A Long Time Has Passed

I regret that I haven't been keeping up with my blog.  After all, it is my business to do so.  Please forgive me.  There have been legitimate reasons for me not write and keep you up to speed on the goings on in Nome.  I loved being able to research and report about the dredging business in Nome!  It's exciting stuff...  There are a LOT of ups and downs in the business, and there have been many realizations on my behalf during my time researching it.

Last summer (2013) The Kentucky Boys, on their dredge Goldenrod, actually reaped reward.  I won't say how much, but that they didn't go home empty handed.  They plan to be back this coming summer and are looking forward to getting on the gold again!

The Discovery Channel's Bering Sea Gold is always so awesome to watch and so real in it's depiction of the business of dredging for gold off the coast of Nome.  Congratulations to the Pomrenke's for the incredible year they had in 2013!  From what I surmise, their payoff has been a long time coming, as they've lived and breathed the business for many years.

Not many people have what it takes to be in this business...

Beast of the Bering Sea, The Movie

Do NOT watch this movie unless you are a SYFY junkie (which I vehemently am not)  You will not appreciate it.

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=Aji7WhbNzkONnEIUuEMyV8mbvZx4?p=bering+sea+gold+movie+syfy&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-900

Bering Sea Gold is Back UNDER THE ICE

Yep, the Bering Sea Gold guys are back in action!  Oh what fun it is to snuggle under a blanket while watching these courageous individuals freeze their buns off in pursuit of Bering Sea gold.  Catch the action and the fever!

Do you think Zeke and Ian should have allowed Emily back to work with them this season?

As much as I am pro-women (I am a woman too), I totally agree with Ian and Zeke.  Emily gets anxious under the water. Period.    You cannot do that there.  It is way too dangerous, not to mention counterproductive.  Sorry Emily.  The guys are right.

http://www.zap2it.com/videogallery/78108898/Entertainment/Bering-Sea-Gold-Under-the-Ice-Exclusive-Season-3-promo

Recent West Beach Activity off Nome Coast

A recent sunny day in Nome reveals many dredge boats out searching for gold off West Beach.  Notice the similar jack-up rigs.

Political Garbage in Nome

Gold mining in Nome has more than it's share of challenges (as if the technicalities of dredging and Mother Nature aren't enough)!  Our claims are many miles West of the Nome harbor.  Getting out and back is challenging and time consuming when the weather can change at the drop of a hat.  By the time you realize the seas are starting to become rough, if you aren't ready to pack up and turn back for harbor then it is often down right dangerous getting back.  

Therefore, the KY Goldenrod crew arranged to mine in the East on one of the local miner's claims, as the claim is much closer to the Nome harbor, and has a great deal of gold potential.  Anything our crew mines, an arranged percentage goes to the claim owner (very common arrangement in Nome).  We have a very powerful 10' suction dredge that could really get some gold!  And, there in lies the problem. Seems a handful of greedy locals don't want outsiders (lower 48ers) to prospect promising land.  It's becoming a political mess.  It started with the underwater lease auction date fiasco (we were given a date in December 2011 and the actual date was in September 2011 which we luckily found out about in the nick of time), and it just keeps getting messier!  It has political garbage written all over it. Do you smell a rat?

 

Nome Offshore Gold Placer Area

Nome is one of the top 100 placer fields in the world.  There are literally millions of ounces of gold all over the area and even under the town itself.  Onshore placer gold production from the Nome area between 1897 and 1964 was about 5,000,000 ounces of gold, the greater part of which was derived from placers on the coastal plain.  

Profitable gold placers are rarely found more than 6 to 12 miles (10-20 km) from bedrock sources.  The Nome Offshore placer area extends from the current offshore beach for 2 miles to water depths of about 60 feet. It extends about 10 miles parallel to the modern strand-line, commencing west of the the mouth of Nome River and continuing westward to the vicinity of Penny River.