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No gold production this short week as the focus was on “dead work”. Ironically it is the “dead work” that keeps us alive. Things like new lagging on the 800 level, the ever present task of keeping the mine phones working, making sure the second exit is safe etc.
Scoop heard something about a new target at the Board of Directors meeting yesterday. Management is excited, but scoop doesn’t know how much is ok to reveal, so will leave that for another day.
We are having an incredibly mild November. If this is global warming bring it on! We are sure old man winter will catch up with us.
The crew would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
If you have a question as to
the combustible properties of
the wooden shelves in the shop
near the portal. go to some
govt auction and buy some steel
shelves if they are cheap enough or go to the upper shop
and bring some steel shelves
down if you have them there.
good luck. martinScoop got side tracked. Sorry, friends.
When a mine has an issue and is unsure whether it violates a federal MSHA regulation, the owner can ask for an inspection. No citations will be given, It is a courtesy visit. Mike asked for an inspection for a new self-contained shop that is less than 100 feet from the Sixteen to One portal. A regulation is in existence that combustion able stuff must be 100 feet from the mine access because smoke could go into the underground workings and threaten the safety of the miners.
This shop has some wooden shelves inside. The outside is all metal, like a box car. MSHA graciously sent an inspector to Alleghany today to have a look at the situation. The mine has several ways to satisfy the regulation. But is it required? First remedy is paint the wood with fire retardant paint. This is acceptable and would cost a couple of hundred dollars…the paint is expensive. It could put in a sprinkler system with those little sprinkler heads that go off at a certain temperature. This would cost less than paint but the guys have had problems with this method due to water pipes freezing.
It is very unlikely that the volume of wood in the shop would impact the miners, let alone hurt them. It is a judgment call that the inspector felt he was not qualified to make. Who is? What are the criteria for either the enforcers or the miners to sway true with an opinion? Judgment is the characteristic that is essential to sound enforcement of regulations. Therefore something must be done to alleviate perhaps a non-problem.
Mike was most gracious with the inspector, a new ex surface miner who has been qualified as an inspector for a year and a half. Mike offered the example that even water and oxygen are toxic (harmful) in certain amounts. It is not the substances but the dosage that is the crucial factor in determining harm.
Scoop has never been in one of America’s coalmines but would be very nervous about his safety. The hard rock mines of Alleghany may make an unfamiliar inspector nervous to the point of writing citations for truly non-concerns. Does this in turn create a violation of a federal regulation and subsequent financial penalties?
Scoop thinks they will just paint the shelves or maybe do both.
California’s oldest weekly newspaper makes its home in Downieville, the county seat of Sierra County. Each week on the back page is a slice of history, sometimes 100 years ago, sometimes less. Last week carried a story from the Saturday October 27, 1906 edition. The headline in big bold print said, “$100,000 In Three Blasts.”
Scoop knows that $100,000 in 1906 was about 5,000 ounces (gold sold for $20.67 an ounce). Here’s is the short article:
“The above is the latest record for the Tightner mines in Alleghany in the southern part of the county. The above amount was taken out last Tuesday. We would like to hear from other sections of the world for a better record.”
Well, there is no record challenging this production. On December 17, 1993, the greatest recorded single day production of 2,500 ounces was blasted from the 1330 stope of the Sixteen to One for a record amount of $1,000,000 (gold spot was $450 an ounce).
MSHA arrived for its quarterly inspection yesterday. Still inspecting today. More gold was sacked and brought to headquarters on Monday and Tuesday from the last round. After the blast, the vein material spread over an area about 600 square feet, so it takes time to locate and gather the high-grade gold. The other lower heading in the same ore zone showed some worthwhile color yesterday. Patience with this target is paying off. Two headings in gold always boost morale. As the physical size of promising vein diminishes, its future relevance as coughing up huge is shortened. Scoop believes that as rounds continue, the chances for a multi thousand ounce day diminishes; Ian and Mike may not see it that way, but no one ever knows until an area is abandoned.
Zero citations from the recent OSHA inspection.
