It is true there are people who will make many times that which they could earn off of Gold, by mining gemstones. I have been in debate after debate that Gemstones are superior to Gold and Silver. I must disagree and dissent on this opinion.
Firstly, gemstones come in so many varieties of grades and colors, which means there can be no uniformity among stones... You can cut dozens of 1 carat sapphires, but none of them will be worth the same amount to the same people. One might see a flaw in one, and no flaw in another, and so the two stones while weighing the same and cut the same, are not going to be worth the same. On the other hand, an ounce of Gold is always an ounce of Gold, an ounce of Silver always an ounce of Silver.
Secondly, you can't take small stones and melt them into bigger stones... I guess TECHNICALLY you can, but it is far too costly to do and very few institutions, let alone people, have the technology to do so. If something shatters one of your stones, you can't take the fragments and get the same amount of value out of them as you can with gold dust... An ounce of gold dust is worth the same as an ounce of gold nuggets. Gold and Silver can be melted, and poured into bars... If the bars get damaged beyond what is desired, they can be melted and poured anew.
Thirdly, if someone handed you some stones, how would you know which is real? Can you identify a real Diamond amidst Cubic Zirconia? On the other hand, it is very easy to tell the difference between real gold and imitations... Silver also is easy to identify... And there are very simple tests that are available to anyone and can be conducted in moments. Gemstones on the otherhand require expertise to validate and assess.
Any values affixed to gemstones therefore are arbitrary and cannot be defined or substantiated in any capacity. 1 carat of sapphires is not always equal to 1 carat of sapphires. An ounce of gold is always equivalent to an ounce of gold, so uniformity can be assured, making it the superior choice where commodity money is concerned.
Gemstones are synonymous to wealth, sure. However, one must consider that Gold has always held the same purchasing power it ever did have. In ancient Rome you could buy a nice toga, sandals, perhaps a sun dial, and a nice dinner and evening of entertainment with an ounce of gold. Now, an ounce of gold will still buy a nice suit, tie, watch, shoes, dinner, and still have some left over for some good entertainment.
I just don't see how Gemstones can be worth the prices affixed to them. I know they are beautiful and rare, but as use for money, they are not practical. They are poor investments because one stone can be worth millions, and later not even worth sanding grit. Not Gold and Silver... Always, do they retain value.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Why drops in commodity prices are good after big gains:
It may be hard to wrap your mind around this but nothing can go up and up and up without dropping. Instead it goes up for a finite amount of time before dropping. Let's look at silver hitting $50 an ounce. It was thought impossible! Let's look back to 2003. Silver actually went below $4 an ounce. Over that 8 year time looking back you might think it only went straight up.
However for every few steps up there were some steps back. See... There are people who do not truly understand money and metal. These are the ones that may have bought at $10 but have sold out at $20 only to miss seeing the price more than double again. They like to take profits. The smart ones will sell just before it dips and buy just before it resumes an upward trend. Paper money is not profit. Look at the value of the dollar over the last hundred years. Silver is on an upward trend because of the inflationary nature of paper money.
But before I jump too far ahead I want to explain that if it weren't for people taking so called profits, which is why we see huge drops in the metals markets, you and I who are smart enough to buy and hold onto our metal can benefit from a dollar with more purchasing power. After all, the lower gold and silver prices the stronger the money. Just look up gold prices in a weak currency such as the Zimbabwe dollar. The more you can buy with a unit of currency the stronger it is.
The lower commodity prices are, for the most part, the stronger our money is. This does not mean our economy is stronger but it means you will derive more fruits from your labors. Instead of your dollar buying 1/50th an ounce of silver it will now buy 1/35th of an ounce or so.
But this huge selloff could make some nervous and it might for e silver down another ten per ounce. Do you know what this means? Either now or soon will be your last best chance to buy silver because it may head up again and not stop until it hits $80.
I would rather have chances to buy silver at price lower than where it went than to not have those opportunities. Aw hell I guess I'm just trying to say that instead of sellng when everyone else is, buy!
When silver works it's way up it took time and as a result of poor fiscal policy we seen a rapid acceleration this past month or two. Inflation will steal wealh from you without you knowing it. This is why people buy gold and silver. Rome collapsed. Guess what their gold Denari are worth now? The same as they were then. When America collapses, what would you want? Paper that is unfunded such as happened to the confederate dollars in the civil war or do you want gold and silver that stood the test of time all through the ages?
Gold and silver transcends culture, race, background, languages and customs. It speaks a universal word to all peoples: wealth and security against corruption. Remember, when you see big drops In prices, it's not that it's become a bad investment, as much as it means it became a better investment!
However for every few steps up there were some steps back. See... There are people who do not truly understand money and metal. These are the ones that may have bought at $10 but have sold out at $20 only to miss seeing the price more than double again. They like to take profits. The smart ones will sell just before it dips and buy just before it resumes an upward trend. Paper money is not profit. Look at the value of the dollar over the last hundred years. Silver is on an upward trend because of the inflationary nature of paper money.
