting you should know that pizza, snacks, and beverages are normally available at all our meetings at very reasonable prices. Profits support the association.