The Nome Gold Rush is ON! (apartment, employment, live in)

[ThenewHMR]

Stiffnecked: Reality check is to scout out new gold vanes fields. Maybe south pacific Islands around the volcano mountains that are kind of low profile not too high. The Islands tooling for gold development if any found gold vanes fields. Be easy ground breaking. However the cost of airline tickets be cost factor in the red ink when nothing is found. Boom and bust in south pacific. Think about it.

[Cruzincat]

Last night's Bering Sea Gold showed the auction for leases over the next ten years. Much more area. One company, unnamed, seemed to be trying to buy up all the leases. The little guys didn't have a chance. Will there be anybody left for a show next year?

[stiffnecked]

Originally Posted by Cruzincat

Last night's Bering Sea Gold showed the auction for leases over the next ten years. Much more area. One company, unnamed, seemed to be trying to buy up all the leases. The little guys didn't have a chance. Will there be anybody left for a show next year?

Even though they bought up a bunch of the claims they don't have any intent to mine them by themselves. They'll lease out the claims on a percentage basis. That's what all the miners were doing this year. They were dredging other peoples claims and paying them a percent of the gold recovered.

[Dakster]

Sure. That one company may sub-lease them out for much more $$$ then they paid for it... AND the Christine Rose got a nice large piece as well.

Goes to show it takes money to make money,

[Antimattercrusader]

This is interesting... if per se one already has a ship that is capable of the journey, and can live on board - this may make the venture more worth while, especially if it's considered to be an adventuresome version of the lottery. I guess the issue would be finding a place where it's legal to operate/working out a deal with a claimholder?

But hey.. the fuel cost is about the same as the slip rental for that time period.. and could be offset by perhaps bringing some cargo up?

[hogfamily]

Here is a link to more about the Nome gold rush.

Gold Rush Shows - Offshore Dredging at Nome

[piyf]

Oh man, I can't wait for Bering Sea Gold to come on. I hope Vern or anyone for that matter kicks his arse.

[Moose Whisperer]

Originally Posted by starlite9

This show will be a one season event for those on it now. It has run under the regulation radar, til now. The Coast Guard, State of Alaska and possibly OSHA will be looking at most of those floating death traps and shut them down. None had the AK numbers on the boats, which is akin to driving in Anchorage without license plates. Yeah I know, why sould they have AK numbers on their boats, well because the rest of us do, but more importantly, they need to meet safety requirement for those that clearly are employees, the one gal has no idea of boat safety as is the same for many of the guys! Can go on and on, but would ruin the drama! LOL

The air supply is sucking carbon monoxide down to the divers and other oddities as well!

Originally Posted by starlite9

The gal on that one death trap got her arm sucked into the dredge hose, there is suppose to be a flap you can roll back to relieve that suction to get your arm out, a bigger pump could leave you trapped there! That is where OSHA would come in and fine the living dayslights out of that guy and the rest of them for having no safety program for the "Employees".

It appears that the Coast Guard has been reading your posts!

Who knows what might happen this summer in Nome when the gold dredging season revs up, with both the state and the U.S. Coast Guard poised to do something about all the high-profile unregistered boats there. Such boats have been parading across television screens all over the country as players in the Discovery Channel show that focuses on a handful of people trying to suck gold from the bottom of the ocean just outside of Nome.

That most of the "Bering Sea Gold" flotilla appears unregistered has been noticed. "We got a ton of calls," said Mike Folkerts, the boating safety officer of the U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska. "So did (Alaska State) Troopers."

A response is planned.

"We're going up there," Folkerts said. "We've already got plans in the works. It's a disaster waiting to happen. They're building junk."

Folkerts noted some of the "dredges" look ticky-tacky enough that legitimate questions could be raised as to whether they're safe to be on the water. But, that said, "they're purpose built. We're probably going to let them go out there" if they're not in danger of immediately sinking.

The dredges won't, however, be allowed to continue without meeting minimum registration and safety requirements -- visible numbers, personal flotation devices for everyone on board, visual distress signals of some sort, some kind of sound-making device, and a fire extinguisher on the boats with any sort of enclosed compartment.

Alaska Officials Prepare For 'Bering Sea Gold' Rush In Nome This Summer | Alaska Dispatch

[Dakster]

US Coast Guard and State of Alaska just found their own gold mine... In the fines that will be handed out...

[Moose Whisperer]

That most of the "Bering Sea Gold" flotilla appears unregistered has been noticed. "We got a ton of calls," said Mike Folkerts

I'll bet I can guess who at least one of those calls came from!