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.

November's ASSAY NEWSLETTER - Now Available On-Line!

Click the link to the right to view and read your latest ASSAY, Assay Newsletter-November 2023. Previous issues of the Assay can be found at the bottom of the Library page. You'll need Adobe Reader to view the files. If you need it, you can download and install it using this link. Adobe Reader.

November's Outing will be to the Potholes Claims.

For new members who haven't been there before, we'll meet at Imperial Date Gardens - 1304 York Rd, in Winterhaven, CA 92283, at 9:00am on Friday November 17, 2023 or 9:00am on Saturday November 18, 2023. From there you'll guided to the five claims. More details are in the Assay Newsletter.

Please Remember to send in your Claim Visit Form

After you visit an SPMA claim, please take a few minutes fill out one of our Claim Use Forms. We collect them at our meeting (or by mail) and present them to the BLM at claim renewal time. Documenting our claim use shows the BLM that we are being responsible stewards of the land and that we're good to have around. When we apply for new claims, they take our written record into consideration. We have two versions: a Print & Mail Claim Use Form and an Email Claim Use Form. A copy of the printable version is included in this month's Assay Newsletter. Thank you.

Lakeside Rock Show in November

The El Cajon Valley Gem Club i holding a Rock Show November 18th and 19th at the Lakeside Rodeo Grounds in Lakeside. Hours are 9 AM to 5 PM and admission is FREE!

Assay Submission Deadline - Last day of each month

If you wish to submit an article, photo, for sale item, or any other announcement, please do so by the last day of the current month for the next month's issue. Please email your submissions to the Assay Editor. Photos can be sent from your cell phone to my cell phone as a text message attachment. Instructions for this are in the Assay. Send pictures of your prospecting adventures, metal detecting finds, and your gold pans sparkling with gold. All submissions are subject to approval by the editor and the board. Thank you for contributing to the Assay and the SPMA experience.

Metal Detecting at Local Beaches

Frank Trutta is once again leading metal detecting outing to our local beaches. Please see the Assay for Frank's latest article on metal detecting 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 drywashing in this GPAA article entitled Odds & Sods.

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

Our general meeting are held at 7:00 p.m. at 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. Click this link to make your own Google Map with directions. Hope to see you there.

SPMA Board Meetings, 2nd Monday of each month

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.