Dawson council digs man's pitch to mine for gold under Dome Road
A Klondike miner's proposal to seek gold under a road in Dawson City, Yukon, is getting a warm reception from the town's mayor and councillors.
Stuart Schmidt said a 400-metre stretch of Dome Road, near the intersection at Mary McLeod Road, covers some valuable gold claims that have yet to be unearthed.
Appearing before council Tuesday night, Schmidt said he wants to reroute the road, as early as next month, to try placer mining the gold below the roadbed.
"Where the road is … a certain width on each side of the road, it is virgin ground," Schmidt told CBC News in an interview before the meeting, pointing at the stretch of road in question.
"It's just sitting here, waiting to be mined."
Schmidt said both sides of Dome Road have been mined out over the years, but not the ground under the road itself.
If his plan is approved, Schmidt said he would build a new, improved bypass road around the site, at no expense to the town. He also proposes to return the property to the city after it has been mined.
He has suggested Dome Road be closed for two weeks this fall, to allow heavy equipment to start stripping the road bed and building the bypass road. Further work next summer would last about a month.
The construction could disrupt daily routines for up to 40 homeowners along Dome Road and there are also concerns about school buses and emergency vehicles having access to the steep Mary McLeod Road.
But Mayor John Steins said the propspect of seeing the last known gold reserves mined out of the Dawson area would make residents' short-term frustrations worthwhile.
"It may not be fun having to live next to heavy equipment rumbling around for what could be … a good long season next year," Steins said at Tuesday's meeting.
"However, one councillor tonight pointed out that the short-term pain is worth the long-term gain — meaning, of course, that land up there, once it was done with mining, it could potentially be developed for use by all residents."
Town officials have suggested that the entire area proposed for use by Schmidt could be reclaimed and developed for residential use after mining is completed.
They said they will draft a formal agreement to ensure the job is completed as promised.
Councillors are expected to vote on Schmidt's proposal after he provides engineer-approved design work for the new road.
"Within two weeks, I should have an engineering firm hopefully complete a little project for this, and have an engineer here at the next next council meeting with me to help gain credebility with the city," Schmidt said told councillors.
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