Most of the crew is in a first aid class this morning.
A little gold came up yesterday. Nothing to brag about but nobody is complaining either.
Mike and Ian are at the Empire Mine today. The job is almost done.
Cool nights and warm afternoons. Lovely fall weather. A little rain would be welcome to knock down the fire danger.
Water has been the big issue for the operation. We know the 58 hp pump grounded out, hauled it to the surface from the 1500 foot level and transported it to a repair shop for servicing ($5,550). Although a costly surprise, the major issue has been an ongoing loss of water to the underground. Miners use water in their drilling process to both clean out the holes and keep the drill dust at a minimum. Without water, they cannot drill and progress stops.
Parts of the complex water transfer system are over sixty years old. The rest is about twenty-three years old and has been repaired many many times. Water is flowing again but not without untimely delays in production. Instead of mining, the crew could be seen dragging hundreds of feet of poly pipe up and down the steep terrain and under the main roads of town. The Company owns the water rights of the “Ram Springs” since 1919. Water is an asset that does not show up on its balance sheet.
I’m puzzled. 24 pounds, $7500? is that right?
The Company developed a method of accounting its production fourteen years ago. Gold (high-grade, which is sacked and sealed with custom numbered tags at the face) is in an ore form or in a quartz matrix. The sacks from the day’s rounds, sometimes numbering in the teens, are brought to the office, where they are weighed and inventoried as gross pounds. Usually, David or Mike will examine one or more of the sacks to “estimate” the ounces of gold at .999 fine, which is also part of the daily inventory. This takes some mental calculations, which has become routine. The first estimate grades the ounces per pound according to how it looks and feels. Doesn’t sound too scientific, but this crew is pretty sharp as further analysis develops. The next calculation takes that estimate and transforms it from the natural 83 to 86 percent “gold” found at the Sixteen to One mine to .999 fine, which is the fineness that is quoted daily as “spot”. Now a dollar figure can be reckoned.
The miners usually make an estimate at the face, as they bag the quartz and gold. Ian is particularly good at this (he always is optimistic but will understated the amount as a precaution). David has another sophisticated tool at his disposal, the old Archimedes discovery about specific gravity in his bath tub). Weigh it dry, weigh it wet and calculate the disparity of the specific gravity. Because there may be other metal in the ore that has a higher specific gravity than quartz but a lower specific gravity than gold (19.3) another estimate must be made to predict just how much .999 gold came from the mine that day. Aren’t you glad you asked, Dick?
It is not over yet. How did 24 pounds get to five or so ounces and eventually to $7500? Slab is sold per ounce at the gross weight of the quartz and gold. The ore changes as it proceeds through its evolution to become a gem stone in the rarest and most precious gem stone mined in the world. Some turns to saw dust and some will be melted to pour dore bars.
The quality of the quartz is more of a factor in establishing a market price than the gold. This subject of quality and determining its market price will wait for another day to explain. The ore that was mined this week is in the $1000 to $1400 per ounce range. Thus, the market value of the recent production is estimated at $7500 to $10, 000. Hope this answers your question.
Unfortunately the miners did not have gold in the face when they blasted and the material was blown up. We will get some small slabs out of it.
Gold content 5 ounces.Gold. Yesterday’s production weighted in at 24 pounds gross. By orders the crew is drilling and blasting to recover large pieces of quartz. This high-grade came from the left rib of a wing raise. About fifteen feet of virgin quartz vein remains before work will break into an open level. Gold appears possible because a good gold showing exists at both sides of the small remaining target. The slab revenue estimate is $7500.
The 58-horse power pump died over the weekend. One leg went to ground. The pump was removed from the mine and transported to an electrical motor repair shop in Auburn. No word on the damages, but this same pump was rebuilt recently at a cost of $5,000.
The ATF inspection went well with no violations.
Already two weeks since the last “Clip”. A safety meeting was held at the mine site this morning. The crew is larger than its been in awhile numbering eleven.
