Remote Prospecting?

[Slatco]

Geo if they charge per sq ft on the shipping containers make sure you get high cubes! You will want to load those things to the max.

[Geowizard]

Slatco,

Good point!

Another option is to buy the containers in Nome (save on shipping) and load them up there!

Saving the 100K in shipping would go a long way on buying containers and equipment from distressed sellers in Nome. Barge companies offload containers there because there is a market. Because I have pinpointed mineralized anomalies, I plan to drill or auger shallow test holes to get a picture of the degree of mineralization, depth and type of host rock. Cuttings will be used to select the required recovery process. I am targeting GOLD in bedrock and/or "halo" GOLD on bedrock.

Blasting;

Bedrock equates to hard rock mining. I met a powder monkey in Anchorage that flies out to mines and makes big rocks into little rocks. He does the permitting and has the appropriate licenses and experience.

- Geowizard

[easy goer]

I'm with Jim on this, not a big fan of Spam. Now give me some good hot Hog Head Cheese, Boudin or Cracklins and you are talking my kind of food.

Back to the Salt mine.

Easygoer

[Kodiak]

I heard there was a conex shortage / geographic dislocation that is driving up prices of Conex's up.

Heres some links:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/22/shippin ... -rise.html

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-glob ... SKBN28K0UA

Last year I had a 4 ton tow-behind wood chipper the size of a ford f350 shipped from Tacoma to Kodiak with Matson, it ran around $5k. I think they deck loaded it though.

$100k for three conex's to Nome seems excessive to me, but maybe that the new market rate.

On a side note related to Nome, Most everyone in Alaska is familiar with Ravn Airlines, as they service the villages and remote communities. They went Bankrupt last year, but are back in business now under new owners. I had been saving up all my Ravn frequent flier points for two years with the intent of getting a couple round trip tickets to Nome for me and some friends. When the pandemic hit, and Ravn folded, so did the 3 round trip tickets I had saved up disappear. I still would like to go sometime, as its one of the only parts of the State I havent visited.

I appreciate all the knowledge you New "Old Timer's" are willing to share with us all on the forum.

Thank you everyone,

Kodiak

[Joe S (AK)]

HMmmm Kodiak - that's a shame --- however --- it could have been worse.

At the end of February last year I traveled on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Australia. I bought the round trip ticket early, had the passport and visa all done and off I went. I had chosen to spend a month there with mining buddies and everything came off perfectly - until the Chinese Virus Panic. After 3 weeks of escalating fear and restrictions it was pretty scary and finally it got so bad that I went to the deserted airport and spoke with the airline agents with the carrier I was scheduled to return on ---- in a little over a week from then.

"Mate, either get on your way back today or tomorrow or you will be here for a very LONG time" was the advice I was given. "The last international flights will be tomorrow afternoon and after that there is absolutely no way to know when you might get out of Australia. All international flights will cease tomorrow afternoon."

At that point I went to a quiet corner and immediately called the travel agency office I had my ticket through. The agency, by that time, had already pulled the plug on the phones, loaded their computers along with everything else in the office into some old moving truck and were long gone down the road. The carrier airline couldn't help me because the return ticket was through the now non-existent travel agency. "Sorry, mate, there just isn't any way to help you on that.

So, standing at the counter, out of pocket, day before travel, and only wanting a one way ticket is THE most expensive way to travel. Having previously worked for United Airlines for 5 years I was very aware of that industry-wide, well known fact. Yes, sir, it certainly is true. It cost a lot of money to fly "that way" - but - I'd still be there if I hadn't gotten the LAST (literally the last) open seat out of Canberra the very next early afternoon. So much for the last week of my time with friends there.

So, Kodiak, Mate, it could have been substantially worse for you - say if you had been traveling along with me a year ago.

- Joe -

[Joe S (AK)]

Now Jim,

My saying "Never say Never" on specific future activities is a risky thing to do -- however, for emphasis it's accurate to say "I never left anything behind that I need to go back there for." In addition to that, I believe that it's of specific relevance to note that my hand made "John Deere Green colored Nome Beach Box" is now a permanent lawn ornament. It will never, ever, ever-under-any-circumstances be used there again,
EVER, Ever, ever, ever.

It is true that it would seem that with all the new products that have come out since I was there at mile 7 on the West Beach, well, all those new things would now make Gold recovery, especially the micro sized Gold, much easier and not nearly as arduous and time consuming. Yes, I now have the newer "stuff" and it's sooooo much better, easier, lighter, faster, more accurate and less demanding than those older styles of "stuff".

