Another cornerstone of the local gold-mining tourism industry has joined in on the effort to re-gild the State Capitol Dome in Atlanta this year.
Back in August, The Nugget first reported on plans for Crisson Gold Mine to provide 10 ounces of gold from their historic stockpiles that would be milled into a fine leaf and used to re-cover the dome.
Senator Steve Gooch said at the time that 90 ounces of gold would be needed for the restoration project, and that the state would like to acquire as much locally-sourced metal as possible.
Now Consolidated Gold Mine has announced they will be matching Crisson’s contribution with 10 ounces from their own historic reserves.
Consolidated Gold Mine General Manager Nathan Harbert said that this will be the company’s first official contribution to gilding the dome, since the local business had not yet been established when the last re-gilding effort occurred in 1981.
“We’re really excited,” Harbert told The Nugget. “It’s a big deal for us to participate, and we’re grateful to be a part of it.”
Harbert also shared new details on a special ceremony that will allow the public to witness the gold being picked up by a procession of Capitol Police for secure transport to the Capitol.
CONSOLIDATED EFFORT
When The Nugget sat down with Harbert in his office on Monday, he had just wrapped up a meeting about the ceremony with Crisson co-owner Tammy Ray, Gold Rush Days organizer Melissa Walton, Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Visitors Bureau Executive Director Sam McDuffie and state Senator Steve Gooch.
Harbert provided a detailed preview of what the public can expect from the event, which will take place during the Gold Rush Days Festival on Saturday, October 19.
“At 3:00 p.m. the parade begins. And the parade starts down at the Sheriff’s Office and rolls through town, like it always does.”
Harbert said the difference this year is the tail end of the parade lineup will feature a contingent of Capitol Police from Atlanta, followed by float entries from Consolidated and Crisson gold mines and, finally, State Patrol vehicles.
He said that entire group will pause in front of the Visitors Center plaza and the Gold Rush Main Stage.
“We’ll be at the tail of the parade, so we’re going to stop right in the middle of the road,” Harbert explained.
“And then at that point we will offload and we will carry our gold up to the main stage, and from there we’ll have a little presentation ceremony where we will present it to the Capitol Police and then they’ll take it from there and take it down to the Capitol to do the re-gilding,” he added.
Harbert said Senator Gooch will deliver some remarks and read a proclamation from Governor Brian Kemp regarding participation in the current re-gilding effort. That will be followed by a brief history of the town’s contributions to the two previous gilding efforts.
“Dahlonega has done this before, you know,” he added. “This is the third time the Capitol has been gilded, and Dahlonega has provided a little piece of it each time.”
Harbert said representatives of both Crisson and Consolidated will end the presentation with some comments about their involvement.
“And then that will conclude the ceremony and from there, we load back up and we’re going to go and we’ll turn off and head out of town and Capitol Police will go on back to Atlanta,” he said.
SERIOUS SIGNIFICANCE
Harbert talked a little about why Consolidated’s involvement in the latest project carries with it added historical significance for the company.
“We opened in ‘91 for tourists,” he recalled. “This will be the first time that Consolidated has participated as a company in helping to re-gild the dome. Now when it was done in previous times, no doubt some of that gold that was taken up was part of the Consolidated property, and some of the people that operated the property. But this is the first time that this company has officially been part of re-gilding the dome. So we’re really excited.”
Harbert said the 10 ounces they are sending to the Capitol is gold that the new owners mined from the Yahoola River area after purchasing the property in the ‘80s.
“And what’s even more exciting than that, when they were mining the property when they first bought it in the mid-1980’s, they were mining parts of the property but they were really getting ready to put in this building here to be the operations [center] and start of the tours. And a lot of this rock was moved through here and that rock was processed to see what gold was in it. It was crushed and processed, and some of that gold is what we’re sending to the Capitol,” he explained.
Harbert said “it’s a pretty historic feeling” to know Consolidated is sending gold from the operation as it was at the turn of the century.”
“We’re glad to have a little piece of it there in Atlanta,” he added.
FAST-PACED FACELIFT
The Nugget also spoke with Gooch by phone to get the very latest news on the project from the State Capitol.
He said the state has now collected enough local gold from Dahlonega to make the renovation possible.
“I think with what we’re getting from Consolidated and Crisson gold mines we have enough. The contractors have already begun the process of taking the old gold off the dome of the Capitol,” Gooch said.
Just last week Gooch said he personally climbed up the scaffolding around the dome to get a firsthand look at the project, which he said is moving along rapidly.
“They will be finished applying the gold leaf by the end of October … and the contractor is set to be complete with the entire project by December 31,” Gooch reported.
He said he’s happy that the state was able to secure gold from Dahlonega for this third gilding of the Capitol Dome.
“It’s good timing, to celebrate it during the 70th Gold Rush Days Festival,” Gooch concluded.
Harbert said Gooch was sharing pictures of the dome being prepped during their morning meeting.
“Dahlonega will be shining bright in Atlanta pretty soon,” Harbert said confidently.
He encouraged local residents to come out and be a part of the Gold Rush send-off later this month.
“I know it’s happened before, but it really is a generational, or almost a once-in-a-lifetime experience, to say that you were part of re-gilding the dome. It’s a big deal: it’s happened twice, but it doesn’t happen every day. And this is the 70th Gold Rush Days Festival, so that puts another little cherry on top,” Harbert concluded.