The Blue Ribbon Mine-"Potato Patch"

Here are a couple of views of the operations at the 'Potato Patch.' You can see the settling and recycle ponds in this picture. The process water is 100% recycle, and we have zero discharge from the mine. We even have a third pond, that is not visible in this photo, to catch any other runoff that may be muddy. When we are finished, we will reclaim the land, by respreading the topsoil and planting native vegetation. We have conducted experiments to determine the most effective plants for rapid recovery and maximum wildlife habitat potential, and plan to use that information in our reclamation efforts. And we reclaim lands that others before us have disturbed.

The orange and white machine is a Drott 35 D excavator, and it feeds a 40" diameter by 26' long trommel plant. For scale look at the people standing on the dike between the ponds. The valley in the upper right of the photo is Ruby Gulch, of the infamous "Murders of Ruby Gulch" mystery.

Next, we see an example of the Tertiary age conglomerate. Look closely, and you can see the remnants of pebbles. They are now so weathered and decayed that only the hard quartz pebbles and boulders remain somewhat intact in a clayey, sometimes a bit sandy, gold-bearing matrix. In the center right you can see a rock hammer for scale. (Below the red spot). Pieces of gold in excess of one ounce have been found in this formation at this location, along with bright, crystalline and wire gold, and gold-quartz vein fragments with visible gold. This formation, called the 'Kenai Formation', rests upon a late Jurassic to early Cretaceous age argillite and shale, which contains numerous gold-bearing quartz veins.

The red color probably represents the old water level, as there is little pyrite to be found in that section. The blue section below the red, while essentially the same material, contains unoxidized pyrite.