FIRST CLASS MINERS INC.

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org Vice President Steve Hartenstine 832-7869 bbc2900@aol.com Secretary Mitch Templeton 367-9408 dtempleton48131@roadrunner.com Treasurer / CFO Janet Peercy 449-4321 sgtamerica@ aol.com Sgt.

1 FIRST CLASS MINERS INC. Newsletter A 501C(3) Non-Profit Educational Corporation. Dedicated to the advancement of education in placer gold prospecting and mining. GOLD GUARANTEED *ELBOW GREASE REQUIRED* Janurary Area Code is 760 for All OFFICERS President / CEO Steve Scamman president@firstclassminers.org Vice President Steve Hartenstine bbc2900@aol.com Secretary Mitch Templeton dtempleton48131@roadrunner.com Treasurer / CFO Janet Peercy sgtamerica@ aol.com Sgt. At Arms Jim Wharff iominingco@roadrunner,com First Class Miners Annual Members Appreciation Dinner Claims Director Greg Herring Gregherring59@gmail.com Call & Safety Com. Steve Scamman Text Website Richard Crummet admin@firstclassminers.org Newsletter Editor Jon Carlson carlsonjon@roadrunner.com Membership Coordinator Ray Wyatt ray@rcheliz.com All Area Codes are 760 Jim Wharff received the FCM s Dowie Award for his tireless efforts in fighting the forces that are trying to remove public lands from access by recreational miners and other traditional users. To view a slide show on Youtube of the event please click on the below link:

2 President s Column by Steve Scamman Like most of you, my holidays were busy and the two weeks my kids had off from school flew by at an alarming rate. I did, however, manage to get my letters written in response to the Eagle Mountain area s land segregation. I went to the National Park Service (NPS) website and entered my comments. The comment period ends February 16, I also wrote a personal letter to park superintendent, David Smith. In addition I sent letters to the BLM at the state and federal level, the NPS at the federal level, and to the Department of the Interior, Secretary Sally Jewel. I m also figuring that some of these positions will be headed by new personnel after the inauguration of Donald Trump, at which time I will edit and resend. I m hoping that each of you will take some time and get these letters written and in the mail. At a minimum, get online and comment at Don t have internet? Mail your comment directly to the JTNP Superindendent, David Smith. I did both. In the beginning of December the club held its annual member appreciation party at the Elk s Lodge in 29 Palms. Attendence was lower than in the past with approximately 75 people showing up to socialize, eat, win gold, receive awards, and listen to me talk. Jon Carlson had his end of year slide show and once again Midge Seapy s gold and jewelry donations were raffled throughout the evening. This years Dowie Award went to Jim Wharff for his efforts and accomplishments in reorganizing both the Eagle Mountain and the Virginia Dale Mining Districts of which he is also the elected Chairman of both districts. Our Miner of the Year is Curt Kauer. Curt has been working a spot at Humbug and is the first FCM Miner of the Year who submitted accumulated drywashing gold vs a nugget. Congratulations to a dedicated and hard working gold miner. Our grand prize winner this year was Beverly Wolfe who won the 20 gram gold bar. Congratulations!!! We had many other prizes won including a 5 oz silver bar and gold/silver coins and jewelry. We also auctioned off several items including a homemade drywasher, a beautiful prospector art piece, and a 5 oz silver round. We collected $250 for the Twentynine Palms High School Interact Club and $69 towards the Burns Canyon Road Project. A slide show from the Dinner can be seen at the below link: The next general membership meeting is at my home in Twentynine Palms on Saturday, January 7th, at 1:pm. Directions and map will be posted on the FCM website at ( and in this newsletter. I will also send a reminder out prior to the meeting. Bring something delicious for the potluck, a chair, and something to drink. I just purchased two nice 3+ gram nuggets. We will also have our usual raffle and 50/50. Hope to see you there! 6885 Sahara Avenue, Twentynine Palms, CA Steve Scamman President, First Class Miners, Inc. president@firstclassminers.org

