IDdesertman 330 Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 (edited) Hey guys, I thought these would be worth sharing. I while back I had a lady email me saying that she had boxes and boxes of mining pictures on 35mm slides, several hundred pics in total. She was going to throw them away because she didn't know what to do with them. Luckily she contacted me and asked if I wanted them. Heck yes I do! The pics were taken by her late father, Charles Romanowitz who he worked for the Yuba Dredge Company from 1941 through the mid 1960s. He traveled around to various goldfield around the world. I've got to sort through them and transfer them to digital. There are hundred of pictures, as far as I know they haven't been seen by anyone for decades. Most of the pics from California and Alaska, but also some from Korea, Russia, Indonesia, and the Panama Canal. For a mining nerd like me these are pure gold. Lots of the pics show the internal workings of the dredges, stuff that you don't see very often. I'll share a few here as if people are interested... Edited April 29, 2018 by IDdesertman 10 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nugget108 1,779 Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Thanks for sharing. Great pictures for sure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Tom 1,119 Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Heck yeah! Old Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TomH 2,881 Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Cool! Yes, keep showing them Tom H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Au Seeker 3,185 Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Absolutely, would love to see them all!! It would be great if you know where each or any of the photos are from if you could post that as well!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IDdesertman 330 Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 (edited) Here are a few more.. all of these so far are labeled "Yuba Mining Co. Dredge #129" Good News Bay, Alaska. Another note on this box says "First designed for clean stream gravels, later extreme clay loads". From what I could find is would have been a platinum dredging operation. Some seriously remote country! Good News Bay, Alaska (link to map) Edited April 30, 2018 by IDdesertman 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Saul R W 741 Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 You betcha I want to see more. Old photos of that quality are a real treasure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
devilishjim 162 Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Love it thanks for posting Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chrisski 870 Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Imagine the fun and adventure of setting that rig up in that remote area. Thanks for the pics. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Saul R W 741 Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Imagine being a day or two before the start of the season, and dropping a crucial bolt or lynchpin overboard, with the nearest replacement in Seattle. Such hiccups occurred with unfortunate regularity (still do, when doing any sort of work in the bush). A rudimentary onboard machine shop, and a man to run it, was critical. There must have been some amazingly creative fellows working on those dredges. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LipCa 357 Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Thanks for the pictures... We used to have a bucket line dredge here near Callahan. (uncle Ron may remember it?) They dismantled it 40? years ago and I think it went to S. America Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IDdesertman 330 Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 (edited) Another pic from Good News Bay, AK. Men inspecting the "working end" of the dredge. Edited April 30, 2018 by IDdesertman 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chrisski 870 Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 Honestly would like to see a coffee table book entitled, "Yuba Dredge Company." With the pics. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IDdesertman 330 Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LipCa 357 Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Look at the tailings shoot out of the end of that conveyor.... It has to be moving really fast!! 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IDdesertman 330 Posted May 3, 2018 Author Share Posted May 3, 2018 Here's one last one from Good News Bay. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Tom 1,119 Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 I wonder if the workers slept on that thing while it was working. With all that yelling, maneuvering, bumping and repositioning going on it was most likely like being on a military ship at sea. I suppose one gets used to it but it was no walk in the park. Old Tom 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
homefire 2,581 Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 1 hour ago, Old Tom said: I wonder if the workers slept on that thing while it was working. With all that yelling, maneuvering, bumping and repositioning going on it was most likely like being on a military ship at sea. I suppose one gets used to it but it was no walk in the park. Old Tom LOL, I bet after a days work on the thing you could sleep anyplace they could hang you on the wall by your shirt collar ! 2 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Micro Nugget 770 Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Yup, those slides are "nuggets" in themselves. Great post; great comments! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GeoJack 838 Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 I have one classifier screen from the dredge that was on the Merced River in Snelling, CA. 3/4 steel with 1/2" holes. Planning to set it on end and get glass marbles to put in the holes for the morning sun to illuminate. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IDdesertman 330 Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 Here's a few pictures from a dredge in Bear Valley, Idaho. From what I could find, I believe this one operated for just a few years from '56 to '59, and the primary minerals being mined here were Niobium, Tantalum, and Uranium. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Au Seeker 3,185 Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 3 hours ago, IDdesertman said: Here's a few pictures from a dredge in Bear Valley, Idaho. From what I could find, I believe this one operated for just a few years from '56 to '59, and the primary minerals being mined here were Niobium, Tantalum, and Uranium. I know that most if not all of these big dredges were powered by electricity, but I just assumed that they all had generators onboard, this one seems to had been hardwired. I wonder if they named these dredges since they floated like ships? 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Saul R W 741 Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 2 hours ago, Au Seeker said: I know that most if not all of these big dredges were powered by electricity, but I just assumed that they all had generators onboard, this one seems to had been hardwired. I wonder if they named these dredges since they floated like ships? I guess they'd move a few hundred feet, and then plug in at the next power pole, or in some cases plug into a portable power plant onshore? What amazing contraptions. I always get the feeling that the blueprints were drawn up on the backs of paper bar napkins after the 11th or 12th tequila of the night. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Morlock 1,760 Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 8 hours ago, IDdesertman said: Here's a few pictures from a dredge in Bear Valley, Idaho. From what I could find, I believe this one operated for just a few years from '56 to '59, and the primary minerals being mined here were Niobium, Tantalum, and Uranium. I wonder how you would set up it up to dredge for ores of nobium, uranium and tantalum. Those ores aren't particularly heavy compared to gold. Seems you'd have modify the process in order to capture those ores as opposed to gold. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Saul R W 741 Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Scroll down to the first several lengthier paragraphs in the below link, and there's information on some of the Bear Valley and Long Valley dredges. The government apparently helped convert several old gold dredges to recover monazite and rare earth metals. It was an interesting era of modern mining history. http://www.akmining.biz/forums/archive/index.php/t-8641765.html?s=d3f0b21da285918b5537d024d8d6b0fe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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