Go For The Gold In Alaska
Dec
28
Written by:
12/28/2009 7:54 AM
By James E. Mulkey
When you hear the word Alaska, what may come to mind is a dog team running across frozen tundra beneath a display of Northern Lights. While dog sledding continues to this day, the early day prospectors had to equip to himself to tough it out; to be prepared to hunt for his own meat. He had to pack necessities like flour, baking powder, coffee, beans and bacon with a little salt and sugar thrown in for good measure. He had high hopes finding and following a trail of gold to its source and striking it rich.
In order to find your golden dream in Alaska, you need to prepare long before you hit the trail by researching areas in which gold is still being found. To do so, you need to acquire maps, study Geological Survey publications and talk to others who have gone to the Alaskan gold fields before you.
Placer gold deposits throughout Alaska are receiving attention as never before since gold is hovering at such a high price per ounce. As they say in the real estate business: “Location, location, location!” Yes, location is everything when it comes to finding gold in Alaska. Let's take a look at a few overlooked placer locations in addition to a handful of districts that have remained steady producers through the years.
A new one-hour reality-based television show, “America's Toughest Jobs,” was introduced in the Fall 2008 television season. Placer mining in Alaska was the second job in the series. Crab fishing in the Bering Sea was the first, and that job didn't look like it was any kind fun at all!
Participants in the second show were taken to the Crow Creek Mining Company that's operated by two experienced placer miners who run and own the mine. Crow Creek is located in the Anchorage District near Girdwood, Alaska in the Chugach Mountains. Rustic cabins and houses dot the immediate landscape around the diggings. The participants, consisting of four women and
eight men, all of various professions, worked long hours in 35 degree water with air temperature averaging 18 degrees. They were required to set up two wall tents for sleeping quarters and cook their own meals. The women turned out to be not only the best workers but the most productive in terms of the amount of gold recovered.
The work on the first day consisted of shoveling stream gravels taken from near bedrock into five-gallon buckets and panning out the gold. Initially, no one knew how to correctly use a gold pan with riffles. Instruction in the art of panning was provided by the mine operators. However, even after repeated instruction, several participants failed to catch on. They continued to slosh water around inside their pan, tossing out whatever gold that may have been present, instead of using a vibrating rocker-like motion to let the gold settle to the bottom of the pan.
Time and again I've watched home videos taken by well-meaning folks who have spent a great deal of money and time to travel from the lower 48 to the gold fields of Alaska. Arriving streamside, they use the “sloshing method” of panning, jump from place to place, don’t find a
single nugget, move on to another creek and then declare that all the gold in Alaska is long gone. Nothing can be further from the truth! Fierce winter storms and spring rains, with their resultant affect on the landscape, break apart stream banks, gold-bearing rocks and stir up bottom
sediments on bedrock; thus, continually renewing gold deposits. If you don’t know how to pan, find an experienced miner – like those at Crow Creek – who knows how and can show you how it's done.
On the second day, the participants at Crow Creek were taught the fundamentals of using a suction dredge. Three-man teams (in some cases two women and one man) were put to work on known hot spots along Crow Creek by shoveling gold-rich gravels into the sluice box of the dredge, or else using the dredge's four-inch suction hose to “snipe” along the bottom of the streambed at bedrock and/or beneath boulders. Some of the guys spent an inordinate amount of time removing boulders. As a result, the mine owners had to point out that it's the amount of
material removed in the shortest amount of time that makes placer mining in Alaska profitable.
At the end of the second day, the four persons who had garnered the least amount of gold were singled out. One of them would be sent home. These folks were tasked with spending the next 15 hours seeing who could find the most gold. They worked alone with a suction dredge all night
(three hours of which were dark) until 9 a.m. when time would be called. The gold would be weighed and the person with the least amount of gold would be sent home. The average amount obtained by these inexperienced prospectors was about three and a half grams. The loser found around two-and-a-half grams and was sent packing. The point is that it takes a lot of skill, experience and stamina to work in the cold waters of Alaska's creeks and streams. By the bye, all participants wore chest-high waders, gloves, hats and cold weather clothing. Even so, it was hard, cold work!
You can fly into Anchorage from anywhere in the world, rent a four-wheel drive vehicle or motorhome and head straight to the gold fields.