3 Contacts to write to oppose the Eagle Mountain area s land segregation On the left side of page it says project links Click on open for comment This will bring up documents to review Click on Federal Register Notice-proposed withdrawal Go to bottom of page and click on Comment Now Fill in the required information and make your comments in the space provided. Write to: David Smith, Superintendent Joshu Tree National Park National Park Drive 29 Palms, CA Shawn Benge, Acting Associate Director, Park Planning, Facilities, and Lands National Park Service 1849 C Street NW Washington, DC Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director National Park Service 1849 C Street NW Washington, DC Jerone E. Perez, BLM State Director 2800 Cottage Way, STE W-1623 Sacramento, CA Mike Nedd, BLM Assistant Director Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management 1849 C Street NW, Rm 5625 Washington, DC Neil Kornze, Director Bureau of Land Management 1849 C Street NW, Rm 5625 Washington, DC Sally Jewel, Secretary Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW Washington DC, Please be courteous and as accurate as possible with your comments. Keep it simple and on point. Thank you for writing these letters. It s the most important accomplishment that all of our club members can be a part of.

4 Mining Club members: By Syndi Carlson Below is one of the comments (of several) I made on the National Park web page regarding land acquisition of over 22,000 acres in the Eagle Mountains. Sometimes the hardest part of commenting is not knowing what to say. Please take just a moment and steal (copy paste) the entire comment, take parts of it, or just write your own and submit a comment. The more submissions we have against this transfer, the better. BELOW IS MY COMMENT FEEL FREE TO STEAL OR USE ANY PART OF IT YOU WISH "I am against the land transfer. After reading the Final Study pamphlet about this transfer, the reasons within the pamphlet back up why adding this land is a poor idea. On page 4, under Visitor Experience Opportunities, it says "Back-country hiking, night sky viewing and informal camping opportunities could be afforded without requiring extensive infrastructure improvements." Obviously, these activities are already done in that area with no needed improvements, so it would be a waste of dollars to "improve". Next, on page 5, under costs, it states that overtime additional staffing and expertise would be needed, including a resource management staff, an Interpretive staff, a law enforcement staff, a maintenance and facilities management staff, increasing the current budget over $340,000. Minimal road improvements would cost another $280,000, and maintenance on the current road another $8000. Our National Park system is severely underfunded as is. To add this dollar amount to an area that is so remote, rarely visited, and is perfect the way it is seems to be a gross mismanagement of funds. Finally, on page 3, the pamphlet states that the NPS would have to cover the costs associated with validity examinations on NPS lands. Once again, money spent that seems to be a waste of NP funding. Transferring this land seems to change nothing on the land, but adds hundreds of thousands dollars in costs that could be avoided. Please do not transfer this land. Thank you." You can either submit on line at - On the left hand side of the page it will say project links Click on Open for Comment this will bring up Documents open for review Click on Federal Register Notice-proposed withdrawal Go to the bottom of this page and click on Comment now Fill in the required information. or send an actual letter to (or to any of the addresses listed in president s note): David Smith, Superintendent Joshua Tree National Park National Park Drive 29 Palm, CA

