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Hi...

by CrhisD
6 replies
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Suppose you had a friend who owned land with gold in it. Suppose also that he didn't know how to extract it. Suppose you find a way to extract it but neither you nor your friend are really interested in running a gold mine. Also for some reason, your friend insists that anyone be able to seek for gold on that land. The only reason that no one's done it so far is that the land is kind of remote and the method is kind of obscure.

Now my question is, how much is that land worth?
  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    It is worth at least the amount of gold that can be extracted from it. Whether your friend wants to keep it public access or not is completely irrelevant unless he holds the title to that land. If someone else finds it, they might not feel the same and stake claim to it no matter who the heck feels what way about it.
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    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

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    • Profile picture of the author CrhisD
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      It is worth at least the amount of gold that can be extracted from it. Whether your friend wants to keep it public access or not is completely irrelevant unless he holds the title to that land. If someone else finds it, they might not feel the same and stake claim to it no matter who the heck feels what way about it.
      Hi, thanks for the reply. Suppose he does hold the title to that land. and absolutely insists that everyone have equal access to it and the gold. How can we monetize the land and still maintain a free and equal access policy? We could sell the mining method, but won't people just duplicate the method and re-sell it? we could use it and sell the gold, but then people who visit might be able to figure out how to do it themselves (it's fairly obscure but it's not impossible because we've done it.)

      So our options seem to be :

      (1) Sell the land - not an option because he won't sell it.

      (2) Sell the method - won't people just duplicate the method and re-sell it? and if we go this route, how much would the method be worth?

      (3) Sell the gold - Anyone who buys the gold would surely want to figure out how to do it themselves.

      Anyone have any other ideas?
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    You think you have a gold collecting method that is so new and different that it isn't already in use somewhere? I've got to doubt that very highly. I know prospectors and claim owners, and a few mine workers. I know the person who has made the system of mineral detection that is now used by our military, and by commercial interests as well. As far as extrication - if you have something that good and different, and have title to that land, I don't know why you are asking about the land when you should be asking about patents. That system may be very marketable to other mining interests.

    Nobody can touch the land until you say so - you don't have to worry about that while you're making a decision what to do with it.

    As far as public access on the land - if it's yours and you are looking for business around this land here's some of what you can do:
    1. Charge a fee for entry.
    2. Set limits on the equipment allowed for use.
    3. Provide transport to the location from a local hotel (yours if you can get one, or just a commission for guests staying because they have arranged a visit to your place) for a fee, of course.
    4. Charge for extraction lessons
    5. Set extraction limits.
    6. Know that people can trash a place if the spot gets well known. You will have liabilities as well - so if it's made public for any reason, you need to insure against lawsuits -- and people hurt themselves doing this kind of activity.
    7. Rent out to rock and gem club field trip access only? They will pay a fee to get to somewhere productive and you can limit equipment allowed at the site. They will pay for entrance if they can recover enough mineral to have a fun day and clubs make sure the environment is cared for more than most public visitors will care for it. They won't leave trash, etc.

    That's just a taste of what you are looking at, Chris.
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    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

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    • Profile picture of the author iva
      Why can't you use the method and mine the gold yourself. It might be slow - then hire some people to do it for you. Do not reveal every step just parts of it.
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      Send me a PM if you have any questions.

      "Ask simple questions to get simple answers"
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      • Profile picture of the author CrhisD
        Originally Posted by iva View Post

        Why can't you use the method and mine the gold yourself. It might be slow - then hire some people to do it for you. Do not reveal every step just parts of it.
        Thanks, I've figured out most of it (this thread has been great for sorting things out) but now I need to find a secure way to accept funds.
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    • Profile picture of the author CrhisD
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      You think you have a gold collecting method that is so new and different that it isn't already in use somewhere? I've got to doubt that very highly. I know prospectors and claim owners, and a few mine workers. I know the person who has made the system of mineral detection that is now used by our military, and by commercial interests as well. As far as extrication - if you have something that good and different, and have title to that land, I don't know why you are asking about the land when you should be asking about patents. That system may be very marketable to other mining interests.

      Nobody can touch the land until you say so - you don't have to worry about that while you're making a decision what to do with it.

      As far as public access on the land - if it's yours and you are looking for business around this land here's some of what you can do:
      1. Charge a fee for entry.
      2. Set limits on the equipment allowed for use.
      3. Provide transport to the location from a local hotel (yours if you can get one, or just a commission for guests staying because they have arranged a visit to your place) for a fee, of course.
      4. Charge for extraction lessons
      5. Set extraction limits.
      6. Know that people can trash a place if the spot gets well known. You will have liabilities as well - so if it's made public for any reason, you need to insure against lawsuits -- and people hurt themselves doing this kind of activity.
      7. Rent out to rock and gem club field trip access only? They will pay a fee to get to somewhere productive and you can limit equipment allowed at the site. They will pay for entrance if they can recover enough mineral to have a fun day and clubs make sure the environment is cared for more than most public visitors will care for it. They won't leave trash, etc.

      That's just a taste of what you are looking at, Chris.
      Thanks for the ideas. At least I have an idea of how things are going to happen. I'm not really good at the business end of things (ie. how to charge, what to charge, how to collect, how much to charge etc.) -- wonder if I can hire someone or whatever.

      Another thing is online booking, what can we do about international bookings? which merchant processor can I trust? it's getting really complicated.. and scary. And I am not a marketer either. It would be cool if there was someone to handle all this stuff.
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