About
A placer mining school in Dawson City, Yukon.
Klondike Placer Institute exists to teach the operating system of a placer mine — geology, layout, water, recovery, compliance and cash — on the ground where those systems are still being run.
The institute is based in Dawson City, Yukon, in the Klondike placer camp. It is a professional school, not a tourism product and not a licensing body.
The core offering is a ten-day owner/operator intensive capped at twelve students. Instruction happens in the classroom, in workshops, and on operating mine sites. The method is scenario-led: make the decision, then see what it costs.
Instructor
Nicholas Gust is the founder and Exploration Instructor. The teaching stance is practical: the goal is not to install one house method. It is to build the judgment to make sound decisions when the ground, water and season refuse to follow the plan.
“The goal is not to teach one house method. It is to build the judgment to make sound decisions when the ground, water and season refuse to follow the plan.”
Nicholas Gust · Founder & Exploration Instructor
What we do not claim
Graduates receive a Certificate of Completion. The institute does not issue a licence, ticket, or regulatory credential, and participation does not replace Yukon permitting, workplace training, or the operator’s own due diligence.
Applications: nicholasgust@gmail.com.