Lost Dutchman's Mining Association

Lost Dutchman's Mining Association Learn, dig, laugh, and find your gold with LDMA.

Lost Dutchman’s Mining Association brings gold prospectors and enthusist together through real gold mining camps, hands-on events, training, adventure, and community. Founded in 1976 by George "Buzzard" Massie, the Lost Dutchman’s Mining Association (LDMA) is the Nations largest, oldest and most respected premier private membership Mining organization. LDMA membership benefits features staffed Mining camps across the United States in known gold bearing areas such as California, Arizona, Oregon, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Michigan and primitive properties in these and many other states. LDMA Members can enjoy camping and mining stays up to 6 months in any camp or property with many of the camps featuring full RV hookup sites and/or Bath houses, common areas, community kitchens and of course great gold in or around the camp area. For more information about the LDMA and membership to this premier camping and mining experience please call 888-GOLD(4653)-717

09/18/2026

GOLD HIDES IN THE DETAILS!

When you’re prospecting, don’t only look for gold. Look at what the ground is telling you.

In this video, we’re looking at 3 types of decomposing bedrock that can point you toward better gold bearing material.

Saprolite, soft weathered bedrock that has broken down over time and can trap gold in cracks, pockets and low spots.

Mica Schist, layered and flaky material with natural seams and fractures where heavy gold can settle.

Olivine rich material, another geological indicator worth paying attention to when studying mineralized ground and searching for places where gold may concentrate.

None of these mean gold is guaranteed. They are clues. The more you learn to read the geology, the better your chances of knowing where to sample, dig and test.

Don’t walk past decomposing bedrock without taking a closer look. Your next piece of gold might be sitting right where the rock starts breaking down.

Learn the ground. Test the material. Find your gold.

Lost Dutchman’s gives you places to put those skills to work and hunt for your own gold.

Gold Prospectors Association of America History Seekers gold mining

WHEN THE CLEANUP MAT SAYS, “HEY... LOOK AT ME!” 😂🪙One second you’re calmly checking the cleanup mat...Then BOOM.A LARGE ...
09/17/2026

WHEN THE CLEANUP MAT SAYS, “HEY... LOOK AT ME!” 😂🪙

One second you’re calmly checking the cleanup mat...
Then BOOM.

A LARGE PICKER is sitting there staring back at you like it owns the place.

Heart rate up.
Blood pressure climbing.
Gold fever fully activated.

BREATHE, GOLD MINER... BREATHE! 😂

Then the pans start sprouting fine gold like somebody sprinkled them with golden pepper.

Picker in the mat.
Fine gold in the pan.
Smile getting bigger by the minute.
Lower the blood pressure, grab another bucket, and GET DIGGIN’ SOME MORE!

Because if one picker showed up, you know his buddies might be hiding nearby.

There’s gold in that dirt. Go get yours! 🪙⛏️

And if you want more days like this, get involved with Lost Dutchman’s Mining Association. Come out to a camp, join us at an event, meet other gold hunters, get your hands in the dirt, and see what turns up in your own pan.

on’t sit at home looking at somebody else’s gold.

Come make some gold stories of your own with Lost Dutchman’s.

Get involved. Get dirty. Get diggin’.

Gold Prospectors Association of America gold mining

1.57 GRAMS OF “HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING THERE?!”This beautiful 1.57 gram gold nugget has been sitting there for who...
09/17/2026

1.57 GRAMS OF “HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING THERE?!”

This beautiful 1.57 gram gold nugget has been sitting there for who knows how long, waiting for the right person to come along and find it.

Well, its hiding days are OVER!

It has officially been rehomed to its finder, where it will receive plenty of attention, regular bragging rights, and absolutely ZERO chance of being put back where it came from. 😂

Here’s the question…

How many nuggets like this have YOU walked right past?

One foot away? Six inches? Did you literally step over one while heading back to camp for lunch?

That’s the fun of hunting for gold. You don’t know what’s resting beneath your feet until you go looking.

And there’s MORE waiting to be found.