The mine phones need constant attention as the harsh environment of the mine reeks havoc on anything electronic. The entire crew spends time assuring that thier phones do work. There is a phone at each heading and at various stations, the outside shops and even the Corporate Office. This is one of the most essential safety devices for the miners. Being able to communicate with each other and the outside world and visa versa is paramount to safety.
Gold from the rib on the 950 has been sparse. A little still remains and is being approached from below with a new heading. We have two active headings at this time. One was muckbound yesterday but should be ready for blasting tomorrow.
ATF is expected on Monday for an annual inspection of the powder magazines.
PG&E contractors require constant access to the minesite so they can inspect and re-inspect their poles. Seems putting the lines underground might save them a lot of money in the long run.
Missy the office cat looks pathetic. We never did find out what was wrong with her. The vet said it is most likely some form of cancer. WE are giving her food that she tolerates and keeping her comfy but that is about all we can do for her.
Yellow Dog had been keeping the other stray cats away which is a good thing for Missy.
The apples are getting ripe. Where did the summer go???
The miners are through with extending their headings past the gold along the ribs or the projected paths based on actual gold finds above and below their workplaces. In other words the block of vein is sufficiently exposed to attack the most probable areas of gold.
In the past the company would set about to stope favorable or suspected blocks. Labor was much cheaper and most of the quartz was sent to the mill. The mill had two different functions. It produced gold in a saleable form, and it was a tool for exploration. Many times the mill foreman was alerted to a pocket that the miners missed, ignored or hoped to steal later. Lloyd Smith was mill foreman in the 1930’s. He told how sometimes the mill would clog up because of unexpected high grade. The mill had to shut down to clean the equipment so normal recovery could take place. Lloyd would call Dick Bennett or whoever was in charge, so word would get back to the underground miners. The mill men hated when heavy gold would interrupt the flow (probably woke them up on the night shift). Lloyd would say, “Get them miners to sack that high grade stuff and keep it out of my mill rock!”
Since 1992, the Sixteen to One miners have wondered what the old timers would think if they saw the metal detectors. Metal detectors have dramatically changed the company’s approach to milling as well as exploration, development and production.
Sacks of high grade were inventoried the past two days. No signs of relief or big smiles so it is probably not significant. Nevertheless any sack is better than no sacks. Ian has enough information now to feel comfortable in attacking the gold. Mike told him to go get it. It was December 17, 1993 when the crew drilled, blasted and sacked 2500 ounces in one shift. With today’s demand for quartz and gold that amount could gross $3 million or more. Wish them luck and good fortune in this current mining target. If you are so inclined, offer up a prayer or two. The success of finding gold at the Sixteen spreads to many people as well as the local communities.
I been gone for some time, but Ill bet it still fun goin to the face. The reading says gold. Is it?
Three rounds yesterday. Two round today. Expecting three rounds tomorrow. Gold anytime or maybe never. But… the ground still looks like pay day country.
Alleghany Days scheduled for Saturday. New rocks have been hauled to Main Street for the drilling contest and muck has been dumped nearby. Tents are going up and the weed eaters have been humming.
Many of the miners have chosen to attend the celebration of life for Warren Johnson. If you know nothing about his sad death, check the NEWS section of the site.
This is a very sad day for the entire crew. Last night on his way home one of our young miners, Warren Johnson veered into the opposite lane on a curve near North San Juan and hit a box truck. He was flown out in a helicopter but did not make it. We are mourning the death of a good man. He was only 19 years old. Warren had a sense of humor beyond his years. His work ethic was impeccable. He had a great enthusiasm for learning to be a miner.
The crew went home. Nobody can think straight.
Our deepest sympathy is with his family and best friend Matt who started work here the same day Warren did. Matt shares the same work ethic.
Warren you are greatly missed.
At this very moment there is a mock medical emergency-taking place underground at the Sixteen. The crew does not know it is not a real emergency. A miner has broken his leg near the Tightner Shaft. Mine phones are used to bring the information up the chain of command. Ian is acting as an invisible person and is monitoring the evacuation of the injured miner.