All things being equal, today a hard-working, young-yet-seasoned miner, with that newer equipment on the market, could probably make enough money to just offset the summer's incredibly high cost of Nome living. Of course, to do that you have to completely disregard transportation to and from "home" to Nome, enjoy living on the beach (if that is even allowed any more), being totally at the mercy of the weather, having to overcome no availability of easy transportation and being systemically dependent for all supplies on the seemingly sporadically scheduled barge shipment arrivals. Strong mental fortitude in the face of disaster would also help, too.

Oh Yeah, Excitement, Independence, Self Reliance, Uncertainty, Luck, Overcoming Adversity and all those other inspiring things that come about when telling the stories around a campfire after starting out with the introduction:

"... and there I was, minin' on the beaches of Nome when ..."

All those inspiring things in your day dreams can also be found in many other places in this world - and under much better conditions and circumstances.

Mentioning "at the mercy of the weather" is actually much more than a little more important than it might seem in passing.

I was there from the end of May into July in, I think it was ‘05. When I arrived there was snow and ice everywhere with receeding Pack-Ice still covering much of the beach sands. Of course, since it was “Spring”, the weather started off with brutally cold rain and strong winds almost all the time. In a short time though the ice melted, the beach sands thawed - and then - the mosquitoes and the deer flies arrived. They were bad if the wind was from inland (I think the bugs all drank heavily and partied all night so as to not freeze) BUT, if the wind was from the Bering Sea, stand by for fierce, cold near freezing rain with (knock you over) high winds. That weather came from not too far across the water in RUSSIA, and it's really cold there, right? The good news was that none of the Russian mosquitoes ever made it across to visit us.

Just remember, STORMS = very high wave action = no pumps being anywhere near the water = no mining at all. Those conditions, combined with long hours, not-so-good nutrition, accidents, sickness, constant repositioning of pumps due to tides and many other factors like equipment breakdowns make beach mining in Nome rather “Challenging”. Oh yeah - once a Polar bear, swimming around the noise and excitement of Nome walked on past us on the beach. I did say rather "Challenging" didn't I?

I believe I also mentioned that recovering the "Talcum Powder" sized Gold from high banker concentrates was character building and a technique enhancing exercise - right?. Panning Technique Improvement Retraining (PTIR) was humbling. Maybe it would be more succinct to say that it was an infinitely difficult, tedious, counter intuitive, inexact, frustrating, nerve wracking, repetitive, time consuming, exhausting, mind numbing task that had to be done for hours EVERY DARN EVENING. In addition, the mostly, difficult new thing to learn was working with the incredibly small sizes of paper thin or spherically shaped Gold. No Verne, it can't be panned like you're used to "back home", you have to relearn everything all over again. Why??? " 'Cause you're in Nome now and everything is just completely different now. "

As an example, a "properly filled gold pan full" of the tightly pre-classified beach concentrates start out as about 2 or 3 heaping tablespoons worth (or 4 or 5 or maybe even 6 if you took twice the time to work them). The various 'cuts' of concentrates have to be panned at least 3 or 4 distinct times, until NO Gold is seen at all. Since the Gold was so small it was really hard to completely separate it at that point, so just super-super "Sluice Juice" concentrates (about 50-50% Gold and other heavies) was sucked up. Re-pan, Re-pan, Re-pan until there were no more "Golden Smiles to be seen. As I finished the day's meticulous panning, and knowing that there STILL was Gold in those sands, I would put them aside and save them to be thrown into the equipment first thing the next morning. Day after day after day after day.

Of course there were unexpected things as well, like finding a pristine human molar tooth in the box's clean-out one day. It was returned to the sea where it belonged. A much more common thing was to sometimes find liquid or amalgamated Mercury in the beach concentrates. The turn of the century guys would pour inexpensive quicksilver on the freshly turned and leveled black beach sand and roll it around, I guess with their shovels. Then they would gather all that Mercury and amalgam able to be found. Next, they retorted it, over a driftwood fire which produced "sweetened" Gold while making the liquid Mercury ready for the next day's use. I knew one young, "Proud to be just like my dad" fool (the son of an older REAL fool) who would empty their vials of Mercury "Soured Gold" into a small frying pan and 'cook off' the Mercury every few weeks. He did that open vaporization of the Mercury from the 'soured Gold" over a driftwood fire, away from their camp on the beach. I didn't spend much time at all observing he or his dad's taught technique after he requested that I just move along.

A natural tendency for exhausted miners is to simply defer the end of the long day panning drudgery for "the next rainy day". They just store their concentrates in a bucket, or two, or three, or ..... and then eat or sleep, to do the now learned 'trick' the next day - WRONG! At the end of their time there were buckets and piles everywhere. The next thing they did was dry the concentrates they now could never possibly process and then, boxing them up, would go visit the post office. Just imagine how heavy just 5 gallons of fine, dried concentrates weighs. Now imagine mailing it all 'back home'.