The Anchorage District is bounded on the south by Turnagain Arm, on the west and north by the Knick Arm and on the east by the divide between Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound. It is this region that we find Crow Creek, near Girdwood, where much of the placer mining in the district was done. Crow Creek is only about five miles long. The creek is fed by a glacier and drains and area where several gold-bearing lodes were explored and mined on a small scale during the district's early days. According to Edward Cobb in Placer Deposits of Alaska, Geological
Survey Bulletin 1374: “Bedrock [at Crow Creek] is mainly interbedded slate and greywacke cut by numerous granitic dikes and sills. Crow Creek had a complex glacial and erosional history that involve the interaction of ice tongues that came down from Crow Creek and Glacial Creek, the
larger creek into which it flows.”
The Copper River Region
The Copper River Region is found where the Copper River and its tributaries empty into the Gulf of Alaska. The region includes parts of the Alaska Range, Wrangell, St. Elias and the Kenai-Chugach Mountains, plus extensive lowlands along the Copper and Chitina Rivers. Let's take a
look at two of the districts in the Copper River region; the Chistochina and the Nelchina districts.
Much of the placer mining in the Chistochina District took place in the upper most headwaters of the Chistochina River and its Middle Fork. The bedrock there is said to consist of mostly upper Paleozoic bedded rock and Mesozoic mafic, ultramafic and dioritic plutons according to Cobb. A reliable source for Placer Deposits of Alaska and others on mining in Alaska can be purchased by logging onto Alaska Mining & Diving Supply's Web site: www.akmining.com. You can write them for a listing of books and maps at Alaska Mining & Diving, 3222 Commercial Drive, Anchorage, AK 99501, or phone them at (907) 277-1741 or (907) 279-6113.
Gold was discovered on the Chisna River in the Chistochina District as early as 1898, and mining continued until the 1960s. Most of the production was from rich stream gravels on Miller Gulch and Slate Creek, but gold was also mined for many years from Big Four Creek whenever water was available. According to Cobb, it was mined from small creeks at the head of the Middle Fork of the Chistochina River, as well as several other streams. The gold found in the richest placers was reconcentrated from both Tertiary conglomerate (called “round wash” by the
locals) near the head of Miller Gulch and glacial deposits. A prominent bench of the north side of Slate Creek was most likely derived from glacial deposits. No local bedrock has been found.
The Nelchina District is located in an area drained by east-flowing tributaries of the Copper River from Gulkana on the north to the Tasnuna River on the south. It wasn’t until 1912 that gold was discovered on Albert Creek. Platinum was found with the gold. No other location in the district produced much gold.
The Yukon River Region
“The Bonnifield District is the area drained by the southern tributaries of the Tanana River between and including the Tekianika and Little Delta rivers. The district includes part of the Alaska Range.” - Placer Deposits of Alaska, Geological Survey Bulletin 1374.
Placer gold was found in the district in 1903 and 1904 about 60 miles to the north of Fairbanks. Your best bets are Moose, Little Moose, Eva, Grubstake, Gold King and California creeks. While you're in the region, stop in for a visit at the Long Creek Trading Post. The owners offer RV
hookups, a cafe and just happen to rent mining equipment, including small dredges. You can phone them at (907) 389-5287. They are located 8721 Steese Highway in Fairbanks.
The Chandalar District: This district includes the area drained by the Chandalar River and its tributaries above the village of Venetie. Its northern boundary being the crest of the Brooks Range, according to Edward Cobb, in PlacerDeposits of Alaska. The Brooks Range slopes toward the southeast, from an elevation of between 5,000 and 7,000 feet, to far less rugged mountains that lead to broad valleys of the major forks of the Chandalar River; then, downstream to the Yukon Flats. The latter, a swampy region that's difficult to work and largely unproductive as regards gold recovery. Most of the worthwhile placer deposits are found on the Tobin, Big, Little Squaw and Big Squaw creeks and St. Mary's Gulch. Dictator Creek, a tributary of the Middle Fork of the Chandalar River, is also a good producer.
