40-acre Federal Gold Mining Claim - Hidden Springs #1

The placer gold claim offered here is a 40-acre placer mining claim: Hidden Springs #1; AZ106784998. The claim is in Section 24, Township 7 North, Range 4 West. This claim is situated in the SE1/4 NW 1/4 SEC24 T7N R4W, Gila Salt River Base and Meridian, Arizona. It is approximately 5.5 miles Southeast of Wickenburg by way the crow flies, and 5.5 miles North of Morristown. This claim lies 3 miles South of the Carson mine, 2 miles Northeast of the old Wickenburg Materials pit, and 1 mile Northeast of the Golden Dragon mine and 5.3 miles West of the Active Trilby Pit.

This claim lies directly on a main portion of the major lode trend that has supplied a large portion of the placer gold in the legendary San Domingo and Little San Domingo (also known as LSD) placer strikes. It is also less than 1 mile from club claims where nuggets weighing up to 11 ounces have been found, and on the same alluvial flow where I have personally found nuggets up to 1/4 ounce.

When I was younger, on one of our neighbor mine owner "Old Man Thompson's", last trips out before he passed away (Easter of 1976), he showed me nuggets he obtained on an adjacent claim with a metal detector (a now prehistoric Fisher) that weighed up to 7 ounces. This claim is in a rich area indeed. This claim is less than 1 mile upstream from a patented 40 acres containing Brill Dam. Brill Dam has been there since the late 1800's, and was originally constructed to work placer gold in the San Domingo Placer Belt. This claim is also 3 miles North of two extremely rich 40 acre patented gold placer claims where old man Goode made his fortune. This claim also lies Southwest of five lode claims patented in the very early 1900's (1903 to 1909), and just South of the famous patented Monarch Mine. Many patented claims are merely base metal patents. These are gold lode patents.

There are 3 access routes to this claim. The main trail in can be traversed by a seasoned desert rat in a 2WD high clearance pickup or SUV, but 4WD is recommended for those less experienced. Wide, all season tires are recommended for loose sand.

The old 1880's Wickenburg to Phoenix Stage Line Road runs just East of this claim and the ruins of several of the old stage stops can still be seen along this route, along with numerous ruins of old miners cabins. The ruins of "Martian" Mary's cabin are near this claim in the San Domingo(only someone who had been around as long as I would know who "Martian" Mary was, or that she even lived there).

The Hidden Springs #1 mining claim has been tested, and it is one of the better claims in the area.

Other gemstones, lapidary rough, and salable mineral specimens to be found on the claim include agatized opal, picture jasper (most mines sell good quality picture jasper rough for 10 to 20 dollars a pound), chalcedony, zoisite, corundum, calcium carbonate, fluorescent minerals, Epidote, beautiful pegmatite associated gemstones such as Moonstone and Red sunstone that I have sold online for over three dollars a carat (That's OVER SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS PER POUND, and there are HUNDREDS OF POUNDS ON THE claim!); Ametrine, Bright green Rainbow Jade, Smoky Quartz, Harlequin Quartz, Tangerine Quartz, Lepidolite, Fuchsite, Chlorargyrite (Silver), Mica; rare Pegmatite minerals such as Lithium and associated minerals ; Gold and Silver minerals in Quartz, Black Schorl Tourmaline, Tourmalated Quartz,and REAL GEM HEMATITE (not the man made "Hemalyke" that is generally sold as real Hematite. If your "Hematite" has a choncoidal fracture, then it is the manmade "Hemalyke", and not the far more rare natural Gem Hematite)! All a person would need to do to recover their purchase price on this claim is simply gather, cut, cab, and sell a few pounds of any one of the varieties of gemstone found on this claim. After that, THE GOLD IS GRAVY!! As a matter of fact, almost any gemstone or mineral found on several hundred acres of the world famous San Domingo placer belt can be found on this claim.

The coarsest most crystalline gold was formed in place on the claim from Epithermal, Hydrothermal, and Disseminated Load, the preponderance being disseminated zenachrys and phenochrys in porphery quartzite and basalt with schist lenses, and quartz veins in the contacts. During relatively recent volcanic activity, this original geological deposition was ground up in a pyroclastic flow, and re-deposited as conglomerate. Some of the gold was brought in by the San Domingo tertiary channels as well as the Tub Spring, Willow Creek, and Monarch tertiary channels.