5 FIRST CLASS MINERS, INC CALENDAR OF EVENTS (We try to avoid any changes, but please note that these dates are subject to revision if the need arises please read your current newsletter for the latest version) Jan 7, 2017 (Sat) GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING 1:00 pm at Steve Scamman s home in 29 Palms. Join us for a day of feasting and raffling as we usher in the new year of prospecting and gold mining. FCM provides hamburgers/hotdogs. Don t forget your chair, drinks, and/potluck item. Feb (Sat) ORIENTATION TOUR TO MIDDLE CAMP 8:00 am departing from Joshua Tree National Park Headquarters in 29 Palms. It s a great opportunity to tour the FCM s Middle Camp claims in the remote Eagle Mountain Mining District. High Clearance four wheel drive vehicles highly recommended. Be prepared to pay the Park entrance fee if you do not have an annual pass, as we will be driving through the Park to access our claim. Come with lunch, plenty of water and a spare tire! This is an all day event. There will be time to explore and prospect on this day. Feb 10-13, 2017 (Fri- Mon) PRESIDENT S DAY WEEKEND CAMPOUT AT THE MIDDLE CAMP CLAIMS: Come for the weekend, or just the day, to metal detect or dry wash with other FCM members in the beautiful, remote area of the newly reorganized Eagle Mountain Mining District. Camp, ATV, explore, and enjoy the night sky, clean air, and the peaceful quiet Sit around the campfire at night with other members and tell your tall tales. High clearance fourwheel drive highly recommended. An AWESOME place to get away from it all. Mar 12, 2017 (Sun) GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING: 1:00 p.m. at Jim Wharff s house in 29 Palms. Nominations for President, Treasurer, and Sgt at Arms will be accepted at this meeting. Don t miss out on the opportunity to select your new president. FCM to furnish hamburgers/hot dogs. Don t forget your chair, drinks, and potluck item. Tom Koch will have his award winning hall of fame mobile museum of old mining artifacts for all to see. Apr 7-9, 2017 (Fri, Sat, Sun) CAMPOUT AT THE ORD MOUNTAINS. Two club claims here for your prospecting pleasure. This is the one FCM campout where you can bring any type of trailer or motor home you want. This is remote camping like our other claims so no hookups. Come and join us at the bon fire each night, pot luck on Saturday, and the annual FCM Treasure Hunt. TBD, 2017 (Sat/Sun) SPECIAL EVENT: GPAA Gold Show in Las Vegas. The dates have yet to be posted by the GPAA. We will post to the website and put a flyer in the newsletter as soon as we know the date. Call GPAA headquarters at for more details. May 13, 2017 (Sat) GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING: 1:00 pm at Doug and Janet Peercy s home in 29 Palms Voting will take place for President, Treasurer, and Sgt at Arms so be sure to attend this important meeting. FCM to provide hamburgers/hot dogs. Please bring your chair, drinks, and potluck item. May 20, 2017 (Sat) TOUR OF RATTLESNAKE CANYON CLAIM 8:00 am. Join us as for the annual tour of our Rattlesnake Canyon claims. Familiarize yourself with Burns Canyon and the surrounding areas. Meet at Pappy & Harriett s Pioneertown Palace (restaurant) in Pioneertown to caravan together. This will be an all day event. 4x4 highly recommended. Bring lunch, water, and a good spare tire. There will be some time for prospecting too.

6 June 2-4, 2017 (Fri, Sat, Sun) - CAMPOUT AT RATTLESNAKE CANYON Beautiful area in the mountains at 5600 ft elevation. Cool nights (50 s) and nice days (80 s). Great place to camp with other FCM members and metal detect or dry wash on our two claims. Very popular campout. July 9, 2017 (Sun) GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING: 1030AM (note early time!) at Susan Simmon s home in Rimrock. Welcome in your new FCM Officers and show your support. Don t forget your chair, drinks and your potluck item. FCM to provide hamburgers and hotdogs. Great location AND you are right at the entrance to Burns Canyon and can head to the claim after lunch for a little prospecting!! AND you won t have to listen to me speak anymore!!!!! August, 2017 Too HOT!!! Hit the maps and the library and do your mining and prospecting research. Sept 16, 2017 (Sat) GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING: 11:00 AM (NOTE EARLIER TIME) at Greg Herring s house in Pioneertown. Bring your chair, drinks, and potluck item. FCM to provide hamburgers and hotdogs. Beautiful location with typically decent temperatures. Finish up the calendar back where we started. FCM Annual Humbug Mountain Campout Nov 12~14, 2016 The campout went well and included the customary potluck dinner and bonfire. Pilot Ray Wyatt was present with his eye in the sky drone. Video clips from which are included in the below slide show on Youtube. Click on the Link. The Eagle Cliff Gold Mine and Cabin Located in Queen Valley in the Joshua Tree National Park is the best preserved gold miners cabin in our area. It is about a 2 mile moderate difficulty hike from the JTNP Pine City parking area. Click on the below link to see a slide show on Youtube.

