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Most gold products offered by JM Bullion have some sort of history behind them, whether it is the history of the mint itself, the design of the product, or the reason behind the product’s original minting. If you’re looking to own something with a unique, truly American story, then look no further than the new Bering Sea Paydirt available through JM Bullion.
These gold products are part of a broader story that includes an opera singer-turned-gold dredge captain who stars on the hit Discovery Channel series, “Bering Sea Gold.” The series is from the developers of Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch,” and it follows the captains and crews mining for gold in the Bering Sea off the coast of Nome, Alaska.
Emily Riedel is one of the stars of the series and the only female captain dredging gold in the area. Her appearance in the series is a tale of being in the right place at the right time. Riedel, a third-generation Alaskan, is also a talented vocal performer and just happened to be in Alaska for the summer when the Discovery Channel sent a crew to the area to research the concept of a show following the gold mining industry in the Bering Sea. So how does an opera singer suddenly become a gold dredge captain?
Riedel had previously moved to North Carolina with her mother in high school. After graduating from the University of North Carolina School of Arts, she planned to save money for graduate school and travel throughout Germany and Austria in pursuit of her operatic career. To achieve those goals, Riedel returned to her native Alaska on the invitation of a childhood friend to save up money by gold dredging in the Bering Sea.
Rather than funding that master’s degree in opera abroad, Riedel’s life took a new direction. She quickly fell in love with gold mining and dredging. She spent a few years learning the trade as a deckhand and eventually shifted gears. She purchased a vessel of her own, the M/V Eroica, and not only became one of the most successful gold miners in the area, but she also built a brand around her new passion. Bering Sea Paydirt was born out of her love for gold mining and dredging, and the opportunity to share that passion with others. You can follow more of her journey on YouTube.
Today, in addition to her gold mining operations, Riedel uses her social media platforms and her business, at BeringSeaPayDirt.com, to promote the gold industry in Alaska, sell the gold she dredges, and even inspire the next generation of prospective gold miners, dredgers, and prospectors. In addition to products such as vials of placer gold, she sells kits that allow customers to try their hand at panning for gold.
Riedel’s Bering Sea Paydirt is known in the gold mining industry as placer gold. The term placer gold refers to gold that has been eroded from its source rock, typically quartz veins, and has been transported by water, often ending up in river beds, stream beds, or along beaches. Unlike gold found in veins, placer gold is usually in the form of small grains or nuggets. It’s called “placer” because of the Spanish word for “sandbank” and was historically mined by panning or sluicing sediment from rivers and streams.
Nome, Alaska is an ideal spot for recovering placer gold as a small mining operation. Because of the shallow depths of the Bering Sea around Nome, those like Riedel can follow the American dream and succeed in a small business. Vast amounts of expensive equipment are not required to recover placer gold in this region. In fact, the sluice box is Riedel’s tool of choice in recovering Bering Sea gold.
A sluice box is a simple yet effective device used for recovering placer gold. It’s essentially a long, narrow box with riffles (obstacles) along the bottom. Sluice boxes are popular among small-scale placer miners due to their simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness in recovering gold. They can process large volumes of material relatively quickly, making them ideal for prospecting in rivers, streams, and other water bodies. Additionally, they require minimal maintenance and can be easily transported to remote locations.
Miners working in the Bering Sea often employ gold mining dredges, but what exactly is a gold dredge? There are several forms of gold dredges used to recover gold in the Bering Sea. Riedel’s M/V Eroica is what is known as a suction dredge. This type of dredge is operated by a diver who uses a vacuum-like hose underwater to suck up gravel from the ocean floor to then run through a sluice box at the surface to reveal gold.
Other examples include crawlers and excavator barges. A crawler is a larger suction dredge that employs underwater “crawlers,” driven remotely by operators onboard a surface vessel, to suck up gold-bearing materials and gravel to the surface. Excavator barges are floating excavators that scoop large volumes of gold-bearing materials from the ocean floor and then cleans those materials in a giant sluice box on the ship.
If you have any questions, we’re happy to help. Please feel free to contact JM Bullion at 800-276-6508, chat with us online, or simply send us an email.