This claim is slightly downstrike from where 26.75 ounce, 11 ounce, 7 ounce, and 3 ounce nuggets were found over the last few winters.

There are several good sized gullies on this claim in which the placer gold is replenished from alluvial pediments every year by winter and monsoon rains. There is a good amount of gravel on this claim that could be worked with quite some success with heavy equipment. The gold is also concentrated enough to be worked by hand and be worth your time.

You wont have your mining restricted to 3 months out of the year, as there are no endangered fish or other aquatic wildlife here. Although this claim is not located in lush forest, it also is not buried under 6 feet of snow 9 months out of the year, and closed to access due to fire danger the other three months, you don't have to bring your own oxygen, you wont have to grow webbed feet and gills, and therefore this would make a wonderful winter escape for the snow/rain/flood/humidity weary miner or outdoor enthusiast, or would be sun worshiper. This claim contains some of the most beautiful and regal desert wildlife in the entire Southwest. I would say it is definitely "Arizona Highways" class scenery.

The Hidden Springs #1 claim is on the same strike as a claim group (Jubilation #1,2,and 3) we have held since 1974.

In the test results pictured here, I worked a total of 3 five gallon buckets of material from the listed claim. A good amount of coarse untraveled crystalline gold, and possibly platinum bearing hematite, barite, scheelite (tungsten silicate), corundum, and bismuth was found. Recent analysis of placer concentrates from a nearby placer operation we were permitting indicate substantial amounts of the rare earth elements Cerium and Lanthunum (these REE'S are contained in Monozite, which concentrate well with gold), as well as Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Niobium, Tantalum, Strontium, Vanadium, Tungsten, Yttrium, and Zinc. All of the gold in the pictures below, came from JUST 3 five gallon BUCKETS OF DIRT! That means that there is possibly 14.67 times this amount in a yard of material from this claim.

Virtually everyone this past year has come to us looking for better claims after spending a lot of money on other "claims." This leaves the question:

Who should you buy claims from?

If their name does not come up in claim records from AT LEAST 20 years ago, you might think twice. Trust an experienced miner. We have been selling claims since 2001, and mining for more than 50 years. Our family has been in the mining business for 5 generations!

That experience COUNTS when it comes to mining!

What price range should I look for in a mining claim?

My Uncle Hobart and my Grandfather Leland taught me that a good 20 acre claim was worth the price of a good used pickup, and that has been proven true to me over the last 50 years. So if you are paying ten thousand dollars or less per 20 acres, you might be getting a "clunker," if anything at all.

Again: Who should you buy claims from?

Certainly not a Dandy-come-lately. Here is physical evidence that I began training at a very young age with my Grandfather Leland Elmer Bigelow.

An impressive amount of gold found on a nearby claim during the new owners first 2 weeks on the claim.

The most spectacular, grand, and rare horticultural specimens on earth reside nearby. "Crested" Saguaro(pronounced suh-WAR-oh), the result of a genetic mutation which only occurs in 1 in 150,000 Saguaros. This mutation results in a "Crest" on the top of the cactus that looks like the comb on a rooster. Some of these specimens are far more impressive than others. In 40 years of desert exploration, I have cataloged 12 of these specimens, and this one is by far the largest and most spectacular of them all. Although this specimen is easily worth $150,000.00, it belongs to the Public, is protected by the Federal Government, and theft or damage of this specimen is a felony. Any potential "cactus rustlers" reading this listing should take note that all of the above mentioned specimens have been implanted with microchips, and can be tracked.

Extremely rare Crested Saguaros on nearby claims.

Lush High Sonoran Desert Vegetation on the claim and in the area.

The Herbal Kingdom imitates the Insect Kingdom as a Sundrop delicately spreads its new wings. Oenothera Primiveris of the Onagracea family (Bottle Evening Primrose, also known as a "Sundrop") waste no time in taking advantage of a brief interlude in the 10 year drought.

A carpet of wildflowers covers the claim each spring and early summer.

