An agreement was signed last November by a large Soviet gold mining association and an Alaska company to combine mining technology developed on both sides of the Bering Straits. Severovostokzoloto of the USSR and Bering Straits Trading Co. of Anchorage — partners of the joint venture SVZAL — will market this technology in the Soviet Union and North America. Daniel Fondell, Anchorage- based deputy general director of SVZAL, says the Soviets have specialized techniques for large-scale placer operations and more advanced permafrost technology. “We have more extensive automation technology and a different management style that interests them,” he adds.
“Through SVZAL we can combine the best aspects of our distinctive technologies,” says Mikhail Kazimirov, a Magadan miner who is general director of the joint venture. “Together, we can assist in developing safer and more efficient mines in both countries.”
Severovostokzoloto — Russian for “Northeast Gold” — is a Magadan-based association of 15 mining districts throughout a region the size of Alaska. It also operates several technical institutes and a design and engineering institute.
Bering Straits Trading Co. is owned by Bering Straits Native Corp. of Nome, and Ronald Sheardown, an Anchorage-based mining consultant.
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