How Gold Mining Operations Have Changed Over Time In The Klondike

Klondike Gold Rush

Aug 16, 1896

The biggest gold rush takes place in Canada. The gold rush first starts in bonanza creek and then spreads outwards. More then 100000 prospectors set out to find gold of whom only 4000 finally arrive. Prospectors have to cross treacherous mountains and take very difficult routes like the chilkoot pass. Permafrost limits many from getting rich as it is a thick frozen layer of mud that has to be dug in order to reveal gold ich gravel.

Panning

Aug 20, 1896

Panning is one of the simplest ways of sepreating gold this was the first method to be used to find gold in the fraser river prospectors gatherd pay dirt from river banks and use pans to sepreate gold by using a sloshing motion causing gold to sink since it is a heavier element then dirt and sands. This way of extracting gold was very easy but paid very little.

Thawing With Steam

Dec 6, 1897

To get down to gravel steam was used to melt the permafrost so gold rich pay could be sluiced and collected. This method of getting to the pay needed a continues fire running to boil the water therefore proveing diffiuclt.

Rocker Box

Dec 31, 1897

Rocker boxes are very common during this time. Miners use a rocking motion to seprate gold from the rock and and then water washed the gold into a sluice box where the gold got caught since of its weight and the remining sludge got washed out. This method is very similar to modern wash plants

Sluices On a Hillside

Jul 13, 1898

Hillside sluices were used during this time period gold rich pay was dumped into the top of the sluice and water was sprayed on top gravity brought the sludge that was left to the bottom of the cliff and gold got caught between the rifiles and could later be extracted

Water Jets

Mar 3, 1899

Hydraulic methods of mining are starting to be used. Large water jets wash down hill sides then the sludge can be moved and gold can be sepreated with sluices.

Explosive Mining

Dec 10, 1899

During this time some miners used explosives to remove the permafrost to get down to pay dirt. This way of getting to the pay dirt was very expensive and therfore was not practical. The gold from the Klondike is found in dirt not hard rock making the uses for explosives impractical.

Mine Shaft Mining

Mar 3, 1901

Mine Shaft mining was mainly used in the winter since much of the klondike was frozen at the time. Mine Shaft mining invloved steam to thaw out the frozen gravel and then a way of hoisting up the pay dirt. Later this dirt could be seprated into gold and waste. This method of mining required more the 5 people to work and generaly involved a lot of hard labour to get down to pay gravel.

Dredge

Jul 22, 1913

Dredges are used from 1913 to the 1960 the produce much of the gold that was found in the gold rush they could do the work of 2400 people. They used buckets to haul pay up to the traumel which has holes and a fast spray of water removed the gold from the rocks and fell down to the sluices where it got caught. Dredges could be used for most of the season they floated on a lake and moved right and left to pick up the gravel.

Wash plants

May 4, 1966

Wash plants are used to remove gold similar to rocker box. They take gold rich gravel and use a shaking motion to seprate gold from the rocks and run them through sluices where to gold get caught. This method of gold mining required many people to work and was fully automated. Many dozers and excavators were needed to remove the perma frost to get down to the pay dirt. The way of mining could yeild from 250 to 30 onces depending on the size of the wash plant.