After stabilizing the victim, a call is placed to the surface. Kyle at the office (or whomever is there) directs the next call for help. It could be an ambulance or a helicopter. Right now she is waiting to learn the severity and nature of the miners condition.
How many blue collar companies or operations have regular drills such as the ones that are performed on a regular basis in all the mines in America? This is one reason why the mining profession, while dangerous has such an exemplary safety record compared with other dangerous occupations.
The pressure is on for getting slab to customers throughout the United States. That means: virgin gold from the heading is the goal. Yesterday’s round showed gold (tiny specks) in the right hand rib. Gold was showing in the left rib earlier. Knowing the pressure mounts each day to produce slab material the miners wanted to turn up dip on the gold. Ian knows the goal and chose to advance a couple of more rounds ahead. Go figure.
Three young men have completed their forty-hour training required to begin an underground experience as a hard rock gold miner at the Sixteen to One. Over the years a large number of young men have begun their mining careers at the mine. If the work fits the personality, nothing inhibits a young man from ascending his role (and compensation) as a miner. Good luck fellows.
A little gold was brought to the office from yesterday’s round. The company has invested six weeks of tunneling under the gold that shows up dip. David and Mike want big pieces from the miners. The slab market is short supply. Maybe the crew will be all smiles in a week or so.
MSHA stopped by this week for one of its unannounced quarterly inspections. Ian is pleased although he was issued five citations. None were serious or substantial. It has been a long going concern of the crew that minor oversights were cited as serious life threatening when just the opposite is true. Mike has taken issue with many of the citations because of this. One fire extinguisher was found to be outdated (there must be a hundred fire extinguishers at the mine). An electrical box in an out-of the-way place had no cover plate (this should not happen but it does.) The crew imagines a Cornish metal loving rat steals them but the inspector wasn’t buying it.
The crew is getting two rounds a shift in the headings. Spirits were down early this morning because the vein was pinching. Yesterday’s round in the wing raise (very flat) was mucked and the vein is widening. This wing raise runs under the known gold showings and is designed to open the area up for “raising” into the gold.
Hot and humid in Alleghany but nothing like the valley.
As of Monday we have a crew underground! A small crew remains at the Empire Mine.
This morning a Mine Engineering Proffessor and two students from the University of Utah visited the minesite to do a safety survey. Tomorrow morning they will join the miners at our regular Safety Meeting and give a presentation of their findings. Sixteen to One volunteered to participate in the program which is funded by a grant from the Department of Labor(?).
Hope everybody is as cool as the underground.Most of the crew took Monday off for a long fourth of July weekend. And most of the crew is still at the Empire Mine. Word is they will be back by the end of next weeek.
A small crew is at the Sixteen to One getting things ready to start mining again.The mine phone line to the Corporate office broke over the winter. Kevin got it repaired yesterday and it is working again. This allows direct communication between the Corporate office and the underground. Mine phones are located at each active heading and at various underground stations as well as the outside shop.
An OSHA inspector was here yesterday. He gave a few suggestions but as far as we know no citations were issued.
A first aid class for the crew has been scheduled for August 2nd. Ian Haley’s hoistman physical is scheduled for July 11th. Fire extinguishers have been inspected as well as ground conditions, the second exit and the fan. This gives you an idea of some of the compliance issues that have to be taken care of on a regular basis.
The shareholder’s meeting went well. 181 shareholders and guests attended. It was the hottest day of the year. Luckily the weather has cooled a bit since then.
Two file boxes of archives on the Gold Crown Mine which was purchased by the Sixteen to One last year arrived via UPS yesterday. Thanks Tony!
This was the best stockholders meeting I have ever attended. My grandfather came to Alleghany in 1919 and worked many mines in the area including the 16to1. My father went through 8th grade in Alleghany and graduated from Nevada City high school with Joe Sbaffi who ran the Alleghany Supply after purchasing it form the Alpha. Both passed away last year. I had the privilege of touring the 16to1 when I was ten years old in 1963. I did not think it would be possible to show my son the same thing in 2006! Thank you.
