Why I did not buy a Fraser River Placer Claim

Why I did not buy a

Fraser River Placer Claim

that was for sale in the Cariboo

Aspects that can Affect the Value of a Placer Claim

Machine Digging, Cutting Trees and Drawing Water
Cost More and Take More Time than I Expected

In the spring of 2005, I decided not to buy a placer claim that was for sale on the Fraser River North of Quesnel in the Cariboo region of BC. I lost a fair bit of money because of things I didn't know and regulatory aspects that I found out about when I got the reclamation permit.
I have had the gold bug for a long time. This was the first time I was going to do machine digging.
I am not trying to discourage anybody. I learned about how things work. Learning is good.
Some folks may be interested in my BC Placer website, which provides information and resources about placer mining in BC.
I, Brian Marshall, can be reached at bmarshal@agt.net

Access and Hiring Equipment

There was access to the claim via forestry roads. It would have been fine if I was going to bring in some serious equipment to do some serious work. I didn't have the money for that. I needed to find a local 'guy with a backhoe', and some alternates, to come in periodically. This was going to be more time-consuming and expensive than I had planned.

Cutting Trees and Drawing Water

After getting a reclamation permit, I still had to get a license to cut and a permit to draw water from the river. My mistake - I thought they were going to be issued with the reclamation permit. It meant that I couldn't do proper testing before I had to decide whether I was going to buy the claim or forfeit the money I had already paid.

Fraser River Bar Restrictions and Water Levels

There are recommended practices for mining Fraser River bars. My reclamation permit specified that I had to follow these practices. There were many limitations and rules. One was that work on the bar was only to be done "in the dry". Another aspect about Fraser bars is that the water level can change substantially and quickly, and work early in the year can result in equipment (like excavators) being lost. Fraser bars can only be worked part of the season. All these factors affect whether money can be made.

Questions about Prospective Value

Was the ground worked in the 1800's?
Have a bunch of different people worked the claim?
Has the claim been machine-worked?
Will modern equipment make it possible to do something new on the claim?
How were any $/yd figures calculated?
What are the chances of finding a new, minable deposit?
What am I paying for this chance?

Making Money - Considerations

Trees are overburden
Time spent doing things other than mining - fixing roads, hiring people, getting fuel
Amount of ground that has to be worked per day to make money
Length of the season