Parker Schnabel has intensified his Yukon mining campaign by running three wash plants simultaneously, a strategy designed to keep his ambitious 10,000-ounce season target within reach. The approach, however, has placed heavy strain on both machinery and crew as the season enters its critical final weeks.
At the heart of the operation is Roxanne, a wash plant working a new section of the long cut after underperforming earlier in the season. Feeding the plant is 20-year-old Taven Peterson, who has spent most of the summer driving rock trucks but is now learning to operate a loader under pressure. Working alone for much of his shift, Peterson must maintain a feed rate of 250 yards of pay dirt per hour while monitoring belts, buckets and material flow.
“It’s a lot to keep an eye on,” Peterson admitted. “I feel bad that I’m not very good at running the loader yet, but I’m trying as hard as I can.”
Six hours into his shift, problems emerged. The hopper became jammed with compacted mud after a large flat rock slipped through the grizzly bars and lodged on the conveyor belt, bringing material flow to a halt. With no prior instruction on handling the issue, Peterson shut the plant down and radioed for help.
Veteran crew member Mitch arrived to assess the situation, identifying the trapped rock as the cause. Working carefully, the pair cleared the blockage by hand before restarting the system. The intervention allowed Roxanne to resume washing, preventing a prolonged shutdown during a crucial production window.
“These are the kinds of problems that only show up once you get comfortable,” Mitch later said. “It’s good he caught it early.”
Despite the disruption, Schnabel’s operation posted one of its strongest weeks of the season. Roxanne produced 222.5 ounces, worth approximately $556,000, while Big Red delivered 82.8 ounces from the bridge cut. The standout result came from Big Bob, which has been running around the clock at the Ken and Stuart cut, producing 346.8 ounces valued at roughly $867,000.
The combined weekly total reached 652.1 ounces, pushing the season tally to 2,345.3 ounces.
Schnabel described the result as encouraging but warned that consistency will be decisive. “I’m happy with the numbers,” he said. “But sustaining this is the real challenge. There aren’t many weeks left, and we need to keep the plants running.”
With crews learning on the job and equipment operating at full capacity, Schnabel’s drive to meet his target is entering its most demanding phase yet.