FROM WHAT scoop over heard throughout the day, the 95th shareholder meeting, 110 years from its beginning and fifteenth actually shareholder meeting held at the mine site, the meeting was replete with one and all. Much talking went on. Call to order was at 10:30am Business was conducted according to the votes of proxies, which reelected managements recommendations. Michael, at this point, detailed the recent Form 8 SEC filing. Others who spoke were Rae Bell Arbogast, Corporate Secretary, Scott Robertson, Director and Treasurer and Ian Haley, who is known for wearing many hats.
Scoop is pooped from a long June 24. Over two hundred shareholders (fifty or more first timers) withstood scorching heat to board the ride to the portal. The crew was introduced at 11am. And headed for their respective heading for the day. The site was noticeably improved from last year. Scoop listened to shareholder experiences at the mine. There is a following that returns every year. Scoop looked over Kyle’s shoulder one afternoon as she was tallying the proxies. She pulled all the ones with a note to Michael, as he requested. The writings were sincere and quite lovely and tugging. Positive thinking or optimism seem to be influenced from something at the mine, which seeps into shareholders.
Scott spoke with knowledge and respect for his unusual task of financially explaining this gold company. His explanations were clear, but he grabbed or pointed the finger at Mike to answer any points and nuances that concerned him. Scoop looked for Scott’s notes in the trash can near the podium, but bent his pick, finding nothing. Both these men seem to know each other and the business of running the company.
Ian was asked by Mike to tell his story of the gold heading. His talk left no listener in doubt about plans, motives and mining the current pocket. This may be the slowest mined pocket in history but was explained by both guys. Large chunks of quartz with gold add value.
Scoop successfully raided Michael’s trash and found his notes written last night. More another time.
The corporate office was buzzing yesterday as 1,258 pieces of mail were prepared and delivered to the Post Office before the mail went out at 1:30PM. The annual reports and proxies are on their way on time!
If you own shares in street name (in a brokerage account) please be patient with us if you do not get a mailing. Our only access to the street name data is through ADP Proxy Services. We request a list from them, they send a request to all the brokerage houses then they prepare a list from the replies. For some reason not all brokerage houses report to ADP. Essentially we have no way to accurately track the street name shares.
Still no underground crew. Tomorrow all the fire extiguishers will have their annual hydrostat test.
A group from the University of Colorado will be here tomorrow looking for a spot to put a seismometer as part of an earth science project.
The museum was not selected as a recipient of Cutlural Historical Endowment funding. (A grant application was submitted in January) It is a bit of a catch 22 when they want you to show need but at the same time they want to see that you are financially sustainable. UGMM did not score well on sustainability. The other factor that hurt our application is the ratio of our annual budget to the amount of money we asked for. We were asking for ten times our annual budget.
Weather has been cool (not freezing) in Alleghany. The grass is green it looks like spring.
Tell me more about the “Studebaker” comment on May 3rd. True, or a joke? I have 2 of them and can help locate parts…that will give Mike more time for the mine and fighting the bad guys!
Two “clips” in one day. Scoop couldn’t resist sharing with permission:
Rae got a phone call from an excited Sandor Holly recently saying that there are new breakthroughs in imaging technology that with modifications he has figured out could be used to detect gold. He could say no more because of the confidentiality of the technology.
Who is Sandor Holly? For those who don’t know go to “Company” and look under “Previous Directors” and you’ll see why this is exciting!
Yes, Mike does have a few studebakers but no he isn’t working on them. The snow is hard on vehicles parked outside all winter. What Mike needs is an airplane hanger that can withstand snow load to park his cars in.
No more snow in Alleghany. Flowers and trees are blooming. Looks like it will be a good year for apples as long as we don’t have anymore severe weather. Rae has been getting lots of asparagus from her garden the last week or so.
The 1st quarter 10-Q was filed this morning. To get a copy click on “The Company” on our site where you will find a link to the SEC filings.
Things are quiet at the minesite with just two men doing clean-up. The Ford Flatbed has been registered and will be used to take scrap metal for recycling.
