In the 21st century, any ideas about quick scores and reliable hunting grounds for highly sought-after gems, minerals, and fossils are quickly dispelled when novice and sometimes even experienced rock hounds head out in search of their desired quarry. They find that once-productive hunting grounds have been privatized, marked as legally protected, reclaimed by some natural force such as overgrowth, or simply depleted. While all of these factors represent barriers to successful hunting and extracting of a reasonable quantity and quality of various specimens and materials, they, in fact, also represent opportunity. Rather than becoming frustrated, it becomes a further adventure in discovering untapped sources. There is the potential to enrich the entire experience by starting first with learning about the natural forces that created, processed, shaped, and distributed the things we seek with such enthusiasm and diligence. You might even discover a completely new source or deposit of your given quarry or at least some lightly traveled paths. For those willing to see the prospecting experience in this way, they will reap ample rewards. And they won't part easily with their hard-earned knowledge. What this all means is that intensive prospecting has become a condition of successful hunting ventures. For some of the more rare and valuable gems, minerals, and fossils, it can take years to become reliably productive, and it might also require significant investments in equipment, travel, or legal rights to hunt, collect, and extract sought-after treasures. I have learned this the hard way on more than one occasion, spending thousands of dollars and significant amounts of time and travel only to come away empty-handed and frustrated. That is why I am writing this book: to inform and guide you toward making good choices about where to invest your time and dollars, and toward understanding the kinds of hunting and prospecting that you will personally enjoy. It is why we focus this book on the field experience--both in writing and visually through images that show you the hunting domain, process, and the specimens and materials as they are found. Excerpted from Rockhounding and Prospecting: Upper Midwest: How to Find Gold, Copper, Agates, Thomsonite and Other Favorites by Jim Magnuson All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
