Fairbanks, Alaska – In the race against time and nature, gold miner Parker Schnabel, aged 28, is grappling with significant hurdles at his Alaskan gold claim. With less than a couple of months left in the mining season, Schnabel is under immense pressure to make his new Alaskan mine profitable while simultaneously managing another operation in the Yukon.
Initially, Schnabel’s crew in Alaska began extracting gold from Oldtimer tailings, which are remnants from earlier mining efforts. These tailings, located in the drift cut of the claim, offered a moderate yield but were merely a stepping stone toward the more lucrative zones that had been previously identified through drilling. These areas promised a yield five times greater than those Schnabel’s team was working in the Yukon.
The primary focus for Schnabel’s team has been the Wolf Cut, a 4-acre area with an estimated gold streak that Parker hopes could yield thousands of ounces this season. However, the team’s ambitious plan to dig 30 feet down to bedrock is severely threatened by environmental challenges.
As they excavated, they encountered thawing permafrost that allowed water from an adjacent old dredge pond to seep through, flooding the mining cut. This unexpected influx of water has turned the site muddy and unmanageable, bringing operations near a halt. Despite proactive measures, including the installation of a large pump to remove water, the situation deteriorated overnight when the pump system failed, submerging the equipment under four feet of water.
In response to the disaster, the team employed creative measures, such as using a kayak to reach and retrieve the submerged pump. Foreman Mark Fors led efforts to salvage and repair the pump, improvising a filter system to prevent future clogs from debris.
