We were lucky to catch up with Shawn Plant recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shawn , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Putting myself out there as a digital video creator and hard rock miner has all sorts of risks involved. Being a DJ is the safest part about my daily routines. Being a hard rock miner has risks such as getting seriously injured or possibly worse from a mine collapse. Other risks potentially can occur during the refining process of the ore. One can get silicosis from processing precious metal bearing ore by breathing in dust particulates from quartz. Caustic fumes and vapors often occur during the smelting and melting processes. The biggest risk really is whether or not that ore you’re working with has enough values to sustain the current cost of living. As of recently I’ve been financially struggling because of a broad spectrum of issues that started in March 2023.

Shawn , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I don’t really have a brand other than the name of my YouTube channel. At one point it was Silver Spike Prospecting but I decided to diversify and change it to Smokey and Spike Productions. That way I can upload videos involving other things besides hard rock mining and prospecting. I decided to start a YouTube channel showing my techniques as a hard rock miner and prospector because of financial instability. Also I wanted to try something different and work for myself.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I gained good popularity when I started focusing on Old-Timers techniques for processing precious metals. The old-timers knew what they were doing and nowadays a lot of similar techniques are still used in the same processes. My specialty is fire and heat to process my ore in various steps like roasting to smelting. Ideally, I’d like to keep it that way and stay free of chemical refining and chemical leaching.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Continue uploading entertaining and educational videos involving my techniques and processes.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smokeyandspikeproductions?igsh=eG1rNnZ3azBvZjVx
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/m2ypHdkKZ8RPHGvz/?mibextid=qi2Omg
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@smokeyandspikeproductions?si=8glcw6yFBgtd_PXf

Image Credits

All of the photos were personally taken by myself utilizing my smartphone.