Tomorrow the summer tour guides for the museum will be meeting with Rae and Ian for a safety training and to set up a schedule, etc. All of the tour guides with the exception of Rae Bell are experienced miners. (Ray Wittkopp also does tours and while he’s not a miner he does have a lot of underground experience as a geologist). The museum is lucky to have such resources.
PM London Gold – 725.00!
OK Rick Bob…. Scoop has been busy and time does fly.
Only small mounds of snow remain on the North sides of the buildings in Alleghany. The weather has been PERFECT!!!!
A group of seven retired geologists toured the mine with Ray Wittkopp and Rae Bell yesterday. Rae Bell especially enjoyed watching the way they all rubbed their hands along the hanging wall getting a “feel” for the movement that occured long ago creating the smooth surface and the void that was later filled with quartz.
Only two surface workers have been working at the Sixteen to One for the last few weeks and probably for the next three weeks as well. The underground crew is “kicking butt” at the Empire Project trying to help get that wrapped up.
A little gold remains in the face on the 950 level. “Money in the bank”. David is still cutting (although the inventory of cut-rock is getting low) and the slab is sold as fast as he can cut it. Mike made the trip to Orocal yesterday to sell the most recent batch.
The surface crew has been doing clean-up, repairs and road work here in Alleghany.
The completion date for the Empire Mine project has been moved to June 22nd, although we should have our crew back before that.The “bad guys” attorneys have appealed to the 3rd Circuit Court of appeals in Sacramento and it could take as long as a year or more before a court date is set. Paperwork continues back and forth…
Rae has started on the first quarter financials. The SEC filing deadline is May 15th. No preliminary numbers yet, she is waiting for production numbers from David and until inventory is reconciled and the valuation adjustment for gold price is done it is too early to guesstimate figures.
The PM London fix (used to value our inventory) on March 31st was $582. Today it is $673.50!
Kyle has been keeping busy with the phones, bookkeeping, payroll and supply ordering among other things.
We are gearing up for the annual meeting mail-out to shareholders.
A board of directors meeting was held last Friday. Rae missed most of it due to a Fire Dept. call for a medical emergency but she found out Mike can take minutes!
Wow! The foot of snow from Easter up on the ridge seems eons ago, that’s how much 80 degree weather in the valley melts away the memories of the incredible weather of our spring this year.
Scoop-Bob, what’s up? Does Ian still have that twinkle in his eye that suggests tomorrow morning will bring treasures to David’s saws? Is Mike finally revamping a Studibaker (ha-ha-ha! no time for that) and sandwiching himself between the Original Sixteen to One Mine and the project at the Empire? How’s the cat? What’s the next date for adjudication against the non-authorized criminal group of fake district attorneys? (Has the CDAA gotten notice of the decision from the 9th Circuit? Ha-ha-ha, another joke! I’ll bet Lloydes of London has….)
Last we heard about the guys underground, they were concentrating on shooting (chuting?) around the quartz.
Hearts and flowers, once again!
Easter Snow in Alleghany. It snowed a foot yesterday. The sun is breaking through the clouds this morning.
The fire department pagers went off at 6:45 am for a tree down on a garage with live electric wires. The tree is blocking main street above the Post Office. Mondo our PG&E guy in Downieville drove over and shut the power off. He already has the line repaired. The county road crew is getting the 3 foot diameter tree out of the road as I type. It appears the tree landed in the middle of a two car garage and the two vehicles may be OK. Amazingly nobody heard it fall. The tree is completely uprooted.
We now have six men working at the mine.
The miners have not been bringing up gold as they are working around it. No production totals yet. Because the gold is sparse in the quartz the number of ounces is not high. However this is the material that makes good cut rock bringing a much higher return per ounce.
The gold market is above $600 again today. No London Fix since Thursday due to the Easter Holiday.
Rae hasn’t even started on the first quarter financial statements. Better get to it! She spent all day Friday organizing legal papers for Mike and on compliance paperwork.
