Hello everyone,
I have arrived safe to Chandalar and been pretty busy the last few days, although we are not yet mining. The man in charge of building the wash plant, an old placer miner from Alaska named Cy, probably won't be ready for a few days yet. Since freeze up comes in mid-September normally, we're getting tight for time. On top of that, it's been a very dry summer and the creek is almost all but dried up. No water, no sluicing, no ounces of gold. On the plus side, these down days have meant I've had the chance to head up on four-wheelers with Jim Barker, the head geologist here the last 6 or 7 years, and take some fun trips around different prospects in the mountains. Tomorrow I will be heading out to the mountains alone to take some soil samples.
The weather is still smoky and I guess the conditions in Fairbanks are even worse. We have about 1-2miles visibility which changes during the day. New fires have started around the interior, and we're somewhere between 2-3million acres burned this summer, and probably more still left. 2004 was the last time it was this bad, and around 7 million burned then. There's a subtle wheeze in the back of everyone's lungs, and it's irritating to the eyes, nose, ears - not to mention the brain! Spend a lifetime not smoking and inhale two summers of this atmosphere and you're at the same spot - whoopee!
The connection is fast enough here that skype will probably work. Unfortunately with the long hours, there will be little chance to arrange a suitable time to speak, as other workers here need to use the internet as well. Until next time, hope all is well wherever it is you are reading this from,
All the best,
Dylan
Sunday, 2nd August 2009
I arrived into Chandalar this afternoon. It was a pleasure to leave the smoky skies of Fairbanks, and land in the idyllic setting here, 160 miles north. The temperature has noticeably taken a dip from the interior valley, and I can sense the weather which is soon to come. About nine or ten guys are working here – and the cook Marcy and her dog R.I.P. (yes, that’s the name of her retriever) together with Larry and his lab Clyde, are running a great camp. I ate two steaks for dinner tonight! We are not yet starting production, but the operation is very near. There are a few mechanics and one old placer miner working hard to get the large wash plant ready. There’s also three operators pushing overburden. I am working with Jim Barker, the head geologist. His wife Charlotte (also a geo) left on the plane I came on to return to their ranch in Eastern Oregon, where a fire has burned down fence line on their ranch. When Jim showed me the pit near to camp, my first instinct was a little horrid. All the secrets we were trying to discover about the true value of the gold here that the old timers thawed, picked, shoveled, sluiced, and panned are about to be extinguished. We are about 35ft down, and some test pits are at 50 or 55ft. My job will be to transport concentrate from the commercial wash plant to the Goldsaver, a smaller wash plant which will concentrate the gold. The concentrate will come in 55 gallon drums and I’ll be working nonstop to extract the gold. So far, the tests we’ve run indicate the exploration in 2007 we did was correct; and there’s significant grades to be mined the rest of the season. We hope to be seeing some rich cleanups! The median age of the crew here is 57 years. One operator is in his twenties, but then there’s a 35 year gap, and it’s interesting. It’s quiet and peaceful and incredibly beautiful. This week I’ll be prospecting some creeks nearby with Jim. His dog (the third and last here) is a fantastic sheep dog named “Chiga” and not long ago was nearly killed by a lone wolf at MacLeelan Ck. Also there is a bear’s den (we don’t know if it’s active) and in a couple days we’ll spend the night down in the creek to investigate another possible placer deposit. So it should be an exciting and interesting week before the grind really begins. The company president, Dick, comes out next week, so if we’re not producing I think he might shoot somebody. Everyone has been out here about 60 or 70 days now, and it’s a funny, awkward feeling coming into the camp as the “new guy” rather than the other way around. Nevertheless, everyone is in good rapport and I am doing well. I should be out mid-September, and if our work cleans up well, perhaps a wee bonus to go towards a new (used) vehicle in Fairbanks. There was a good looking ’85 Chevy with 80,000 miles at the Bakery restaurant, although the Bronco and Saab I borrowed from Jeff and Fred were great to have for a while! Miss you, and see you all soon,
Dylan Elek McFarlane
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