Welcome to The Ohio State Prospectors Association!

Gold prospecting, rock hounding, metal detecting, etc...

The Ohio State Prospectors Association is an dedicated organization to gold prospecting in our state. The association was founded in January 2008 by a handful of hobbyists with the purpose of locating and securing local prospecting claims and quickly became a driving force of gold prospecting activities in our region. The OSPA is a small club by most measures but do not let our size fool you, we are a very active group and have become well known throughout the prospecting community for our can do attitude. Member - driven and family oriented, the OSPA is very responsive to the needs of the club and its members.

Announcements

OSPA Is Now An NPO Club.

As of july 12 the OSPA is now a non-profit organization which is quite an accomplishment, it has taken a while but its done i want to thank mark for putting up with all the paper work and to all who helped raised the money for the NPO. OSPA is the only gold club in ohio that is an non-profit organization we are very proud of this the club has come a lone way since its beginning in 2008 i want to share to you the letter the IRS wrote to us.

It Reads...

Dear Applicant:

We are pleased to inform you that upon review of your application for tax - exempt status e have determined that you are exempt from Federal Income Tax under section 501 c (7) of the Internal Revenue Code. Because this letter could help resolve any questions regarding you exempt status, you should keep it in your permanent records.

This is a big plus for the OSPA why to go OSPA!!!

August Meeting!

The August meeting whent well.

Winners Of Ospa Drawing.

Bag of Cons - Betty

Corn Coil Fossils - Kris Cannon

More Corn Coil Fossils - Jim M

2 Rolls Of Duck Tape - Kevin Goldeneye

1973 Mint Coin Set - Shelly

2 Rolls of Duck Tape - Evelyn

1 Roll of Duck Tape Plus Fossil - Jim M

Gold Plated Coin Set - Jim M

Gold Nugget - Kris Cannon

September Meeting!

Not anounced yet.

Gold Rush Days Is Approaching In September Labor Day Weekend!

We need to start planning Gold Rush Days.We talked a little bit about this at the meeting.I would like to see us sign up 10 or more new members.We will need help in the OSPA Booth. If you will be able to help out or if you have any ideas post it in the forum.

New Rule On Campfires!!!

As a new rule on the claims you can have no open pit camp fires, camp fires can be made only in the rock fire pits all ready made no new fire pits can be made, there is a rock fire pit at the Norris claim and the Double D claim this is the only place you can have a fire, use only these rock fire pits for safety please!

Another claim rule is no digging within 30 feet from any bridge or No Prospecting within 30 feet of Bridge.

Gold Lesson!

Golds atomic number of 79 makes it one of the higher atomic number elements which occur naturally. Like all elements with atomic numbers larger than iron, gold is thought to have been formed from a supernovae nucleosynthesis process. Their explosions scattered metal-containing dusts (including heavy elements like gold) into the region of space in which they later condensed into our solar system and the Earth. On Earth, whenever elemental gold occurs, it appears most often as a metal solid solution of gold with silver, i.e. a gold silver alloy. Such alloys usually have a silver content of 8 - 10%. Electrum is elemental gold with more than 20% silver. Electrums color runs from golden silvery to silvery, dependent upon the silver content. The more silver, the lower the specific gravity. Relative sizes of a an 860kg rock ore, and the 30g of gold that can be extracted from it. Toi gold mine, Japan. Gold left behind after pyrite cube dissolved away.Gold is found in ores made up of rock with very small or microscopic particles of gold. This gold ore is often found together with quartz or sulfide minerals such as Fools Gold, which is a pyrite. These are called lode deposits. Native gold is also found in the form of free flakes, grains or larger nuggets that have been eroded from rocks and end up in alluvial deposits (called placer deposits). Such free gold is always richer at the surface of gold-bearing veins owing to the oxidation of accompanying minerals followed by weathering, and washing of the dust into streams and rivers, where it collects and can be welded by water action to form nuggets. Gold sometimes occurs combined with tellurium as the minerals calaverite, krennerite, nagyagite, petzite and sylvanite, and as the rare bismuthide maldonite (Au2Bi) and antimonide aurostibite (AuSb2). Gold also occurs in rare alloys with copper, lead, and mercury: the minerals auricupride (Cu3Au), novodneprite (AuPb3) and weishanite ((Au,Ag)3Hg2). Recent research suggests that microbes can sometimes play an important role in forming gold deposits, transporting and precipitating gold to form grains and nuggets that collect in alluvial deposits.