Three members of the Gateway Chapter of the Gold Prospectors Association of America spent the daylight hours today (Dec. 14) looking for gold along the banks of the Mississippi at Herculaneum.
Chapter member Jim Wilson, 48, of Belleville, Ill., said he and his friends found only a few gold “specks,” but they weren’t expecting to do much better.
”We do this as a hobby,” he said. “A speck isn’t even worth a penny, probably. We’re not going to get rich doing this here. We’re dong this today more or less for practice, trying out our equipment. We build some of our own equipment.”
He said his group picked their prospecting site – a short distance north of the Doe Run Co. plant – more or less at random. The group looks for gold at sites throughout the St. Louis area and sometimes farther afield, he said.
“There’s glacial gold that comes down from the north,” he said. “It’s gold from deposits in glaciers in Canada that comes down when the glaciers melt.”
Wilson, who is self-employed, said he enjoys traveling and looking for treasure. He was carrying with him some gold he and his pals uncovered two weeks ago in Crawfordsville, Ind., near Indianapolis.
“This is our best strike,” he said, displaying gold bits in clear containers. “It’s glacial gold. It’s two and a half grams. That’s worth about $100 at top price. But you never get that.”
He said the Gateway Chapter has about 30 members from around the St. Louis region. He does not believe any are from Jefferson County.
The chapter conducts monthly meetings at various locations around the region. For more information about meetings or other chapter information, Wilson directs people to the chapter website at www.gatewaygold.org.
He said he does not expect gold prospecting to make him rich, at least for now.
“I love it,” he said. “I hope one day, if I ever get to retire, to go to Alaska or California or somewhere out west where there’s better gold.”
Photo: Jim Wilson shows off gold he recently found in Indiana; other photos of today’s search.
--Kevin Carbery story and photos
