Come and Enjoy our New Meeting Place!

Cathy Hopper Clairmont Friendship Center

Now that COVID-19 is letting up, we can start holding meetings again. Our first SPMA meeting in over a year will be in the North Clairemont Community Center, Building #2, Meeting Room #2. It is just behind the Cathy Hopper Clairemont Friendship Center. The address is 4421 Bannock Avenue, San Diego, CA 92117. (It's across the parking lot from the building we've used in the past.) 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.

SEPTEMBER ASSAY NEWSLETTER - Now Available On-Line!

Click the link to the right to view and read your latest ASSAY, Assay Newsletter-September 2021. 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 Meetings Are BACK!!! Come see your friends!

We'll be holding our first General Meeting in over a year on August 17th at 6:30 PM.

September's Outing will be to the Red Mountain Claim

The group will meet at the intersection of Hwy 395 and Osdick Road at 9:00 a.m. Friday, September 17, 2021, or on 9:00 a.m. Saturday, September 18, 2021. From there we will tour the claim. This is a dry claim, bring a drywasher. Please see the Assay for more details.

October’s mining trip will be to our six Quartzite claims

We will meet at the McDonalds on West Main Street at 9:00am Friday, October 15, 2021, or at 9:00am Saturday, October 16, 2021. From there you will be guided to the claims. When we arrive, we will tour the six claims. Joe Johanek says Over the last 2 weeks Quartzsite has been flooded by Monsoon storms. Roads tore up, desert washes completely changed, in some desert washes water flowed at the 9 foot level. The nugget shooters are finding nuggets right and left in the washes, especially west of our claims.

November's Outing is the Potholes Thanksgiving Potluck!

We will meet at the Imperial Date Garden on 1517 York Road at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, November 24, 2021. From there we will tour the five claims. Please see the Assay for more details.

Metal Detecting at Local Beaches

Frank Trutta is once again leading metal detecting outing at local beaches. Please see the Assay for Frank's latest article and more information on upcoming trips. Or contact Frank directly. Here is his contact information. Email: scthfrank@yahoo.com Phone: 760-743-8516.

Prospecting Tips by an SPMA member in a GPAA Article

Allen Kirkpatrick shares advice on drywahsing in this GPAA article entitled Odds & Sods.

PLP News RELEASE... DREDGING RETURNS!

Public Lands for People has issued a press release announcing the return of suction dredging in California. To read all about it click here.

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.

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.