Written by Mark Nielsen
Citizen staff
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Monday, 22 June 2009 |
Kamil Azizov feeds his goats Terrorist and Angel, all of whom live across the river from the Bowron River rest stop on Highway 16, about 60 kilometres east of Prince George. Azizov, who has lived in the school bus for about a year, now has staked a mining claim on the area and has spent much of his time showing anyone who’s interested how to pan for gold. (Citizen staff photo)
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Stick around long enough and you'll also see a couple of goats out foraging or napping in the sun and a tall, thin older gentleman who just might be panning for gold.
Kamil Azizov, 61, has caused a bit of a stir in the last few weeks. He was the subject of some letters to the editor in The Citizen -- one describing his abode as a mess and two others coming to his defence.
The comments prompted him to pay a visit to The Citizen to explain why he's there. Suffice it to say, where there are goats there is gold.
But first, a bit of background.
Azizov grew up in Russia's Volga region where his mother was an engraver and a book illustrator, his father was a mural painter and his grandfather taught him jewelry making. Azizov carried on the family tradition when he was selected to attend a school for artistically-gifted children and eventually became a "state" artist.
In 1984 he emigrated to Canada, following in the footsteps of his wife who defected seven years earlier. Two-and-a-half years later he had set up a studio in Victoria's Chinatown where he made a living as a sculptor and jewelry maker.
It reached the point where in 1987, Azizov received a $500,000 commission from billionaire Donald Trump, who was familiar with his work from showings in Europe, to create a six-metre-tall bronze sculpture for the front of a Manhattan building.
He closed the studio down and built a foundry but a lack of artistic freedom caused him to abandon Trump's project. He sold the foundry and moved to Saltspring Island where he dug deep into his Tatar roots and started to work in an entirely new medium -- painting images on thick woolen felt more commonly used to construct those distinctive circular tents known as yurts.
Fast forward some 20 years and Azizov still has examples of those drawings tucked away in the back of his bus to show but his interest has come full circle back to precious metal.
The turning point came about three years ago, shortly after he moved to Willow River to be closer to his son. While out exploring in the spring, he came across flakes of gold sitting on top of the ice covering the Bowron.
"My imagination started working," the soft-spoken Azizov said in slightly-halting English with a distinct Russian accent. "If this is gold on top of ice, what's going on under ice? So I get my pan out and started (swirling) the water around and I found a huge deposit."
His next move was to stake a mining claim that now stands at over 225 square acres. Eventually tiring of the trips from Willow River and back, he drove his school bus to the site about a year ago and has lived there ever since.
It hasn't been easy -- he endured cold as deep as -46 C over the winter -- but claims to have all he needs. Along with the goats, whose milk he turns into cheese and yogurt, he maintains a handful of beehives to provide honey while a disability pension covers the rest of his bills. He suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome and has a tumour in his brain that gives him headaches.
Azizov has spent much of his time studying the river and a nearby creek to determine the best way to extract the gold without disrupting the environment or resorting to any digging. His solution is to build a series of "trap systems" to do the job, pending approval from the authorities.
He's also made it something of his mission to teach anyone who's interested the techniques of locating and panning for the metal and regards his find as an answer to these tough economic times.
"This just one river will make British Columbia the richest country in the world," he contended. "Just in my claim, I've found in my deposit down there maybe 10 million ounces."
It's just that it'll come one flake at a time.
"Everyone is going after big nuggets but what's wrong with small flakes and fine gold?," he said. "Fine gold moving just like a river. Every minute, maybe 10, 15 gram move right by me."
Even without the gold, Azizov clearly loves living there, saying he's alone but never lonely.
"There is quite a difference," he said. "Nature offers so much to enjoy and that makes it very hard to be lonely," he said.
However, his days of actually living on the site may be numbered.
Azizov asserts his mining claim also gives him the right to stay there but Ministry of Mines, Energy and Petroleum Resources spokesperson Jake Jacobs said a mining claim entitles the holder to a "non-exclusive right" to use of the surface of the area for the business of mining.
"Non-exclusive means they cannot put up a no trespassing sign and they cannot use it for recreational or residential purposes," he said but also indicated the rules are enforced on a complaint-driven basis.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 22 June 2009 )
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All jokes aside.. He sounds like a pretty interesting fellow with something to share with people who are willing to listen.. I like it how there is not a damn thing that anyone can do because he is legally there.