Richest Gold Ground in the US

As glaciers have melted over an estimated two million years, gold has been washed into the bottom of the Bering Sea. Prospectors in Nome, Alaska continue to search for the precious metal that can gain them riches.  Over the decades, Nome has given up five million ounces of gold, according to the federal Minerals Management Service.

Of course, the Pomrenkes are running what could be described as the largest (and most successful) dredging operation at Nome...their seasonal gold recovery is typically $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 or more.  http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/bering-sea-gold/crews/christine-rose.html

However, even the one and two-person underwater suction dredging operations at Nome can pull 6, 7, 10 or even 12 (or more) troy ounces of placer gold from the Bering Sea floor on a good day. There are few, if any, locations in the Lower 48 where you can pull this much placer gold from suction dredging in a single day (or week, or month for that matter).  That's an absolute fact.

Two troy ounces of pickers gold found on seafloor of Nome.

Dredgeable Days in Nome

The weather in Nome is finally clear and the past several days have been dredge worthy.  The team has been out and about doing their best to make up for lost time.  They've managed to successfully dredge for a good number of hours now.  The best they could do is dredge 24/7 everyday during the summer, which is just not possible in Nome.  A good summer in Nome would mean 85-90 dredgeable days starting in early June and ending around the last week of October.  In essence, our team needs to push hard to meet our goals this season.  No gold totals to report just yet.  But, I know some of you are itching to find out.  Me too!
Conversations on dredging in Nome...
http://bb.bbboy.net/alaskagoldforum-viewthread?forum=2&thread=1237
http://bb.bbboy.net/alaskagoldforum-viewthread?forum=2&thread=1427
http://bb.bbboy.net/alaskagoldforum-viewthread?forum=2&thread=1384
http://youtu.be/T21JtlczXkI
Ian and Scott Foster from The Sluicey are shown in the below photo.   www.Sluicey.com  Dad and Tommy have gotten to know Ian while working in Nome this summer.

Tommy returns to Kentucky this evening for a short stay with his son (Zach) and girlfriend (Jennifer Mason).  Can't wait to see him! Dad and Mom will remain in Nome.

Video | Sluicey.com

Video | Sluicey.com

U.S. Coast Guard in Nome

The Coast Guard, along with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, City of Nome, Nome Volunteer Fire Department and National Weather Service spoke with local dredgers to make sure they are equipped with all of the tools and resources necessary to safely dredge for gold this season.

Gold dredging in Nome first caught the attention of the Coast Guard in 2011, when a recreational dredger passed away in an underwater dredging accident. Borg and Albright, Representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, who were sent to Nome to investigate the incident and found that many of the dredging vessels were unsafe.

“Our main focus was vessel safety and ensuring the vessels engaging in the dredging activities were properly outfitted with federal requirements for safety equipment,” Borg said.

“We noticed that there was a large population of these vessels and many are haphazardly put together.
With the purpose-built crafts that we’re looking at, a lot of them don’t take the fuels and oils and so forth into consideration when they’re building the boats,” Borg said, “So that was a big thing just to make sure they understood what their responsibilities were in the event that they released anything into the water.”

An oily sheen was released into the water when Goldenrod was first released into the Bering Sea (residue from a small hydraulic fuel leak).  However, that has since been rectified as she now meets environmental and safety standards.  Large fines are associated with vessels of those who do not comply with the Department of Natural Resources' standards that the state of Alaska sets.

These photos are pictures of several different dredges.  As one can plainly see, because they are home built crafts, they are now inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard for safety and environmental issues.

Rain Rain Go Away

Record-breaking rainfall and stormy conditions have been keeping gold miners from working, and things have been “cozy” inside the Nome harbor as all kinds of boats and vessels have been snuggled up next to each other.   According to the National Weather Service in Nome, 4.72 inches of rain came down starting on Tuesday, July 24, making it the greatest seven-day total ever observed in Nome. Last week rivaled that of a torrid rainfall in the autumn of 1935 that produced 5.25 inches of rain in seven days. On the days of July 25 and 28, the rain broke standing records. The pouring rain on Saturday broke a 101-year old record set in 1911. This July with its 5.93 inches of rain will go into the record books as the third-wettest July on record, behind the wettest July in 1920 with 8.43 inches and 1922 with 6.2 inches.  Up until last week, the total precipitation for this year was 4.37 inches.  It continues to be overcast in Nome today with 3ft seas, keeping many miners from dredging.

A High Price to Pay

Nome is not on the state's road system and goods have to be shipped or flown in, which increase the prices.  The measure of how challenging it can be to live in Nome, Alaska, starts with a dollar sign. There are plentiful, painful reminders all over the community. At the grocery store, it's $39.25 for a 12-roll package of paper towels. Toilet paper costs $37.85 for a 36-roll package.  Want a 2-liter of Diet Pepsi? It's on sale this week for $4.49. At a restaurant, breakfast for one will run about $16.  And milk will cost you $8.00 a gallon.  Gas is selling at $5.94 a gallon and diesel at $6.19!  Imagine what Goldenrod will guzzle on a good day.  It costs nearly $1000 just to fill her tanks!  Ugh...

"The rent here is a lot more than what I'm used to, and the cost of living is a lot higher," a Boston native said. "It's a fantastic place to live, but you never have to worry about it being overcrowded because a majority of the people don't have the guts to live here," he said.