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

or

Not part-time when I live in Calgary

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. I lost a fair bit of money because of questions I didn't ask, and because of regulatory aspects that I didn't find out about until after I got the reclamation permit.

Anyone interested in discussing this subject can contact me, Brian Marshall, at bmarshal@agt.net or phone +1 403-651-0584

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. To hire a 'guy with backhoe' periodically would have been very time-consuming.

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 any machine digging before I had to decide whether I was going to complete the purchase of the claim. I could do far less testing than I had planned.

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

Making Money - Considerations