7 Jan 7, 2017 (Sat) GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING 1:00 pm at Steve Scamman s home in 29 Palms Sahara Avenue, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277

8 FIRST CLASS MINERS, INC. a 501 c(3) non-profit organization, dedicated to the education of placer mining GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES Date: Sunday, 6 Nov 2016 Location: Tom Wolfe s home, 29 Palms WELCOME: Steve Scamman opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and thanking the cooks for all their hard work and good food and also thanked Tom and Beverly for hosting the meeting. OFFICER REPORTS: President Steve Scamman introduced the officers, asking if they had any information to pass on to the members. Vice President Steve Hartenstine Had nothing to pass Treasure relayed that FCM account was in good shape for this time of the membership calendar Secretary MitchTempleton had nothing new to report. Sgt. of Arms Jim Wharf talked about the Eagle Mountain Mining District Coordination Committee which he was named Chairman. Bi-laws have been written and once filed the committee will play an important part in the coordination with the Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service on any actions planned for this area. Jim also discussed the Mineral and Mining Advisory Council (MMAC) and their role in protecting the things we do on public lands. Flyers were passed out to include applications to become a member of MMAC ($30 per year) which will help fund them in their endeavors. Jim toured the Humbug claim and picked up trash that had been left behind. Remember; if you take it in with you, bring it out when you leave. Claims Director Greg Herring was not present, but in the last Newsletter stated that claim renewals have been filed and hopes to have the approval paperwork placed in the Claims Discovery posts by September. He also mentioned that there is talk about a Tax being required on each claim. More to come. Newsletter Jon Carlson had nothing new to report. Membership Ray Wyatt reported that we have approximately 180 members now. Safety Steve Scamman said to let him know when you are going out prospecting and when you plan to return. He said the best way to reach him is by text. He said it s getting hot, so be smart and pack your car with plenty of water. He also mentioned that the Dale area is getting very busy with off-roaders and to watch out for them, be careful! Also, watch out for the bees.

9 Web Master Richard Crummett had nothing to report. Librarian The library is open now and Sherry is keeping track of all the items you check out. You will need to show your membership badge in order to check out anything General Store Doug Peercy was not present but it was noted that we have a large inventory of items that need to be sold to make room for more and better stuff to sell. Travel Steve said anyone can do an article for the newsletter. If you do, please send it to Steve for review and then he will send it to Jon to put it in the newsletter. OLD BUSINESS: Steve announced this is his last year as President, but he will continue to keep things simple. He took all the inventory of items and made a list of what we have. He said he will do the maintenance on the trailer at his own expense. We will miss his great efforts as President. Thank you, Steve! Valley Prospector s hosted the Rendezvous at Ord Mountains in October. Both Valley Prospectors and First Class Miners had a good showing and everyone present had a good time. NEW BUSINESS: Steve said Bev is doing the 50/50 now and Tom is helping her. Next General Membership Meeting: The next FCM meeting will be held at Steve Scamman s house in 29 Palms. Don t forget to bring your chair and whatever you re drinking, as well as a potluck item to share. Open Mic/Round Table: Membership Appreciation Dinner will be on 3 December, 6pm at the Elk s Lodge in 29 Palms. Respectfully Submitted by: Mitch Templeton, Secretary

FIRST CLASS MINERS INC.

FIRST CLASS MINERS INC. Newsletter A 501C(3) Non-Profit Educational Corporation. Dedicated to the advancement of education in placer gold prospecting and mining. GOLD GUARANTEED *ELBOW GREASE REQUIRED*