But before I jump too far ahead I want to explain that if it weren't for people taking so called profits, which is why we see huge drops in the metals markets, you and I who are smart enough to buy and hold onto our metal can benefit from a dollar with more purchasing power. After all, the lower gold and silver prices the stronger the money. Just look up gold prices in a weak currency such as the Zimbabwe dollar. The more you can buy with a unit of currency the stronger it is.
The lower commodity prices are, for the most part, the stronger our money is. This does not mean our economy is stronger but it means you will derive more fruits from your labors. Instead of your dollar buying 1/50th an ounce of silver it will now buy 1/35th of an ounce or so.
But this huge selloff could make some nervous and it might for e silver down another ten per ounce. Do you know what this means? Either now or soon will be your last best chance to buy silver because it may head up again and not stop until it hits $80.
I would rather have chances to buy silver at price lower than where it went than to not have those opportunities. Aw hell I guess I'm just trying to say that instead of sellng when everyone else is, buy!
When silver works it's way up it took time and as a result of poor fiscal policy we seen a rapid acceleration this past month or two. Inflation will steal wealh from you without you knowing it. This is why people buy gold and silver. Rome collapsed. Guess what their gold Denari are worth now? The same as they were then. When America collapses, what would you want? Paper that is unfunded such as happened to the confederate dollars in the civil war or do you want gold and silver that stood the test of time all through the ages?
Gold and silver transcends culture, race, background, languages and customs. It speaks a universal word to all peoples: wealth and security against corruption. Remember, when you see big drops In prices, it's not that it's become a bad investment, as much as it means it became a better investment!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The Belief That Old Mines Were Mined Out
Folks, it upsets me that there are so many old ornery people out there who seem to hate mining with such passion that they say everything to discourage new prospectors, and to perpetuate the myth that mining is bad for the world. They use blatant lies to achieve their end goals, which I am here to set the record straight as best as I can.
The right to be able to prospect for gold and silver and other resources, and develop those resources, are an important fundamental right given to us. Do you know that there are many countries where the people are so dirt poor they can't even clothe themselves, yet those same villages in which they live in some cases sit upon massive Gold deposits that if their government would let them keep the fruits of their labors and allow them to dig for it, they could feed and care for themselves beyond that which even the most generous welfare state could provide? The very thing that has allowed America to prosper, is denied to citizens of third world countries, and you can see the difference, though it is not often talked about, and it is never compared and contrasted. However, there is a movement which seeks to destroy our mining laws, and make regulations so costly to comply with that we will eventually be driven out of business.
Every person that is convinced of the lies told about mining will more than likely become a pawn in the war against mining. There are so many things taught to me in elementary school that I go back and think about them and go wow, was I really that gullible? My own observations disprove much of what I was taught. One big example of disinformation if ever there was one, is when they teach that clearcutting is so bad for the environment that the forest can never recover. You know, I almost believed it had my own grandpa not shown me sections of land that he clear cut himself decades ago, that are now thickly wooded with nice healthy younger growth timber?! To do it excessively would perhaps be bad overall, but in cases where there are certain kinds of timber, or defects found, it is necessary and healthy to clearcut, but the point I am making, it is disinformation to say that the forest cannot recover from clearcutting. In a similar manner, disinformation is spread about Mining.
I recently watched a show in which an old guy was saying "If there were anything left in the old mines, the old timers wouldn't have left them so there is no need to go back in them, because you will find nothing but trouble." Hmmm... It would take someone truly ignorant to say something like this. No, I don't advise going back into the mines. But what I am saying is a VERY slim minority of mines were shut down due to lack of minerals. WWII shut down a great many gold and silver mines because they were not essential resources for the war effort. They were not shut down becuase they were played out. There are many hundreds of such mines. Many were long abandoned and not reopened, because after years of rationing during the war, and with the prosperity this country seen in the 50's, there wasn't that need to toil under ground, because a lot of people saved up a lot of money from the war years.
Also one must take into account the fact that odds were pretty good that most of the guys knowing where these old gold mines were, could have been killed during the war. Another reason mines were left, was because costs sometimes went up, ore grades sometimes dropped, for whatever reason a mine might be unprofitable to operate for a given time because of market conditions. Also, you have another matter of permits... I know of a large mine not far away that has been shut down for a long time because the Forest Service refuses to let them use the road for hauling or something of that nature.
It is true a lot of small mines were opened up by either small companies that sometimes went bust due to poor planning and lack of proper financing and had to give it up, and it is also true that individuals mined on a small scale basis, when they either got too old or crippled to work, they'd move on and retire, else they died before they could exhaust their mine. Sometimes, people weren't so greedy, and would mine enough to satisfy their needs for the rest of their life and move on.
