Alaskan geologist Carol Huber inspects traditional
gold-mining equipment in Alexandra this week. Photo by
Rosie Manins.
Despite being on opposite sides of the world, Alaska and
Alexandra have more in common than most people realise,
visiting geologist Carol Huber says.
Ms Huber, of Anchorage, Alaska, has just spent two weeks
examining historic mining sites and geological formations
throughout Central Otago from a base in Alexandra.
As editor of the Alaska Miner, she plans to publish some of
her findings in the Alaska Miners Association journal.
Of particular interest were the similarities between early
Alaskan mining and that undertaken throughout Otago during
the gold rush, she said.
"It is interesting to see how alike we are, and yet how many
differences there are at the same time.
"I had no idea, and I've found it fascinating," she said.
Ms Huber arrived in New Zealand in mid-February and spent two
weeks in the North Island before venturing south.
A planned tramping trip in the Milford Sound area was
cancelled due to injury, and instead Ms Huber's initial week
in Central Otago became two weeks.
While in the district, she stayed with Alaska Miners
Association members Jan and Budd Hyndman, of Alexandra.
The experienced miners took Ms Huber to see old gold
tailings, diggings, and claim sites between Cromwell and
Patearoa.
St Bathans and its Blue Lake were highlights, Ms Huber said.
"The diggings there were incredible.
"I would like to come back, because there are still some
things I have yet to see," she said.
Ms Huber said the hydraulic mining methods used in Central
Otago were almost identical to the techniques employed by
gold-miners in Alaska.
The district's rock and gravels were also similar, she said.
"All the basement rock here, like schist, is similar to the
environment in Alaska, although it is in wider concentration
here.
"There are also unique aspects of this area, including some
of the other equipment used to mine and some of the ore
deposits," she said.
With gold prices at a premium, Ms Huber said it was
interesting to see modern mining activity in Otago, as things
were also "gearing up" in Alaska.
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