By Adam Tanner
GOLDSTRIKE MINE, Nevada (Reuters) - Kelly Branstrom has worked underground for a dozen years in the most productive gold mine in U.S. history, Barrick Gold Corp's (ABX.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Goldstrike, yet never seen the ore.
"You hope to walk around and find nuggets everywhere," Branstrom, 41, said at a depth of about 1,000 feet below ground, roughly 100 stories down. "But you don't normally see ore; it's so small, it's microscopic."
Even if miners at Goldstrike rarely if ever spot gold with their own eyes, they are enjoying booming times in this remote northeastern corner of Nevada with gold prices <XAU=> nipping at a record $1,000 per ounce. Times are so good, in fact, that mining firms cannot find enough workers.
Thanks to the latest mining techniques that extract microscopic amounts of gold from huge quantities of rock, Barrick produced just under 2 million ounces of gold last year at Goldstrike, and expects between 1.6 million and 1.7 million ounces this year, John Mansanti, Goldstrike's general manager, said in an interview.
"It's totally different mining from the days of the 49ers," he said of California in the mid-19th century. "It's all microscopic at this point. We are in effect cheating Mother Nature."
About 1,800 people work at Canadian-headquartered Barrick's Goldstrike mine, where company officials say an average worker earns $70,000 a year. Around the clock, about 250-275 miners work 12-hour shifts underground, and others dig in vast open pit mines.
Goldstrike has produced about 33 million ounces since it started operations there in 1986, officials say.
The lure of a well-paying job and adventure lured Andrea Ouchi, 28, to move from Canada to nearby Elko, Nevada, to work at Goldstrike a year ago. She is one of few single women working down in mines dominated by middle-aged men. Continued...
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