Giant Saguaros guard the treasures on the claim. These stately sentinels have stood for many a century on this claim.

Many of the springs on this claim dry up in mid to late summer, but winter rains and spring snow melt in the higher mountains above bring these springs to life every year.

Watercress and Mint still grow at the main spring on the Southern border of the claim. In my 40 years wandering the area, I have seen this main spring dry only twice.

Cassia flowers bloom on the claim and in the area.

Looking south at San Domingo Peak through the "gateway" to the claim area. At the base of San Domingo Peak is Brill Dam.

Low lying areas, washes, gullies and depressions have been concentrating gold on the claim for thousands of years.

Gold producing geological features are prominent and easily identifiable on the claim, and in the area.

Fairy Dusters dance in the morning light.

Sunstone and Moonstone with Black Schorl Tourmaline and Tangerine Quartz crystals from the claim.

Remnants of a miners camp at the claim. You can get a general idea of when this camp existed by dating the can. Uses of this can ranged from 1870 to 1910. There are a lot of these types of relics in the area.

Southeast corner of the claim.

The trail in can be traversed by a seasoned desert rat in a 2WD pickup or SUV, but 4WD is recommended for those less experienced. Wide, all season tires are recommended for loose sand.

The Easter Bunny on a scouting trip to the Wickenburg area claims.

Shallow and Jagged bedrock on the claim makes for easy pickings for the prospector.

Testing on the claim. Cleaning out the "clay cracks" in the bedrock is essential to finding good gold. The better you detail it, the more gold you get.

Below are pictures of the gold that came from this testing. THIS GOLD came from THIS CLAIM, not just "FROM THE AREA". All of the gold in the pictures below, came from JUST 3 five gallon BUCKETS OF DIRT! That means that there is possibly 14.67 times this amount in a yard of material from this claim.

A large amount of gold containing black sand concentrates were recovered in this small test. Once the free gold is separated, the remaining black sand can be milled to release additional gold.

Thunder Canyon Picture Jasper found on the claim.

Stunning Sonoran vistas can be seen from the claim and the area.

Opal Seams in Rhyolite in place on the claim.

An old stone cairn claim marker can be found on this claim.

An old Prince Albert Tobacco can location notice container lying next to the stone monument on the claim.

Looking North at Lost Pick Mountain from the claim area.

Good camp areas are numerous and easy to find on the claim and in the area.

Green Dolomite in Pink Rhyolite with various xenocryst and phenocrys mineralizations of many colors make this a spectacular and highly marketable product for the manufacture of stonework masonry, countertops adn tile. There is an unending supply in a massive protruding dike on the claim.

Moonstone from the claim.

Some of the local denizens in the area.

I was 9 years old when I placed this corner post with my dad. My dad cut aircraft aluminum, drew in the letters and had me imprint them with a hammer and screwdriver. I asked him why, and he said "Because it will be there when I am gone, and it will be there when you are gone." He went over the Divide a long time ago, and I am over 50, so I guess he was right.

There actually is gold at the end of this rainbow.

Globe Mallow, one of the many useful herbs on the claim.

The Staghorn Cholla opens its blooms to the Spring morning sun.

A Phainopepla Nitens feasts on Desert Mistletoe berries in the spring.

Remnants of Hurricane "Paul" roll across the desert. These are the late summer storms that are hard on the roads, but replenish the gold in the low lying areas.

One of the many useful herbs in the Sonoran Desert, the Desert Hackberry produces in profusion.

Old well on nearby patented property. Cabin site was in the area at the upper right of the first picture. These pictures were taken before the winter rains. I just checked this well a little while back, and the water table is still visible.

There is a herd of Mule Deer that beds nearby during the day, and waters twice daily at a nearby Creek, along with the Quail, Dove, Cardinals, Sparrows, Thrushes, Hawks, Owls, Eagles, Rabbits, Raccoons, Badgers, Silver and Red Fox, Coyotes, Javalina, Bobcat, Burros, and the list goes on ad infinum.

Local Residents, decendants of my ancestors' ore haulers.

Summer Monsoons roll into the Bradshaws to replenish the desert.