Lost Dutchman’s has gold camps, properties, and exclusive mining claims where your next nugget is sitting there waiting for you.

Get out there. Swing a detector. Move some dirt. Check those cracks.

The next 1.57 gram beauty needs a new home…and yours looks pretty good! 😎⛏️💰

Gold Prospectors Association of America History Seekers

🦆 PICK A DUCK. WIN SOME GOLD. TRY NOT TO START A FAMILY FEUD. 🦆One of the old traditions we still have a blast with at O...
09/17/2026

🦆 PICK A DUCK. WIN SOME GOLD. TRY NOT TO START A FAMILY FEUD. 🦆

One of the old traditions we still have a blast with at Oconee Camp is the famous DUCK RACE!

Pick your duck. Cheer like your retirement depends on it. Watch that little yellow speed demon fight its way to the finish line.
Because the winner gets GOLD! 🥇🪙

t is serious competition too. Friendships are tested. Ducks are questioned. Somebody always claims their duck was robbed.

And then there is the legendary “DUCK OFF!”
What is a Duck Off?
You have to be there.
Some Oconee traditions simply need to be experienced in person. 😂

Gold mining, good friends, crazy traditions, and plenty of laughs.

That is what makes our LDMA events more than digging dirt.

Come join us at Oconee Camp and get in on the fun.
Bring your gold pan.
Bring your sense of humor.
And whatever you do, choose your duck wisely. 🦆🪙

Gold Prospectors Association of America gold mining

TEAM DOUBLE D IS ON THE GOLD!Dick and Dallas, better known around here as “Team Double D,” are putting in the work at Lo...
09/16/2026

TEAM DOUBLE D IS ON THE GOLD!

Dick and Dallas, better known around here as “Team Double D,” are putting in the work at Lost Dutchman’s Oconee Camp in South Carolina.

One feeds the machine. One oversees the hopper. Both are waiting for the same thing, GOLD in the cleanup!

Good dirt. Good friends. Good times. And hopefully a pan with enough yellow to make Team Double D do a little victory dance.

This is what an LDMA Gold Camp is all about. Get outside, run some dirt, learn from each other, laugh a lot, and take home some South Carolina GOLD.

Don’t sit around watching other people find it.

Make plans to visit Oconee Camp, get some dirt under your boots, and COME GET YOUR GOLD! 🥇⛏️

Team Double D is already running dirt. Where’s your team?

Gold Prospectors Association of America gold mining History Seekers

DID I GAIN ENOUGH WEIGHT? 🤔⚖️Time to evaluate my latest work.Did I gain enough weight?Did all those little pieces add up...
09/15/2026

DID I GAIN ENOUGH WEIGHT? 🤔⚖️

Time to evaluate my latest work.

Did I gain enough weight?
Did all those little pieces add up to success?

YES! 🥇

But am I satisfied?

NOPE. I need MORE! 😂

That’s the thing about gold. Every flake, picker, and little chunk adds weight to the final total. One piece might not look like much, but keep adding them to the pile and suddenly the scale starts telling a pretty good story.

Successful day? YES.
Finished? NOT EVEN CLOSE.

I love GOLD! 💛

Now it’s time to get back in the dirt and add a little more weight to the collection.

Gold, Grit & Good Times!

Gold Prospectors Association of America History Seekers Gold Trails

SOMETIMES THE BOSS NEEDS TO GET DIRTY!Every once in a while, you have to get out from behind the desk, shut down the ema...
09/11/2026

SOMETIMES THE BOSS NEEDS TO GET DIRTY!

Every once in a while, you have to get out from behind the desk, shut down the emails, and remember what this whole gold fever thing is about.

RUNNING DIRT AND FINDING GOLD!

Getting back on the equipment is like tuning an old radio. You keep adjusting the flow, watching the material, checking the concentrates, until suddenly you hit the right frequency…

GOLD FM! 😂

There’s something satisfying about feeding dirt into a machine and knowing Mother Nature hid a little payday somewhere inside.

Office Brandon handles business.

