Prospecting in Alaska

A great amount of the gold produced in Alaska gold prospecting was mined from placers. These deposits are widespread, occurring along many of the major rivers and their tributaries. Some ocean beach sands also have been productive. The principal placer-mining region has been the Yukon River basin, which crosses central Alaska. Gold mining from alluvium ores was once achieved by techniques associated with placer mining such as simple gold panning and sluicing, resulting in direct recovery of small gold nuggets and flakes. Placer mining techniques in the present day are generally the practice of artisan miners. The gold pan is used throughout Alaska wherever gold occurs. Even until the last twenty years the most popular pan to evolve and a steady favorite with gold prospectors in Alaska was the steel pan. These pans came with and without ridges and typically rusted easily. Probably the most efficient pan for the novice and expert today is one molded from tough, space age plastic. It is far superior to the steel pan for several reasons. Firstly, it is rust and corrosive proof. Secondly, it can be textured with a fine "tooth" surface to hold the gold better. Third, it is about one quarter the weight of a steel pan, and fourth the green color can be made a permanent black so that even the tiniest flakes of gold can easily be seen. Besides the artesianal Alaska gold prospecting such as placer mining and streambed panning, dredging operations in the Fairbanks district have been the most productive in the State. Beach deposits in the Nome district in the south-central part of the Seward Peninsula rank second among productive placer deposits of Alaska. Other highly productive placers have been found in the drainage basin of the Copper River and of the Kuskokwim River. Hard rock gold mining, which is another form of gold prospecting in Alaska, is done when the gold is encased in rock, rather than as particles in loose sediment. Sometimes open-pit mining is used, such as the Ft. Knox Mine in central Alaska. Barrick Gold Corporation has one of the largest open-pit gold mines in North America, located on its Goldstrike property in northeastern Nevada. Other gold mines use underground mining, where the ore is extracted through tunnels or shafts. Hard rock mining produces most of the Alaska’s and the world's gold although it doesn’t have the same appeal as placer mining for the fun seeking weekend prospector.