A picture is worth a thousand words! Dawn of another glorious Arizona day!

The days begin and end in a blaze of glory in Arizona! Another famous Arizona sunset!

Brill Dam, constructed in the 1880's, built of giant dark purple rhyolite blocks quarried on site, has long been one of my "Secret Places" where I have cooled my heels and healed my soul since I was a child. This dam is on patented land, immediately above the confluence of Willow Spring Creek and the San Domingo, on the San Domingo. Very few people know of this pristine paradise since it is well hidden even from ariel view by huge cottonwood and willow trees.

Deep shafts and ore stockpiles can still be seen on an nearby claim, where they were abandoned at the beginning of World War 2.

The pictures shown of mill equipment are of an antique hard rock mill on our nearby claim. I believe this mill began duty as a processing point for lucrative hard rock gold ore from surrounding claims, and was subsequently converted to a niobium/tantalum mill when high grade columbite was discovered nearby in 1967. Tantalum currently sells for $50 per oz., and some varieties of the columbite crystals from which Tantalum is extracted sell for thousands of dollars each!!

Although this property contains gold, your prospecting options here will not be limited to those, for on the property, or within a short drive from this miner's paradise are to be found more geological treasures than I have time or space to list, but list a brief sampling I shall. There are gem grade spessartine and grossular garnet, extremely rare columbite (tantalite/niobium) crystals in pegmatite with muscovite and crystalline quartz, travertine, serpentine, malachite, azurite, brochantite, ajoite, shattuckite, barite, beryl, bornite, calcite, fluorite, fluorescent minerals of mind boggling variety and intensity, gem silica chrysocolla, turquoise, crocoite, wulfentie, vanadinite, cuprite, diopside, dioptase, dumortierite, epidote, halite, hematite, hemihedrite, linarite, peridot, almost any form of quartz conceivable (magnificent red, black, pink and yellow crystals, scepter amethyst, smokey quartz, rose quartz, saganite, chalcedony, fortification agate, fire agate, petrified wood, and just recently, I found some giant purple rhyolite geodes with spectacular citrine crystals inside!), rare earth, platinum, Apache tears, giant black schorl tourmaline crystals, monsterous beryl crystals, topaz, jasper, and the list goes on!

Black sands in the area are very heavy and metallic containing gold, magnetite, hematite, zircon, garnet, nickel, chromium, titanium, tungsten, tantalum, noibium, trace platinates, etc., etc., ad infinum.

A small sampling of gemstones we have mined in the area

(these are not from the claim and are not for sale).

A SMALL SAMPLING OF GOLD NUGGETS PANNED FROM THE SAN DOMINGO.

(not for sale).

Gold from this region is of the finest purity and character.

Flora and Fauna are unbelievably profuse in the area, with visitors ranging from the occasional mountain lion to the ever present and inquisitive Gambel's Quail.

This is a virtual open-air aviary with a plethora of peregrine and other falcon, many varieties of hawk, eagle and owl, scrub jays, the raucous blue jay, turkey vultures, crows, cardinal, finch, sparrow, robin, lark, wren, mourning dove, hummingbird, and the list goes on.

A Hawk guards the memorial to Rattlesnake Lil's son. He was killed in WWII and this memorial has stood since then with the locals help after Rattlesnake Lil died.

Giant Turkey Vulture guarding her young.

The Turkey Vulture takes powerful flight as I approach her nest.

The mammals on and around the property are regal in size due to the plenitude of forage and water in the area. Boone and Crocket class mule deer come to water at the seasonal creek, as well as javelina, cotton tail, jack rabbit, squirrel, raccoon, mountain lion, bobcat, silver fox, coyote, and the occasional lobo wolf.

In the evening the antics of the bats and nighthawks in pursuit of insects are quite comical.

The rising of the full moon over the Bradshaws, seen through the forest of saguaros (some of whom were seedlings when this country was young) in this area, would bring goose bumps to the skin of the most aristocratic world traveler, jaded by repeated viewing of the most awe inspiring vistas on earth.

In this area, in the spring and early summer, carpets of wild flowers and useful medicinal herbs in season are infinitely diverse in color and variety; a person could spend a lifetime learning the names and properties of them all.

