october’s general - gpoc.com · october’s general ... cast iron columns supporting the dome...
TRANSCRIPT
The Prospector’s November 2014
Club members bid during last year's silent auction
2015 Board Elected At
October’s General
Membership Meeting
At the October’s General Membership Meeting, elections were held to determine board members for the 2015 season. After speeches by the nominees and a sometimes-spirited discussion by the membership, the following members were elected:
President
Ben “Big Ben” Higley
Vice President George Enterman
Secretary
Tricia Enterman
Treasurer Wayne Wittkopp
One Year Trustee
Jason Allen
Two Year Trustee Lynn Murphy
Three Year Trustee Richard Margensen
Annual Silent Auction November 12th at the General Membership
Meeting
Time: 7pm
Place: Elks Club, 3400 N. Nevada ave
Colorado Springs, CO
Bring any new or used prospecting or mining related
equipment, tools, clothing, books – pretty much
anything related to our hobby! Items will be set up for
examination before the meeting and written bids will
be accepted during the break. Following the break, the
highest bidder will get his treasure. This is a fantastic
opportunity to get items at cut-rate prices or turn your
unwanted equipment into cash, just in time for the
Christmas gift-buying season.
Giant Gold Nugget Found in California Finds Secret Buyer
Published October 26, 2014, Associated Press
In this undated image provided by Kagin's Inc., shows the Butte Nugget. (AP/Kagin's Inc.)
SAN FRANCISCO – One of the largest gold nuggets in modern times pulled from Northern California's Gold Country has sold to a secret buyer.
The new owner of the so-called Butte Nugget and its exact price will both remain mysteries at the buyer's request, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.
But Don Kagin, the Tiburon-based coin dealer who brokered the deal, said that a "prominent Bay Area collector" paid about $400,000 for the nugget weighing 6.07 pounds. That wasn't far off from the asking price, he said. "Let's just say it's a win-win for everybody, Kagin said, adding that the nugget went up for sale Thursday with the deal finalized on Friday.
Historically, prospectors found giant gold nuggets in California during the 19th century Gold Rush days, including a 54-pound chunk found in Butte County in 1859. It has been decades since a report of anyone discovering a rock of 6 pounds or more in California.
The gold hunter who found the nugget found it in July in the mountains of Butte County. He also asked Kagin to keep his name and the location of the discovery a secret.
Reports of the nugget's pending sale caused a near frenzy among gold and history buffs, with the newspaper reporting one bidder inquiring from Australia.
"We spoke with six different people who seemed to have a legitimate interest," said David McCarthy, Kagin's chief numismatist. "But he was the first person to make an offer and he had the right prices."
In honor of Halloween. . .
Here’s What Actually Happens During an Execution by Molten Gold
It's probably not the gold itself that kills you, but rather the steam
By Rachel Nuwer, smithsonian.com, June 10, 2014
HBO Films
ans of Game of Thrones know that, in Westeros, death is almost always grisly. Back in season one, for example, a character was killed by having molten gold poured over his head. However terrible this might seem, though, real-life history one-ups it. Centuries ago, having molten gold poured down your throat was actually
the preferred means of death by molten metal.
Marcus Lincinius Crassus, an astoundingly wealthy Roman general, is rumored to have died this way, as is Roman Emperor Valerian the Elder (though others contest that he was flayed alive). Spanish inquisitors used this technique and so did tribes in South America—as one corrupt, gold-loving Spanish governor found out in 1599.
Horrific as this sounds, it begs the question: just what killed the victim? Was it the hot gold itself, the steam, perhaps suffocation? The blog It's Interesting points to a 2003 study in the Journal of Clinical Pathology in which investigators decided to find out. Instead of gold, they used lead, another historically accurate (if less expensive) agent of execution:
We obtained a bovine larynx from a local slaughter house (no animal was harmed or killed specifically for this purpose). After fixing the larynx in a horizontal position to a piece of wood and closing the distal end using tissue paper, 750 g of pure lead (around 450°C) was heated until melting and then poured into the larynx. Immediately, large amounts of steam appeared at both ends of the specimen, and the clot of tissue paper was expelled with force by the steam. Within 10 seconds, the lead had congealed again, completely filling the larynx.
After the lead and larynx cooled down, the experimenters examined the larynx by taking cross-sections and looking at them under a light microscope. The throat mucus layer had been completely burned off, and the muscle was cooked or damaged to the depth of about 1 cm, they report. Having molten lead or gold poured down your throat, they conclude, is a pretty sure way to die: it might rupture your organs, burn your lungs and choke you. Ultimately, though, it's probably the steam that pulls the plug.
F
The Gold Assay Process: Magic or Chemistry?
Saturday, November 29th, 2014 10am to 1pm
Gold Assay Seminar! Gold does not come out of the ground ready to wear. Join us to
discover how ore is processed to extract gold. Hands-on learners of all ages will crush and
classify ore as they learn the basics of gold ore assaying--determining the value of gold in the
rock. This fast moving, interactive assay demonstration will overview the math,
mechanics, and chemistry of this exciting process; in addition this event has become a
detailed educational program with the support of experts from the Gold Prospectors of
Colorado and Pilot Mining. Explore Colorado’s rich mining heritage from the gold rush days to the 21st century. Find out what’s happening in
mining today.
Admission rates: Adults $8, Military/AAA $7, Seniors/Students $6, Children 3-12 $4, FREE to
Children under 3 & Museum Members.
Capitol Dome Reopens To Public
After Years Of Renovations
DENVER (CBS4)- After years of construction at the state Capitol dome, the renovations are complete and the dome is once again open to the public.
The last of the scaffolding that had hindered the view of the gold-topped dome at Colfax and Lincoln has been removed.
The $17 million project was necessary because Colorado’s intense freeze-thaw cycle caused the exterior metal surfaces to deteriorate during the past 100 years. Cast iron columns supporting the dome also started rusting.
A group of 4th graders was among the first to tour the newly reopened dome. They had been briefed on why the dome was closed for so long before taking the tour to the top.
“A piece of iron fell off from the roof in 2006 so they had to rebuild the roof to make is safer for everybody else,” said one 4th grader.
Eight years ago a piece of iron did fall off the dome and onto the observation deck which was then closed for safety reasons.
Four years later repair crews began the task of fixing and restoring the cast iron exterior. The copper plates underneath the gold leafed dome also had to be repaired.
The dome was re-gilded with more than 65 ounces of gold.
Congratulations to the 2014 World Gold Panning Champion,
Craig Koretoff with a time of 14.18 seconds!!!
Craig is a GPOC member.
The “New” GPOC Truck
November Meetings Board Meeting
November 6th
Gold Hill Police Station 955 Moreno Avenue.
CS, CO 7pm
General Membership Meeting
Silent Auction November 12th
Elks Lodge 3400 N. Nevada Ave.
CS, CO 7pm
Board Members contact information 719-217-0923
Or feel free to email President
Ben "Big Ben" Higley [email protected]
Vice President
George Enterman [email protected]
Secretary
Tricia Enterman [email protected]
Treasurer
Wayne Wittkopp [email protected]
One Year Trustee
Dick Margeson [email protected]
Two Year Trustee
Jason Allen [email protected]
Thee Year Trustee
Mike Hammond [email protected]
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Memberships Elise Pearce
Raffle Wayne Wittkopp [email protected]
Claims Committee Jason Allen
Championship Committee Gary Beaderstradt [email protected]
The Quill Mark Ressel
Nice gold on a Miller Table found on a GPOC claim.