Mike made the trip to Orocal on Friday to sell slab.
The Empire Mine job got another time extension and should be done by the end of May.
Maybe by then spring will have sprung!
Heavy rain is falling in Alleghany rapidly melting the snow that is on the ground. Lowlands look out.
The mine inspectors were here on Tuesday of last week. Only minor citations were issued and all of them have been abated. The crew was sidetracked from blasting to deal with the inspection but did manage to get a round in Friday. They intentionally blasted to the side of the area where gold is showing in an attempt to break out the jewelry rock without fracturing it. Perhaps today they will bring some up.
Gold Sales has two nice rocks to cut but the big saw is broken. David sent the motor for new bushings two weeks ago and it was sent back via FED EX a week ago. Kyle traced the package Thursday only to find out that Fed Ex subcontracted it out and there is no way to track it. Fed Ex is not the greatest carrier for rural areas. We have had trouble with them time and time again. SO if you are sending us a package we do not recommend using them. UPS or the good old postal service is best.
To the fools planning on coming to Alleghany Saturday the weatherman is predicting snow to 4,000 Friday night and Saturday morning with clearing Saturday.
This fool knows they sometimes get the elevation wrong.
The plows run even on Saturday. If you want to reach me Sat. morning for road conditions try 287-3333 or 287-3540 or my home number.NCTV, channel 11 in the grass valley area, will play a live/taped show about the Sixteen to One mine gold collection on Friday, March 24, at 7pm and Sunday, March 26, at 3pm. The show was recorded in the stations studio last Tuesday evening. It is the first time the 100 piece collection has ever been assembled and filmed.
Gold in the high-grade sacks for David to weigh and cut and gold in the face. Like most pockets in a high-grade gold mine, we won’t know its size until after it is mined. All Ian will say is that it looks good.
What a hot week for Scoop. Heard that Mike was invited to hear Bruce McPherson, California Secretary of State, speak at a noon meeting in Nevada City on Thursday. Bruce and Mike are lifelong friends. There fathers were best friends before the boys were born. This could be Scoop’s big break to move off this web site for a new career with the big boys, so Scoop snuck into the lunch meeting undetected to scoop up a story.
Bruce thanked a few people in the crowd, saving his comment about Mike for last. He warmly praised Mike and Original Sixteen to One in his opening remarks, while Mike turned beet red in embarrassment.Now to the meat of the speech. Seems that California slipped to the bottom of voter issues during the former Secretary’s term. (That guy resigned under a black cloud of fraud. McPherson was appointed by Governor Arnold and as McPherson quipped, “After 200 people turned the appointment down, my cell phone rang.) McPherson had been termed out after two successful trips to both the Assembly and Senate and was involved in personal matters when his phone rang and he heard the distinctive voice of the Governor on the other end of the phone. The audience seemed to really enjoy the stories McPherson told about Governor Schwarzenegger. Maybe Scoop will get an interview, when Arnold checks out the gold mine.
McPherson told the audience about the new electronic voting system and the ten safe guards that has made California the new leader in governments’ efforts to reduce and eliminate voter fraud. His agency is improving the system for the 60,000 military personnel from California to vote. He is working to have the voters who move to a new district not only register easily but their former registration will be automatically canceled within 24 hours. He is sending high school graduates and others in California who turn 18 a positive invitation or solicitation to sign up to vote. He gave examples how each vote truly counts. (George Dukmajian beat Tom Bradley by less than 93,000 votes for governor or just three votes per each district).
McPherson was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the legislature, a rare political event. He is a republican from the liberal and socialist state of Santa Cruz. When the talk was over and McPherson asked for questions, Mike jumped up first and Bruce said, “Oh no, I’m in trouble.” He wasn’t because Mike noticed that his friend never once said he was running for election or gave any indication that his talk was political. McPherson rightly takes pride in his record of political non-biases. So, Mike says, “It is good news to learn that you will be running for Secretary of State. Would you tell us some of the reasons you decided to run and some of the reasons you contemplated for not seeking another term in office?” Isn’t this what friends are for? McPherson had no choice but to do a little campaigning.
