GSN Membership Meeting, Reno – October 16, 2020. Fred Holabird, Nome Offshore Gold Deposit

Description

Contact: GSNVDMC@gmail.com

Please join us for the GSN’s October Membership Meeting this Friday, October 16th! Zoom login credentials can be found after the abstract below. The speaker is Fred Holabird and he will be talking about the Nome Offshore Gold Deposit.

Peter O’Byrne is the GSN Digital Media Chairman and will be hosting the meeting on Zoom along with GSN President, Mary Stollenwerk.

 

GSN Virtual Talk: Friday, October 16, 2020

at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time (opens at 6:45 p.m.)

(Zoom login information can be found below.)

Speaker: Fred Holabird, SME

Title: “Nome Offshore Gold Deposit May Represent the Future of Mining”

 Abstract:

Offshore placer gold deposits at Nome, Alaska may represent a new frontier for future exploration and mining of previously unknown gold deposits. Operations in offshore marine mining have significant technological challenges; however, professional marine mining operators at Nome are using new techniques and technology to exploit this new world of marine mining.

At Nome, Placer Marine Mining Co. (PMMC) owns mineral rights to 16,579 acres of offshore gold leases, representing approximately 65% of the total offshore gold leases let to date by the State of Alaska. These properties range from depths of 25 feet to ~70 feet covering an area approximately three miles wide by ten miles long.  Here, near shore gold leases and areas in the public domain are operated by small miners, such as those seen on “Bering Sea Gold.”

Prior leaseholder WestGold mined several small sections of the leases from 1987-1990 totaling about 550 acres using the BIMA bucket-line dredge.  Created in Singapore in 1978-1979 to mine tin ore from the seas off Indonesia, the dredge was not constructed to withstand Alaska waters and broke down permanently after four seasons.  Reports of recovered gold approximate 188,000 ounces.

Anglo Ashanti and WestGold spent approximately $25 million evaluating portions of the property—with more than 3,500 drill holes— developing resources on approximately 22% of the entire property.  Exploration efforts centered on understanding a complex geologic past involving transgressive and regressive erosional sequences emplaced over the top of a long-term eroding gold source. This, in turn, was covered subsequently by at least two periods of glaciation.

Several large blocks were chosen to further investigate geologic complexities and ore controls. More detailed exploration and development work inside these blocks helped bring understanding to ore controls and grades, delineating potentially minable sections. Development drilling delineated numerous high-grade zones with approximately 200,000 ounces of drill proven resource. It also indicated an immediate target of 1,000,000 ounces within the target zones and an on-property global target of 6 million ounces.

Marine mining at Nome can only take place when the ice shield is gone—approximately June 1 to November 15. During that period, the turbidity is very high and the crab and fish are not in this part of the Bering Sea. Normal environmental restrictions apply; however, permit time is short—less than one year. A small operation can be had for as little as $8 million.  The smallest current operator on these leases operates an underwater ROV mining device with an 18 inch piping system in 60 feet of water. This operation mines at a rate of about 20 cubic yards per hour over about three months and has consistently produced about $5 million per year—about four times the best operator on the Bering Sea Gold program.

PMMC is seeking mining partners who understand bulk marine aggregate mining concepts with gold as a byproduct.  This presentation will be the first time exploration data has been released publicly.

GSN Office: 775-323-3500

Email: gsn@gsnv.org

Peter O’Byrne, GSN Digital Media Chair / meeting host

Email: GSNVDMC@gmail.com

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GSN VIRTUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

October 16, 2020

Digital Media Chair is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: GSN Membership Meeting, Reno – Fred Holabird, SME

Time: Oct 16, 2020 6:45 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89327898081?pwd=ZFhLTnFjMVlWVlNCMllsbXRlOEcxdz09

Meeting ID: 893 2789 8081

Passcode: 230307

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Meeting ID: 893 2789 8081

Passcode: 230307

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