Without dependable refrigeration (after the snow and ice melted), trips to town for camp food and gasoline at the NC (and "in town" water where we could get it) took much higher priority than concentrate panning on "the next rainy day" (usually there were 3 or 4 in a row). My water was stored in a found and then washed, 8 or 10 Liter Soy Sauce container. It had been discarded and then drifted onto shore from some Japanese fishing ship in the past and the salt in the soy sauce stopped the disagreeable possibilities from happening. It was a lucky find and still have it.

Rain water, if it can be caught, is also ever-so-precious for your drinking and cooking needs. The problem there is that catching rain water is time consuming - like frantically chasing cats. Just try it sometime - using a small tarp makes it a lot like "Catch and Release".

With no trees or bushes of any size on the tundra, the only fuel for burning in camp is driftwood from the interior, stacked up into very spread out, tangled and intertwined heaps by past storms. SOMEONE has to gather it for heating and cooking - and there you go - something to do in your spare time. The wood dries quickly in the constant wind (And, OH YES, it gets to be very irritating). The ever present drifting sand pretty much all shakes off without too much effort (unless it's raining again, of course).

Oh, and yeah, I'm also 15 years older now, too.

To sum it all up, I guess being in Nome is a lot like being stationed somewhere, with my buddies who were in the Army - "It's not just an adventure, it's an adventure and a hassle."

- Joe -

[easy goer]

Conex question?

If you are sending a 40 foot container from Seattle to Nome how do you pack it? Items needed big to small. Truck, trailer, dredge, 6 wheeler and everything else. Load order, first to last? Send vehicle separately? I have some ideas but I have never done it, so I am looking for input. Best way to secure items?

This seems to fall into the category easier said than done. Go for the easier load or the easier unload?? Is there a right answer?

We are getting freezing rain and wintery mix here the next few days. Shutting down Keystone Pipeline and fracking is already cooling the planet. Smartass much.

Easygoer

[Joe S (AK)]

Load by priority of unload, needed first stuff on the tail.

All items first needed go on last - "Tail Load" so you can get to them first. Put a couple of jacks, pry bars, come alongs, chains, some tools and strong tie down straps at the very back to help with the "Awww NOs!" Tarps and pretty good ropes are always handy.

Realize that if you're going to unload in, say, OME and self truck 'stuff' straight away to your Paradise On Earth (POE), then you need to pre-load and securely tie down first off items on the vehicle and any trailer you are making the first trip with. Securely chock and brace any rolling stock and remember - it's all gonna shift, tumble, move, jam, fall over, twist and not be "just exactly as you loaded it". Plastic drums with removable tops are good food storage things.

Load as high as seems feasible, heavy stuff low and light stuff high -- and at the tail taper down. Watch your weights - spread out the heavy stuff.

Are you planning to bring this 40' 'dry-box' to the POE, leave it in OME or something else? At the end of the season what do you plan to do with the equipment and gear - store it at the POE or OME? Ship it back? Sell it? Things to think about..

If the dry-box is going to the POE for a long time, consider a somewhat pre fabricated wooden, removable, rear bulkhead with door and windows. You can then open the regular doors, tarp over the tops of the straight back door(s) for a pretty dry patio. Consider living in the 'dry box' during the summer - and yet be able to lock up for winter storage of gear with the regular doors.

Don't cook in the 'dry box' but rather in a "summer kitchen" outside.

Common sense will guide you. Bounce ideas off friends - answers come from that. PM for detailed suggestions if you'd like.

- Joe -

[Jim_Alaska]

Just a little side story showing that there really are some hard core prospectors left.

When I was exploring and prospecting on the East Fork I met a fellow prospector who actually flew into Van Curlers Bar and walked the length of the Chena Valley back to civilization prospecting as he went.

It turned out that he also lived in the same community I lived in and I had never met him. I won't divulge his name for sake of his privacy, but he also became a member of this forum. He was also a Geologist. I have not heard from him in person or on the forum in a very long time.

He indicted that he had found some interesting prospects on his trip that summer. One of them was in a place I was actually working at the time. I was working in the main river and his prospect was in a small creek that emptied into the main river. He did develop the prospect as a small scale operation.

As I remember it he also advertised for suction dredgers on the forum, that would work a couple of his claims for a percentage. I also seem to remember that he had some takers for his offer, but do not remember any results being posted.

This was just a little snippet I thought might add to the title of this thread. It just goes to show that there are still some that will do it the old way and actually get results.

[Geowizard]

Jim,

I'm not sure about the results.

His mining company was involuntarily dissolved in 2017. I have noticed there's a high attrition of mining companies in Alaska. I use mapper to view prospective mining properties for "closed mining claims". Over the past five years, probably 60 percent of the mining claims have been closed.

- Geowizard