Edmonton’s placer miners don’t gauge success by profit

In Alberta, the 30-member Edmonton Gold Prospectors Association (EGPA) is sustaining a forgotten chapter in Canadian mining history — placer mining in a province where “minerals” means oil, and gold is usually of the black variety.

Somehow it seems appropriate that this city which celebrates Klondike Days in remembrance of the Yukon gold rush, calls itself home to these modern-day men who still moil for gold.

While some modern mining companies measure their wealth by the billions of dollars, the EGPA measures its wealth by the volume of laughter, length of exaggerated miners’ yarns, and long-lasting friendships developed from a good day of sluicing on the North Saskatchewan River.

No one makes his fortune from the few hundred dollars in gold dust that some members have managed to mine along the river’s banks, as it meanders through downtown Edmonton.

That’s obvious from the fact that in Alberta, the first ounce of gold is free. After that, the government takes a 10% royalty. No one has ever claimed more than an ounce in the history of the province. But that doesn’t deter this group, whose members come from every walk of life.

Ken McCormick, 72, a power engineer retired from the federal government, is an active member. And he has had his share of ribbing about his unorthodox retirement hobby.

“My wife thinks I’m crazy,” he says, “but she loves playing bingo.” He gets bored to death with bingo, not to mention the smoky confines. So they go their separate ways — she to the bingo hall, he to the riverbank. McCormick has the sort of characteristics one might expect in a dedicated placer miner of bygone days: an innovator, an inquisitive mind and talent. McCormick is successful at placer mining because he works at it. He began his relationship with the EGPA about five years ago when he bumped into association members while panning in the North Saskatchewan. Since then, he’s caught the bug, and fellow members have eagerly offered him advice on sluicing methods. He learned early on that there is no textbook method to sluicing.

The objective is to shovel gravel from the river bank into a series of sieves, with an absorbent material at the end to trap “gold colors,” tiny flakes of gold that combined can

add up to a sizable amount. Water is used to convey the gravel from sieve to sieve. Most of the gold is 40 mesh, which means it is trapped in sieves with holes slightly smaller than one-fortieth of an inch. It

takes about 40,000 of the

40-mesh “gold colors” to make one troy ounce.

During his five years of placer mining, McCormick has realized practically no income. He estimates he has $200-300 tied up in black sand. But he still finds great pleasure in seeking out the precious metal. He realizes the alternative is sitting in a smoky bingo hall.