Government regulation has caused the destruction of much of our mining sector. When they made all kinds of national parks, there were even mining towns smack dab in the middle of them that were evacuated and the mines shut down, and no one is none the wiser. Take Glacier National Park for instance, in the very early 1900's, there was a mining town up there! The town was called Altyn. There is no telling the true extent of the minerals under that park, but observation has shown any area that MIGHT have economically vital amounts of resources, are quickly glombed onto by the Federal Government. Even the area thought to contain the "Lost Dutchman's Mine" is inside a national park or something along those lines!
So the reason I want to inform everyone and motivate everyone that there is good opportunities for prospecting is, because the more of us who are enlightened and aware of these facts, the greater our power in fighting the government's unjust legislations and encroachment upon our land rights. If no one complains, and if no one writes to our representatives and our senators, our mining heritage and rights are essentially lost. Prospecting and mining are things I do not want to have to experience through history books alone, but I wish to enjoy them for as long as I live, and to know that my children if I ever have any, will be able to enjoy it as well. If you ignore your rights, they will go away! Especially when you have a large group of people who are so dedicated to spreading lies and disinformation.
The right to be able to prospect for gold and silver and other resources, and develop those resources, are an important fundamental right given to us. Do you know that there are many countries where the people are so dirt poor they can't even clothe themselves, yet those same villages in which they live in some cases sit upon massive Gold deposits that if their government would let them keep the fruits of their labors and allow them to dig for it, they could feed and care for themselves beyond that which even the most generous welfare state could provide? The very thing that has allowed America to prosper, is denied to citizens of third world countries, and you can see the difference, though it is not often talked about, and it is never compared and contrasted. However, there is a movement which seeks to destroy our mining laws, and make regulations so costly to comply with that we will eventually be driven out of business.
Every person that is convinced of the lies told about mining will more than likely become a pawn in the war against mining. There are so many things taught to me in elementary school that I go back and think about them and go wow, was I really that gullible? My own observations disprove much of what I was taught. One big example of disinformation if ever there was one, is when they teach that clearcutting is so bad for the environment that the forest can never recover. You know, I almost believed it had my own grandpa not shown me sections of land that he clear cut himself decades ago, that are now thickly wooded with nice healthy younger growth timber?! To do it excessively would perhaps be bad overall, but in cases where there are certain kinds of timber, or defects found, it is necessary and healthy to clearcut, but the point I am making, it is disinformation to say that the forest cannot recover from clearcutting. In a similar manner, disinformation is spread about Mining.
I recently watched a show in which an old guy was saying "If there were anything left in the old mines, the old timers wouldn't have left them so there is no need to go back in them, because you will find nothing but trouble." Hmmm... It would take someone truly ignorant to say something like this. No, I don't advise going back into the mines. But what I am saying is a VERY slim minority of mines were shut down due to lack of minerals. WWII shut down a great many gold and silver mines because they were not essential resources for the war effort. They were not shut down becuase they were played out. There are many hundreds of such mines. Many were long abandoned and not reopened, because after years of rationing during the war, and with the prosperity this country seen in the 50's, there wasn't that need to toil under ground, because a lot of people saved up a lot of money from the war years.
Also one must take into account the fact that odds were pretty good that most of the guys knowing where these old gold mines were, could have been killed during the war. Another reason mines were left, was because costs sometimes went up, ore grades sometimes dropped, for whatever reason a mine might be unprofitable to operate for a given time because of market conditions. Also, you have another matter of permits... I know of a large mine not far away that has been shut down for a long time because the Forest Service refuses to let them use the road for hauling or something of that nature.
It is true a lot of small mines were opened up by either small companies that sometimes went bust due to poor planning and lack of proper financing and had to give it up, and it is also true that individuals mined on a small scale basis, when they either got too old or crippled to work, they'd move on and retire, else they died before they could exhaust their mine. Sometimes, people weren't so greedy, and would mine enough to satisfy their needs for the rest of their life and move on.
Government regulation has caused the destruction of much of our mining sector. When they made all kinds of national parks, there were even mining towns smack dab in the middle of them that were evacuated and the mines shut down, and no one is none the wiser. Take Glacier National Park for instance, in the very early 1900's, there was a mining town up there! The town was called Altyn. There is no telling the true extent of the minerals under that park, but observation has shown any area that MIGHT have economically vital amounts of resources, are quickly glombed onto by the Federal Government. Even the area thought to contain the "Lost Dutchman's Mine" is inside a national park or something along those lines!
So the reason I want to inform everyone and motivate everyone that there is good opportunities for prospecting is, because the more of us who are enlightened and aware of these facts, the greater our power in fighting the government's unjust legislations and encroachment upon our land rights. If no one complains, and if no one writes to our representatives and our senators, our mining heritage and rights are essentially lost. Prospecting and mining are things I do not want to have to experience through history books alone, but I wish to enjoy them for as long as I live, and to know that my children if I ever have any, will be able to enjoy it as well. If you ignore your rights, they will go away! Especially when you have a large group of people who are so dedicated to spreading lies and disinformation.
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