Hard Rock Miners
HARD ROCK MINERS
THIS BRONZE SCULPTURE WAS COMMISSIONED BY THE CITY
AND BOROUGH OF JUNEAU DURING ITS CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY
YEAR, AND IS DEDICATED TO THE MEN WHOSE WORK PROVIDED THE
LIFEBLOOD OF JUNEAU DURING ITS FIRST SIX DECADES.
IN THE LATE 1800'S. COMPRESSED - AIR MACHINE DRILLS
REPLACED HAND DRILLS AS THE PRINCIPLE TOOLS OF HARD ROCK
MINERS. THE DEVELOPMENT ENABLED MINERS TO HANDLE GREAT
QUANTITIES OF ORE AT AN ACCEPTABLE LOW COST. AS A RESULT,
LODES CONTAINING LOW-GRADE ORE DEPOSITS, SUCH AS THOSE IN
THE JUNEAU GOLDBELT. BECAME PROFITABLE TD MINE. IN THIS
SCULPTURE THE PNEUMATIC DRILL IS A GENERALIZED VERSION OF
MANY DIFFERENT TYPES USED OVER THE YEARS. THE DRILLS WERE
FED AIR BY HOSE FROM SURFACE STEAM ENGINES AND USED PISTONS
TO WORK THE "STEELS" BACK AND FORTH IN THE DRILL HOLES
TRADITIONAL A PATTERN OF SEVEN HOLES AND CHARGES WOUND
BE EMPLOYED WHEN CUTTING A TUNNEL. A TEAM OF MINERS DRILLED
THE FACE OF A TUNNEL THROUGH A SINGLE EIGHT OR TEN HOUR
SHIFT AND BLASTED IT JUST BEFORE QUITTING. THE SEQUENCE
OF CLEANUP MORE DRILLING, AND BLASTING WOULD BEGIN ANEW
IN THE NEXT SHIFT, THE ALASKA-JUNEAU MINE. WHICH OPENED
IN 1897, CEASED OPERATING IN 1944, BRINGING AN END TD AS
ERA. THE TOTAL OUTPUT OF THE JUNEAU GOLDFIELD WAS OVER
SEVEN MILLION OUNCES OF GOLD.
SCULPTURE BY JUNEAD ARTIET ID WAY