Lucky Couple Turn Vacation Nightmare Into Small Fortune!
Released on = September 21, 2006, 1:58 pm
Press Release Author = Durango Miners Association
Industry = International Trade
Press Release Summary = Pair return home with Mexican treasure
Press Release Body = Gwen and Bobby Bowen of Vancouver turned a vacation mishap into a small fortune. Two weeks ago Bobby was on the phone cursing his travel agent while Gwen begged him to have mercy on the poor girl. They arrived in Cancun for a week-long romantic get-away on the eve of their 10th wedding anniversary only to find that their reservations were never \"confirmed\" by their agency. Further, because of two conventions in town, there was not a single room to be had. \"We weren\'t about to let this ruin our anniversary but we were not going to camp out on the beach either\" said Gwen. With credit cards in hand they rented themselves a 4X4 SUV and they decided that since they had already visited all the tourist spots in Mexico over the last ten years, they wanted to see the \"real Mexico\". With Gwen's hands over Bobby\'s eyes he randomly put his pencil point on a random spot on the map which the two agreed would be their surprise destination. The pencil came to rest on a spot called \"Durango\" and they both shrugged and said \"Let\'s go!\"
Most people, including Bobby only recall the name \"Durango\" from a score of old western movies and the short-lived TV series by the same name. The pair drove off for a three day trip to what they expected would be a western ghost town. Bobby had brought along his metal detector, as he does on every holiday as he likes to scour the beaches after hours with a quick game of what he calls \"Lost & Found\". With millions of tourists playing on Cancun\'s beaches every year he was sure to make some interesting finds, like the Rolex he once found on a Barbados beach. In Durango, he thought he might find a few shell casings, some old silver dollars, or maybe even an old sheriff\'s badge.
After the first twelve hours of driving the couple was growing bored of the desert scenery, armadillos, and buzzards but they could see the Sierra Madres mountains in the distance and the few towns along the way where they filled up their tank and bellies on genuine Mexican cuisine kept them motivated. A case of cold Corona\'s on the backseat didn\'t hurt as well.
On day three, they rolled into Durango and instead of a ghost town they were surprised to find a quaint but active town of about 20,000 centered around the traditional town plaza lined with traditional Spanish architecture from the 1800\'s. \"It was if we stepped right into a postcard from another century\". Only the satellite TV dishes on the roofs of the three hotels and late model pickups and SUVs plying the roads in town betrayed the real time period. The sea breezes of Cancun were gone but so was the humidity and the fabricated tourist glitz. If nothing else Durango is genuinely real - as genuinely Mexican as one will ever find. \"It\'s a delightful town for sure, but nightlife is limited to a handful of taverns and a dancehall\". Bobby and Gwen visited them all that night.
At one tavern they made the acquaintance of Pepe Diaz, a man who had more age lines on his face than a road map. He said the last birthday he remembered was his 82nd, but he clearly was sharp as a tack, and over a bottle of tequila shared his many memories with the couple. His local claim to fame was that his father once saved the life of Pancho Villa by hiding him in his well from the federales. Around his neck, Pepe wore a rosary made of solid gold, and Gwen could not help but wonder how a man of such modest means could afford such a piece of jewelry that was easily 2 or 3 ounces of gold. \"I had it made for my mother when I used to work in the mines as a boy, but after she passed I kept it as a memento\". It was then that Bobby noticed that everyone in the bar had quite a bit of gold jewelry on them. \"It was freaky\" Bobby says in retrospect. These folks are all in jeans and casual shirts but they all wear heavy gold chains, bracelets, rings, and watches. \"And then I noticed the table of gringos playing cards in the corner\". The mystery came to an end when the couple called it a night and walked back to the Governor Hotel. The signage on the pick-up trucks were familiar ones \"Goldcorp\", \"Barrick\", and \"Luismo\" , three of the largest mining companies in the world.
Durango it seems is the quiet little Mexican town that has produced over $50 million dollars of gold, silver and zinc per day for the last decade. Geologists around the world are amazed at the proliferation of gold that is streaming out of Durango with yields per ton that are almost double the world\'s average. The next day Bobby and Gwen headed for the mountains and as they approached the foothills, passed one mining operation after another. They counted more than two dozen mineshafts and other signposts bearing the claim information of the property owners. They\'d been driving for two hours and Bobby\'s kidneys began to scream for relief. An abandoned mine shaft conveniently appeared and Bobby unloaded with a sigh. As he walked back to his Jeep however, a glistening reflection of a nearby boulder caught his eye. He couldn\'t ignore it and upon closer examination he found what appeared to be a gold nugget the size of his thumb imbedded in this boulder, just a bit smaller than his car. \"Hey Gwen...\"
Bobby used the car\'s tire iron to dig out the heavy nugget, which indeed was gold. Bobby and Gwen just looked at one another and in less than a minute were digging out that metal detector from the back of the Jeep and Gwen found an old shovel in an old wooden shed that was held up only by a miracle. For the next three hours, they scoured the surrounding area with the detector frantically beeping away every ten minutes or so. By the time the sun set that evening, the couple had unearthed more than six pounds of gold nuggets, most the size of peas but a few as large as golf balls. Most of the treasure was found less than 3 feet below the surface. The speechless couple suddenly grew increasingly weary about spending the night in the middle of nowhere. \"Were there banditos out here\" they wondered? They loaded up the Jeep and decided to head back to Cancun after gathering their things at the Hotel.
Barely containing their excitement, the couple wasted no time in seeking out a family friend in the jewelry business back in Vancouver who had their find assayed. It turned out the gold was more than 80% pure and worth over $40,000. That afternoon Bobby called his travel agent, and this time thanked her for screwing up their Cancun travel plans. Certainly she must have been confused.
How many others had similar experiences in Durango? No one can be sure, but dozens of new claims were staked last year and mineral right leases now sell for as much as $500,000 a year per hectare. Quite a few people have pooled their moneys and continue to do so in order to to buy leases to larger and better parcels. And with good reason... The Natural Resource Director of Durango under orders from Governor Ismael Hernandez, conducted a five year geological survey based on random core sampling every five miles and concluded that every square mile of real estate in Durango contains an average of 80,000 ounces of gold, three times as much silver, and one fifth as much zinc. 48 private mining companies have since sprouted up and bought most of the best leases based on satellite imaging done by the large public companies. But for foreign investors to legally capitalize on the Durango gold rush, Mexican law requires that a Mexican partner owns 51% of the operation. Statistically, the province of Durango has produced more gold in the last decade than California and the Yukon combined during the entire gold rush era.
For those wanting to explore mining opportunities in Durango or those needing Mexican partners, the Durango Miners Association set up an English web site at www.DurangoDetails.com listing those local operators still willing to take in private investors on a limited basis. Those who invest in Durango mining operations enjoy an added benefit provided by the NAFTA treaties - tax on earnings capped at less than 10% with no further taxation on repatriation of moneys back in the U.S. and Canada. Yes, as Bobby and Gwen Bowen inadvertently discovered, Durango is Mexico\'s golden little secret, and a vacation destination that may soon become their favorite.
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