Dirt Diggin’ Brandon wants to see some COLOR! 😎

Get outside. Run some dirt. Get your hands dirty. Find some gold.

That’s a good day at a Lost Dutchman’s Gold Camp!

Gold Prospectors Association of America

🚨 ONE SPOT LEFT IN EACH DESERT CHAOS SESSION! 🚨You have two choices. https://myldma.com/eventsSit on the couch and watch...
09/10/2026

🚨 ONE SPOT LEFT IN EACH DESERT CHAOS SESSION! 🚨

You have two choices. https://myldma.com/events

Sit on the couch and watch somebody else have a Gold Rush...

OR...

Get off the couch, get into the California desert, and HAVE YOUR OWN! 🪙

Digger’s Desert Chaos is about moving serious dirt, feeding The Beast and Big Bertha, recovering GOLD, and sharing the haul.

THE BEAST & BIG BERTHA CHOMP PAYDIRT AND SPIT OUT GOLD!

With only 15 participants per session, everyone gets involved. You work the equipment, process the PayDirt, handle the cleanups, and experience what it feels like to run a full blown desert gold mining operation.

And the payoff?

You EACH could walk away with around a QUARTER OUNCE +/− OF GOLD from your share of the recovery!

Only ONE opening remains in EACH SESSION.

Once those two spots are claimed, Desert Chaos is FULL.

The couch will still be there when you get home.

The gold might not be.

Get registered and come experience GOLD, GRIT & GOOD TIMES at LDMA Duisenburg Camp!

Gold Prospectors Association of America GPAA Gold and Treasure Shows gold mining Gold Trails

BIG BOY WENT DEEP, AND BEDROCK STARTED TALKING!We brought in the “BIG BOY” excavator and dug down 22+ FEET chasing the g...
09/10/2026

BIG BOY WENT DEEP, AND BEDROCK STARTED TALKING!

We brought in the “BIG BOY” excavator and dug down 22+ FEET chasing the gold sitting right on bedrock.

There was only one small problem.

We were well below the water line.

So while BIG BOY kept digging, we kept pumping water and saying, “Keep going, the gold is down there somewhere!”

Then came the test pan.

Let’s say I wouldn’t throw this dirt back in the hole.

Want a taste of this delicious gold bearing PayDirt?

Come get your hands dirty at next week’s Digger’s Dirt Party at LDMA Oconee Camp in Tamassee, South Carolina, right in the South Carolina gold belt.
September 16 to 19, 2026

BIG excavator.
DEEP bedrock.
GOLD bearing dirt.

Four days of digging, processing, laughing and sharing the gold.

Anyone is welcome to register. You do not need to be an LDMA member.

If the test pan is any indication, BIG BOY brought us up
something worth processing.

Don’t sit home wondering what came out of that 22 foot hole.

Come help us run it!

https://myldmastore.myshopify.com/products/diggers-dirt-party-oconee-september-16-19

Gold Prospectors Association of America History Seekers Caterpillar

09/04/2026

EVERYONE NEEDS A SIDE PIECE.

Yep. I said it.

Something that makes your heart race.

Something you think about when you should be doing something else.

Something that puts a goofy smile on your face the second you see it.

Relax. I’m talking about GOLD. 😂

A little nugget tucked into the side of your pan.
A shiny picker hiding beside a rock.
A sweet little chunk of yellow you found all by yourself.

Now THAT is a side piece worth bragging about.

Love. Happiness. Good times. Gold fever. A little dirt under your fingernails.

Come find your next side piece at a Lost Dutchman’s Gold Camp.

And unlike some side pieces, this one is perfectly acceptable to bring home and show your spouse. 😏

Grab your detector, pan, shovel, or favorite gold getting gear and get out there.

Your next shiny little side piece is waiting.

Gold Prospectors Association of America History Seekers

Address

41110 Sandalwood Cir #109
Murrieta, CA
92562

Telephone

(951) 699-4749

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Lost Dutchman's Mining Association posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Lost Dutchman's Mining Association:

Shortcuts

Share

Category