Dawson City, Yukon · 10-day owner/operator intensive Founding cohort applications · nicholasgust@gmail.com
Klondike Placer Institute
Drill crew handling a drill rod on an exploration site

Dawson City, Yukon

A 10-day placer mining school, taught on operating Klondike ground.

Klondike Placer Institute is a ten-day owner/operator intensive for people who need to make sound decisions about ground, water, recovery, compliance and cash — before the season makes those decisions expensive.

Request an invitation See the program
10 daysClassroom, workshop and field
12 studentsMaximum per cohort
1:6Field group ratio
Dawson CityTaught on Klondike ground
The KPI operating system: Ground, Cut, Water, Recovery, Cash — one connected cut from deposit knowledge to operating cash

The institute

Built for people who intend to operate.

This is not a gold-rush fantasy and it is not a general prospecting holiday. The program connects geology, mine design, water, recovery, compliance, maintenance and finance into one operating system.

One poorly chosen cut, a misplaced plant, or an unmanaged water event can erase a season. The curriculum is organized around those failure points, then practiced on active Klondike mine sites in small field groups.

About the institute

What you leave with

  • A mine planning workbook for grade, volume, sequence and equipment
  • A production dashboard for fuel, recovery, maintenance and unit cost
  • A water and compliance checklist with a regulatory calendar
  • A 90-day implementation plan for your next season
  • A Certificate of Completion — not a licence or credential

Full program overview

Start here

A complete operating picture in ten days.

Crew examining a drill sample on a stump at an exploration site

Days 1–10

The intensive

Five classroom and workshop days interwoven with five field days. Every module ends with a decision, a scenario or a planning tool you can take home.

Program details

Wash plant on a Klondike placer mine

Five modules

The curriculum

Read the ground, design the mine, control water and recovery, stay compliant, and run the seasonal business as one system.

Course outline

Excavator working a placer cut

Active mines

The field

Small groups audit layouts, trace recovery losses, diagnose water constraints and defend operating decisions on Klondike sites.

Field experience

Recovery plant on operating Klondike ground Field work in the Klondike placer camp
CAT excavator feeding a wash plant on a placer mine
A CAT feeding the plant. Sequence and haul are the same problem.
Exploration drilling on a placer program
Exploration is taught as a crew decision, not a photo backdrop.
Mini excavator feeding a wash plant beside a creek
Plant, water and dirt in one circuit — on operating ground.

Who it is for

Different roles. One operating language.

The room is deliberately mixed. Owners learn to see technical risk. Technical people learn to see cash. Supervisors see the system around their shift. Investors and advisors see the real dependencies of a placer season.

See if this is for you

Owner/operators

Avoid the expensive, predictable errors that punish a first season.

Working miners

Strengthen recovery, planning, compliance and knowledge transfer.

Supervisors

Build judgment beyond a single machine or production task.

Professionals

Understand economics, failure modes and field constraints.

Founding cohort

First 24 students. Never more than twelve in a room.

Founding tuition is C$8,950. Cohorts require a minimum of eight students. Airfare and lodging are not included. Apply if you have a clear use for the next season.

Request an invitation Tuition and inclusions