Jojoba bushes are one of the most useful herbs here providing a yearly bountiful crop of Jojoba beans, from which the elixer of life is extracted, and used to produce many of the widely used health care products available today.

World class candies and jellies are made from the fruit of the Prickly Pear cactus, and the fruits, along with other cactus fruits, were a staple food for the Native Americans in the desert. The "meat" of the pad, if eaten raw, has been said to cure Diabetes in any form.

This area is a true entomologists fantasy, with several hundred varieties of butterfly alone; a walk alone in a flight of millions of monarchs is an awestruck communing with Original Intelligence.

The reptiles in the area are rather inquisitive. Reptile watching in this area is fabulous, with varieties ranging from smaller blue whiptail lizards and orange geckos up through larger horned lizards, collared lizards, spiny lizards, chuckwallas, desert iguanas (pictured below), all the way up to the rather large (to 24") Gila Monsters.

Speaking of Gila Monsters, I recently came across a very large one sunning himself on some rocks. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but this guy's (or girl's) head was about the size of my fist! If you come across one of these out in the wild, stay back and take a few pictures, but DON'T try to pick it up because it is poisonous and protected.

Recently, during my frequent wanderings in this area, I came across an extremely rare find! A large female Desert Tortoise! In 39 years of desert wandering, this is only the 4th and by far the largest I've ever seen. If you run across one of these quiet creatures, be very careful not to disturb it or any nest nearby, as they are very endangered. Take your pictures and leave it in peace.

Well, it seems the grizzled old prospector has been caught prattling on about nothing again, and must return to the description of the claim offered here. This is a 40 acre unpatented mining claim, and although there is a current moratorium on patenting claims, it comes up for review each year. There is a 40 acre placer claim nearby to the east on hard caliche with very little flora and fauna. It was patented in 1994, and its current estimated value is around $10,000,000.00! If you file your paperwork every year, you will be first in line to file patent on this claim if the moratorium is lifted. Unfortunately, you would be paying taxes on this property after that point in time.

I am in no way guaranteeing that this is the way it will work for you. I am merely stating that this is the way it has worked for countless other private citizens and developers who have built golf courses, shopping centers, and resort homes over the tops of still rich mines. Which brings up another subject. Upon payment in full of this claim, we will take care of the transfer of ownership papers and file them for you at no extra charge. We will also give you instructions on yearly paperwork filing. This claim is fully and legally staked, posted, and located, and the paperwork is up to date. This claim is close to the exclusive world famous old west town of Wickenburg, Arizona, which has a corporate jet compatible/ state of the art airport, and world class golf course. Although this claim is not too far from multi million dollar homes with private airstrips and in house hangars with acres of prize horse housing, private arenas, tennis courts, and so on, it is also at the end of the line, the jumping off point for civilization, for it is quite near the Hell's Gate and Castle Creek federal wilderness areas.

So you can see, whether you are a hermit philosopher (like me!) looking for solitude and commune with nature, a corporate jet-setter, or anything in between, this claim is on the perfect multi use land for you! If you are an off road A.T.V. enthusiast, there are thousands of miles of pristine marked and mapped trails that could not be explored in a lifetime with a freighter of fuel!

For the western horseman/person this is the fantasy of a lifetime, the views are spectacular, springs everywhere, and working ranches numerous. The hard core bass fishing/watersports enthusiast will be happy to know that there is world class bass tournament fishing with a well appointed resort marina 20 nautical miles to the east at the 14,000 surface acre Lake Pleasant on the Agua Fria River! The aeronautical enthusiast will be elated to find a state of the art sailport with extensive hanger facilities and world class thermals at Turf Soaring School and R.V. Park south of Lake Pleasant! This is also not a membership claim that has been picked over by thousands of other members, and you don't have to worry about somebody moving in on your "glory hole" in the afternoon when you quit for the day and cleaning out the 12 ounce pocket you left behind (this really happened on a membership claim!).

I am including pictures of the claim papers, and pictures of a map of the claim area. I have made it as accurate as I can without drafting software. :-).

I am also including, in this listing, topo maps of the area to help you locate it in a general area. The red mark indicates the area of the claim.