Mike went to the local television studio yesterday to do a live discussion that was recorded for a later play date. He was invited to be a guest after the producer and others heard the effects of implementing his drug policy. It turned out with unexpected results but Scoop has the skinny on what Mike planed to tell the business community. The moderator was the president of the United Way. It would be the last of five shows on one specific drug. The prior discussions were not about alcohol, marijuana, or caffeine. The topic was the drug known as “meth”.
He got Rae to find Original Sixteen to One Mine’s historical records of drug testing so he could evaluate it verses his Morning Glory Gold Mine’s current drug policy. Scoop remembers the concerns of the corporate business industry in initiating and implementing drug testing for employees in the early 90’s. Original Sixteen To One pioneered the issue in the hard rock mining industry. It had become a significant concern with American mines in the growing open pit mines in Nevada.
What the producer saw was a business leader who took a path worth repeating for others to hear. What Mike did was accept the invitation for two reasons only and would be willing to relate one about his drug policy evolution on the TV. Scoop wasn’t at the television studio yesterday but found Mikes crumpled notes and papers he wrote for the interview:
A. Began program 1992 or 3…revised 1997; concern about privacy issues; cautioned by directors; never comfortable, therefore never tested.
B. Why delay: (1) unclear if we employed users; trouble if a test was positive. (Early days employer responsible for rehabilitation. (2) Comfort zone with work force…tight group with personal. (3) Competent program to evaluate production, assumed that a user would show up less productive. (4) Number of employees expanded to 60…shrank to 6. (5) First instance of a meth user, his behavior and turmoil. (6) Considered consequences if accident at work; risks of implementation less than rewards or consequences of no enforcement.C. A PROGRAM WITHOUT ENFORCEMENT OFFERS NO PROTECTION TO COMPANY.
There are other words scattered written on both the 1997 revised policy and the 2006 revision in effect, which he brought to Nevada City, but Scoop will wait with anticipation to see if Mike followed his plan when the show airs. If this web site had audio and video, you could see it too.
Four feet of snow on the ground in Alleghany. We had a power outage yesterday and over the weekend.
The sun is peeking out as I type but more snow is expected Thursday and Friday!Snow down to the 2,000 foot elevation today. Chain controls are up South of Grass Valley. That doesn’t happen too often. About two and a half feet on the ground in Alleghany with heavy snow falling.
We hired two men, one experienced miner, one not, they started Monday. We are breaking rock again!
Rae hasn’t comleted the ten-K yet but is getting close. The company shows a loss of $400,000 for 2005 OUCH! The loss translates mostly to a decrease in our gold inventory but also an increase in liabilities. The deadline for the 10-K is March 15th.
The museum is “going for it” this season and will be offering mine tours at 1:00 pm Saturday and Sunday – Memorial Day through Labor Day. Advertising is being stepped up and a shop in Downieville will be promoting the tours.
The shop (Sierra Gold) will also carry 16 to 1 Gold and Jewelry.A dog has joined the ranks of stray animals enjoying 16 to 1 hospitality. Evidently abandoned he lived alone in an empty house scavenging about Alleghany for two years. The office staff recently started putting food out for him regularly and the dog who used to slink away when called now greets people tail wagging. Maybe he’s come out of his shell too far, as he has been chasing cars lately. Bad dog no biscuit!
You got it Dick! (see below)The jewelers actually prefer the slab with less gold and it is sold at a higher price than the $500 per ounce mentioned. The heavy material is a harder sell but it still beats going through the expense of crushing the material, pouring bars, shipping the bars and paying a refinery to refine the gold and sell it for us.
Slab is sold by its gross weight. The percentage of gold varies between 20% and 75% according to weight. Only a fool sells gold below spot. David and Mike are not fools. All sales records are kept for accounting purposes. Qualified people interested in joining the bull market for gold are invited to review the sales over the past decade to satisfy themselves that the marketing of Sixteen to One gold is a tremendous bonus.
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