The Chisana District: This district, located south of the famed Fortymile District. It includes the Alaskan portion of the area drained by the upper White River and its tributaries, the southern tributaries of the Tanana River above and includes the Nabesna River. Placers in this district lie
within the Bonanza Creek area. It is a region which has produced about 50,000 ounces of gold from both the Bonanza and Little Eldorado creeks since 1913. Gold was found, but not mined, in other streams in the Bonanza Creek area. Gold Run Creek has been a good producer as have all of the tributaries of those creeks and rivers mentioned above. Edward Cobb says that creek gravels, bench and old channel deposits of Bonanza and Little Eldorado creeks have always been mined on a small scale using simple equipment.
The Circle District: This district is bounded by Birch Creek on the south and west, Porcupine and Crooked creeks on the north and Portage Creek on the east. This district contains the
placer-rich creeks from which most of the gold in the district has been mined; furthermore, the district contains the largest un-mined placer deposits within the entire Circle District. This region is extremely rugged and hard to get to; however, its rivers can be reached on foot using pack
animals. Gold rich creeks include: Mastodon, Mammoth, Deadwood, Crooked, Harrison, Eagle, Independence, Miller, Gold Dust, Ketchem, Birch, Portage, Bottom Dollar, Half dollar, Porcupine, Bonanza, Switch, Squaw, Butte and Boulder creeks.
Mastodon Creek has been the largest producer of placer gold out of any of the creeks in the Circle District. In 1894, the creek was known as the “best creek in Alaska.” Mining on the creek has been almost continuous since gold was discovered. In 1936, a low bedrock bench was discovered
near the mouth of Mastodon Creek. This bench was mined to a depth of 30 feet, at which point goldbearing gravel was hoisted to ground level. Mastodon Creek produced more than 200,000 ounces of gold. There is the possibility that gold may be recovered among the dredge tailings using gold detectors.
Deadwood Creek is one of the most productive creeks in the Circle District according to Warren
Yeend’s Gold Placer of the CircleDistrict, Alaska (U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1943). Mining in the creek has been almost continuous since the original discovery in 1894 with hydraulic mining being the principal method after 1909. A large floating dredge was in operation
as recently as the 1930s. Gravel in Deadwood Creek ranges from one to five meters in thickness. If you are lucky enough to find Deadwood Creek Road, you'll come across un-mined, gold-bearing bench gravels rich in gold right alongside the road. Deadwood Creek flows from the northern slopes of Mastodon Dome into Crooked Creek east of Central.
Harrison Creek is one of the longest in the Circle District. The North Fork is located on the southeast slope of Mastodon Dome, flowing east and south for about 10 miles before joining the South Fork. Placer mining along Harrison Creek, including both the North and South Forks, reached a feverish pitch in the early 1980s. At that time the state made improvements on the road that leads to the creek. The road leaves the Steese Highway near Mammoth Creek, extends up Independence Creek over the summit and down into the valley of the North Fork.
Let's take a look at the Circle District's Porcupine Creek where all of the north flowing creeks from Mastodon Dome end up. First prospected in the 1890s, the creek flows in an easterly direction for about a dozen miles before joining Mammoth Creek to form Crooked Creek. Recent
mining activities have yielded two distinct types of gold, each having different textures and lusters: one type is much more jagged with sharp angles and is duller than the other. The largest nugget found in the early 1980s weighed in at a whopping 8.5 ounces! Today, abundant un-mined
gold-bearing gravel remains in the middle and lower reaches of Porcupine Creek. A 2.5-inch suction dredge was used along the middle and lower reaches of the creek which yielded a
recovery rate of $3.50/hour at 1987 gold prices.
The Fortymile District is one of the most famous districts in Alaska and includes both the Fortymile River in Alaska and the Yukon. It's an area drained by streams flowing southwest
into the Tanana and Chisana rivers and Scottie Creek from Tanacross to the AlaskanYukon border as well as the Alaskan parts of the basins of the western tributaries of the Sixtymile
and Ladue rivers. Note: U. S. citizens are allowed to prospect and mine gold deposits by any means available to them, including dredging, in the Yukon.
Only a few lode deposits have been mined in the Fortymile District, except for one such deposit near Chicken. The district is the oldest in Alaska. Gold was discovered in the Yukon near the mouth of the Fortymile River in the fall of 1886, and on the Alaskan side of the boundary on
Franklin Creek in 1887. Between 1886 and 1961, placers in the district produced a total of 417,000 ounces of gold, two percent of the total production in Alaska.
