company agreed to lease his claims and cover the fees. Palmer came within a hair’s breadth of kissing 25 years of prospecting goodbye. Finally, a foothold Palmer said his idea in 1997 to visit Vancouver and VYZNV ZY 2L]ʭPWO 8LNAPTRSɪ^ OZZ] bL^ ZYP ZQ ST^ best. MacVeigh believed in the Palmer Property even while he himself changed companies. A welcome turn- ing point arrived when MacVeigh decided to support a Master’s Degree thesis on the project. “One of the biggest problems I’d have,” Palmer says, “is I’d have several geologists, but never one guy who’s seen the whole thing. But with [the master’s student] Darwin Green and everybody, they’ve been there, so we don’t have those problems anymore.” ´,ZDQWHYHU\RQHWRNQRZWKDW,KDGRYHUWKH\HDUVVHYHUDOSURV - SHFWLQJFRPSDQLRQV(YDQ%XUQKDPZDVWKHÀUVWWRMRLQPHLQWR WKHZLOGHUQHVVRIFOLIIVDQGQRURDGV$IWHUWZRWULSVZKHUH(YDQ DQG,KDGQHDUIDWDOLQFLGHQWV(YDQKDGWKHJRRGVHQVHWRFDOOLW DGD\EHIRUHRXUJRRGOXFNGHVHUWHGXVEXWE\WKLVWLPH,NQHZ ZKHUHWKHRUHZDVFRPLQJIURPDQGDVNHG'RXJ0RUODQWRKHOS PH:HPDGHWKHGLVFRYHU\DQG'RXJEHLQJDWRXJK:RUOG:DU ,,1DY\9HWHUDQKHOSHGZLWKDORWRIWKHKHDY\OLIWLQJWRVWDNLQJ WKHÀUVWFODLPVDIWHUZKLFKKHKDGWRTXLWWRPDNHDOLYLQJIRU KLVZRQGHUIXOIDPLO\0\EURWKHU9LFWRU3DOPHUKHOSHGRYHUWKH \HDUVZKHQKHFRXOGTXLWÀVKLQJWRPDNHDOLYLQJWRDVVLVWLQWKLV PLQLQJYHQWXUHWKDWZDVQ·WSD\LQJYHU\ZHOO6RPHWKLQJOLNH]HUR
The next major boon came in 2006 when MacVeigh brought his geological vision to a company formed ^[PNTʭNLWWd _Z Pc[WZ]P LYO M`TWO _SP ;LWXP] ;]Z[P]_d into the promising mineral project we know today. Reliable, steady livelihoods are not a foregone con- clusion to the octogenarian. Palmer knows what hun- ger feels like; sometimes, growing up, there wasn’t enough to go around. And he witnessed even worse fates while serving as a soldier along the North Korean border. The desire to contribute to society’s well-being kept him motivated about the Palmer Project through nearly 40 years of false starts — what lies underground “is a gift for the people,” he said. “I can’t think of a better asset for them or for every- one. Civilization is based upon mining. Without suc- cessful mining, you don’t have a civilization.” GROODUVSHUGD\%XWZKHQZHÀQDOO\JRWHQRXJKPRQH\WREXLOGD URDG9LFWRUSLRQHHUHGWKDWURDGULJKWXSWKHPRXQWDLQWRDEHQFK ZKHUHQRHTXLSPHQWEXWDKHOLFRSWHUKDVEHHQVLQFH$IWHU'RXJ 0RUODQPDGHKLVWZR\HDUFRQWULEXWLRQ,PHW5RQDOG5DOVWRQD 'HFRUDWHG8QLWHG6WDWHV0DULQH9LHWQDP9HWHUDQDQGWRXJKLV KLVPLGGOHQDPH1RPRXQWDLQWRRVWHHSQRGD\WRRORQJDQGDOO LQJRRGFKHHU5RQ·VXQFRPPRQJRRGVHQVHVHUYHGXVYHU\ZHOO NHHSLQJRXUFORVHFDOOVWRDPLQLPXPWKHVDPHZD\KLVOHDGHU - VKLSDVSRLQWPDQRQLQIDQWU\SODWRRQSDWUROEURXJKWDORWRIJX\V VDIHO\KRPHIURP9LHWQDP,WKDVEHHQP\KRQRUWREHLQWKHÀHOG ZLWK5RQDQGWRNQRZZHKDGHDFKRWKHU·VEDFNFRYHUHGLQDWLJKW VSRWµ²0HUULOO3DOPHU
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The Alaska Miner
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