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East Bay Prospectors (GPAA Concord)

Bay Area gold club since 2009, with no required dues and seven claims

Founded
March 2009, as an official GPAA chapter
Meets
First Monday of the month (second Monday after a holiday): social hour 6 PM, meeting 7:15 PM
Where
850 Sullivan Avenue, Concord
Claims
Seven club claims
Dues
None required; voluntary supporting membership
How to join
Register on the club forum, then come to meetings and outings
Coming up
Meeting on November 2, 2026; Christmas meeting and potluck on December 12, 2026 in Knightsen
Legal name
EB Prospectors, a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Club with mining claims for members

Based in Concord, California.

The club's claims are for members only: contact the club to join.

ebprospectors.com ↗facebook.com ↗

Email:

Around here, the land is mostly private

Within 50 miles of Concord our maps show no open public land to prospect. That is exactly why a club matters here: clubs have the landowner permissions, the leases and the know-how.

Nearest open public land on our gold map: about 65 miles away.

See the nearest open land on the gold map →

Prospecting and collecting rules in California →

About East Bay Prospectors (GPAA Concord)

East Bay Prospectors began in March 2009 as an official chapter of the GPAA, and it is incorporated in California as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit under the name EB Prospectors. It is open to anyone drawn to gold prospecting, small-scale mining or treasure hunting, and the invitation on its home page is plain: come to a few meetings, meet the members and see how you like the club. All it asks of members is to take part in club activities as far as they can.

There is no membership fee to pay. In line with GPAA guidelines the club is dues-free, and joining means registering on its forum, introducing yourself and turning up at meetings and outings. The forum's sign-up asks a security question that anyone with some prospecting background should manage, a guard against spam accounts. Since running a club still costs money, members are asked for a voluntary supporting membership, voted on by the members, to cover insurance, claim fees and the rent of the hall; each supporter gets an extra door-prize ticket at every monthly meeting.

The club keeps seven claims for its members, and it says that sales of its annual claims guide come close to covering what it pays each year to hold them. Outings run all year, on public land and on ground where mineral rights have been secured, and directions to the claim outings sit in a part of the forum that only logged-in members can see. In 2015 the forum had a section on the club's Groveland-area claims, still sorting out access after the 2013 Rim Fire. The member resource page asks everyone to check wildfire activity, river flows on the North Fork of the American River and road conditions before leaving, and its advice to beginners is to start with a gold pan, a classifier, a shovel, a bucket and a snuffer bottle, ask before buying expensive gear, and practice panning at home.

Meetings are on the first Monday of each month, moving a week later if that Monday is a holiday, at 850 Sullivan Avenue in Concord: doors open at 6 PM for the social hour and the meeting starts at 7:15 PM. The calendar lists November 2, 2026, then January 4, February 1 and March 1, 2027. December has no Monday meeting on the calendar: the club gathers on Saturday, December 12, 2026, for its annual Christmas meeting and potluck at the Farm Bureau Hall in Knightsen.

Other clubs and places nearby

Where to buy gear nearby

Sources