TheyвЂ™d probably make more working at Walmart as a greeter. They feed themselves but theyвЂ™re not getting rich. There are a few who do subsistence mining, as we call it.

вЂњThereвЂ™s a lot of people who enjoy it as a hobby. вЂњThereвЂ™s several different classes of miners in the Nome fleet,вЂќ he replied. The Nugget asked Lee about profitability in gold mining in Nome. There are only a couple other operations that can go that deep.вЂќ

вЂњForty-five to 65 feet, which is deeper than most other operations. вЂњBut weвЂ™re going to stick to mostly 65 feet of water depth,вЂќ he said. It can go as low as 300 feet, although LeeвЂ™s leases go down only to around 75 feet. The Tagiuk Provider has a giant, 20-yard level cut environmental clamshell. So that was lucky for the Nome gold mining fleet.вЂќ But as the gold dwindled the prices went up. If the gold prices were still four or five hundred dollars, people wouldnвЂ™t make any money. The only thing that saved them for the last ten years has been the gold prices have been higher.

вЂњThese diver operated dredges are becoming much less efficient. вЂњThey canвЂ™t handle very much sea so typically we could only get 40 days in per year, maybe 300 hours of dive time in.вЂќ He explained that the more accessible gold has been mined out and so the trend will be toward larger dredges, which are more efficient cost wise. вЂњWhen I started those are my two small dredges there, very small, 20-foot dredges,вЂќ said Andrew Lee, indicating two dredges sitting on the yard above the beach. Two more -even bigger than the Tagiuk Provider - are scheduled to arrive next summer. In the near future the barges used in gold mining will be getting bigger. Stotts added that because of low water and ice formation the outer harbor may be the only possibility. He has to put that plan together and sell us on it and make sure all safety contingencies and plans are followed and laid out and then show weвЂ™ve got insurance covering the whole operation and then weвЂ™ll either bless him or not.вЂќ вЂњIn recent years we havenвЂ™t allowed it anywhere and there has been discussion with Andrew on allowing him in certain spots. вЂњThere are a number of locations in the port, in the outer harbor, the Snake River, and the inner harbor that historically in the past have wintered barges and other types of vessels in the water,вЂќ said Harbormaster Lucas Stotts. Once he gets to the port a second vessel was going to escort them into the outer harbor. вЂњIвЂ™m waiting on insurance to adjust my insurance policy to expressly cover freeze-in.вЂќ At the time he was contacted by phone he was pushing the barge toward the Port of Nome. вЂњThe Port has approved me to park in the harbor,вЂќ said Lee on Monday. It would be the largest barge pulled out in Nome. These pneumatic roller bags are going to be placed underneath the barge and weвЂ™ll connect the towline to a D8 cat, pull the barge partway up on shore, inflate the bags, and start rolling it up,вЂќ Lee described. вЂњThere are land anchors, called deadheads, that are buried. Last week the plan was to pull the vessel up the beach and onto private property. ItвЂ™s all half-inch steel and it has thirty different separate voids.вЂќ ItвЂ™s an ice class barge designed to be used in the Arctic. We added some stuff to the deck of the barge but the barge itself is pretty much unchanged. вЂњThey used the barge for Arctic Explorations as an oil spill response vessel. вЂњWe purchased the barge from Crowley,вЂќ he said. We just brought it up at the end of the year so we could do some on-site systems testing and then haul it out and make any changes,вЂќ Lee said. The barge stood offshore, waiting for weather conditions to improve so it could be moved up the beach. вЂњWe havenвЂ™t been mining with it yet,вЂќ said Lee, interviewed on the beach six miles northwest of the port at West Beach. Parking a 205- foot gold dredging barge for the winter can be a problem.ДЄndrew Lee of Tagiuk Gold has been working on a solution for his Tagiuk Provider, a 1,500-ton ice-class barge he brought up to Nome from Puget Sound this summer.

Gold dredge