The source of the gold in the Fortymile District's placers continues to be abundant, small mineralized quartz veins in metamorphic rocks near contacts with felsic intrusive bodies. Most of the placer deposits were near such contact zones. Heavy minerals identified in concentrates include magnetite, limonite, hematite, barite, garnet and pyrite. Small amounts of scheelite have been reported from Chicken Creek and its tributaries. Gold nuggets recovered from Chicken Creek and its tributaries are notable for their patches of dark colored minerals believed to be either manganese or magnetite and hematite.
The best gold producing streams and bench deposits in the Fortymile District include: those along the upper reaches of Chicken Creek and its tributaries and at the head of and along the west side of Lost Chicken Creek. Little Miller Creek, a small tributary of Dome Creek, cut through an auriferous bench deposit along the north wall of the Valley of Dome Creek (which was mined via
hydraulic methods) and reconcentrated gold from the gravels. This formed a very rich stream deposit that was mined in the mid-1890s. Rich pay streaks were also found in a bench on Napoleon Creek. Note: Although every kind of placer mining was utilized in the district, most of
the production was derived from dredging. Today, suction dredging is the method most favored throughout the district.
In early summer of 2005 and 2007, Clarence Catt and Charlie Ferguson drove from Illinois to the Alaskan gold fields. When they reached Watson Lake in the Yukon, they drove along the Alaskan Highway to Whitehorse. They crossed the border into Alaska, passed through Tetlin Junction, Tok, Delta Junction and Big Delta until they reached the Salcha River which is about 45 miles southeast of Fairbanks.
Once they arrived at the Salcha River, Clarence and Charlie unhitched their airboat and set up camp. Picturesque log cabins and moose dotted the landscape as they navigated up the Salcha River, which at times was no more than a narrow, slow-moving stream.
Early placer mining methods, other than dredging, were carried out in what's known as the Salcha River Basin and a group of small creeks in what was formerly known as the Richardson or Tenderfoot District, as well as the Chena River. All of which produced a combined total of 200,000 ounces of gold. Most of the placer gold in these areas was derived locally from lode deposits. The Chena River is located north of the Salcha River, with the richest placer deposits being found at Van Curler’s Bar.
Following their exploration of the Salcha River, Charlie and Clarence drove toward the northwest on the Alaskan Highway until they reached Fairbanks, the end of the Alaska Highway. Fairbanks calls itself the Golden Heart of Alaska and with good reason. The Fairbanks District is an area drained by the Chatanika River and the northern tributaries of the Tanana River. It is the leading producer of placer gold in Alaska. Its streams and tributaries include the Pedro Dome, Clearly Creek and the Ester Dome area. All of them have been mined by commercial interests during the past decade in what some have called “Alaska's Second Gold Rush.”
Clarence and his prospecting buddy, Charlie, headed out of Fairbanks toward the Tanana River region, located to the north of Fairbanks, where they encountered the Felix Pedro Stream. This stream is now open to panning after years of being closed on account of commercial dredging operations. Felix Pedro was an immigrant who found a few nuggets in the stream in 1898, and set
off a gold rush that ensured a rapid settling of the area that was to become Fairbanks. Naturally, Charlie wanted to try his luck with a gold pan in the Pedro Stream before moving on to the Tanana River region to the north.
At one time or another, Clarence and Charlie prospected for gold in the Eagle, Tok, Goodpaster, Fortymile, Iditarod and the Chandalar districts before heading to Dawson to explore and prospect in the upper reaches of the Yukon River. But it wasn't until late 2007 that they reported their true
purpose in spending so much time on the Salcha River. Clarence had found and lost a huge platinum deposit in the rugged hills north of the river many years ago while moose hunting. Never mind that in 2007 he spent good money on an aerial search of the region, where he believed that the platinum deposit was located, to no avail. Extensive hiking into those hills didn’t result in his finding the deposit either. Like all good lost mine stories, the Salcha River Lost Platinum Mine remains lost.
Finally, for those of you who are fortunate enough to be members of the Gold Prospectors Association of America, you will find a number of claims are open to you in Alaska,
British Columbia and the Yukon. To find the location of these claims, consult your GPAA Claims Club Membership Mining Guide. For travel information, contact: Alaska Travel Industry Association, 2600 Cordova Street, Suite 201, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-2745.