New Digital Mining Model has Potential to Revolutionize Gold Industry

On this episode of the On the Rocks Podcast, host Emily King visits with Pete Nowicki, the COO of Arctic Digital Mining. They discuss an innovative new approach to gold mining called digital mining. Developed by Arctic Digital Mining, this model uses blockchain technology to tokenize gold reserves while leaving the gold in the ground.

Pete explains how he first became interested in blockchain and cryptocurrencies back in 2017, when interest rates were at zero and volatility was low. He met two Alaska gold miners who told him they had over 2 million ounces of gold just sitting in the ground, which Pete explains sparked his curiosity about the industry.

The idea behind digital mining is that since gold's main utility today is as a store of value, you don't actually have to dig it up to realize its value. Using blockchain, you can tokenize the gold and sell digital tokens representing ownership of the gold while it stays safely underground. This avoids the environmental impacts of mining while allowing investors to still benefit from the value of the gold.

One major advantage is that this model opens up gold investment to groups with strong ESG mandates who previously couldn't invest in mining. The next generation of investors is much more environmentally conscious, so digital mining creates new demand from millennials and Gen Z. Alaska in particular tugs at investor heartstrings, so people like the idea of protecting its natural beauty while still benefiting from its resources.

Digital mining also helps provide liquidity to landowners and miners sitting on undeveloped deposits they can't yet afford to dig up. And token holders collectively govern decisions about if and when to eventually extract the gold.

This innovative concept has the potential to revolutionize how we think about realizing the value of natural resources. It certainly provides an intriguing alternative to traditional mining. We'll be following Arctic Digital Mining closely to see how their model develops!

Looking for gold in Alaska? Be sure to check out the Prospector database to learn more!