On any given weekend in the summer, there might be 15 to 100 people in Wisconsin’s woods prospecting for gold and other minerals, according to Ron Smith.
Many are people Smith has gotten to know as he built a business that serves them but also educates and entertains all ages at a retail shop in Wausaukee.
Pike River Prospecting, off Highway 141 in Marinette County, got its start in 2017 when Smith found a spot he could turn into a store. Prior to that, Smith says he had been selling rocks, minerals, fossils and more at events and fairs since 2013.
“I belonged to a club and we did a lot of shows,” he says.
While it helped him learn about the business, including how to maintain an inventory that met customer expectations, it required setting up and tearing down at the end of each event.
Having a retail location has allowed him to share his knowledge.
“When it comes to my shop, they don’t just buy rocks. I try to make it as interactive as possible,” Smith says.
For example, some geodes fluoresce — meaning they emit light when exposed to different wavelengths. Smith will take customers into a room, crack open the geode they select and fluoresce it.
“I get a lot of families and grandparents who can’t wait to get their grandkids here,” he says.
He likes to think the experience he offers is educational but says, “You don’t want to tell the kids they’re learning something.”
Customers can purchase a bag of rough gems and wash it out in sifters in the store’s sluiceway or take it home. They get to keep what they find either way. There also are opportunities for customers to sift through materials seeded into large sandboxes.
Smith says his years in the industry have helped him build connections. It helps keep prices reasonable, and it’s why he also serves prospectors by selling equipment.
In addition to electronic detectors, which are high‑tech equipment, he sells sluice boxes, power sluices, gold pans, sifters, scoops, vials, scales and other items. He says it is the only brick and mortar store of its kind in Wisconsin.
Smith, who used to source some of his own products and has prospected for flour gold, maintains his membership in the Wisconsin Michigan Prospectors Club.
Each year they hold a “Rondezvous” based at his shop, which is open to anyone. Smith says they have searched for old logging camps and former farm sites to metal detect, and the August event is a good way for people to learn from each other.
The combination of tourists, hobbyists and prospectors fueled retail success that surprises Smith.
“This is way beyond what I ever thought it would be,” he says. “Some people stop every time they come through.”
