Prospecting in Alaska's Rivers

Nome's weather is dominated by the prospecting in Alaska and can change quickly. Within the summer, highs average inside the mid-50s, with lows within the low to mid-40s. The coldest three months are December through February, when the highs common about 13 degrees as well as the lows typical a little beneath zero.

The beaches are typically nonetheless covered in ice pack and snow in Could. June offers the very best combination of clear skies and warm temperatures. As the summer progresses, more rain might be expected. Severe storms are typical and the window of opportunity for working the beach sands diminishes as September approaches.

Inside the summer of 1898 John Brynteson was a member of an exploration party from Council City prospecting the Seward Peninsula. Foul weather forced their ship to seek refuge within the mouth of the Snake River, 13 miles west of Cape Nome. The men passed the time waiting for the storms to abate by prospecting the drainages within a four or five mile radius of the ship. They found some color in their gold pans, but not enough to excite them. J. Brynteson, even so, had faith and he formed a partnership with the two other Scandinavians, Lindblom and Lindeberg.

The men continued to prospect and they ultimately worked their method to Anvil Creek where they discovered an impressive amount of coarse gold. Right after restocking their meager supplies at Golovin, a tiny trading post 100 miles east, they right away returned to Anvil Creek, formed the Cape Nome Mining District, and in between the three of them, staked out 43 claims. By power of attorney, they also right away filed on 47 additional claims for backers, relatives and friends. Nome is located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast of Norton Sound in the Bering Sea, roughly 540 air miles northeast of Anchorage.

You will find no roads connecting Nome to any key city in Alaska. A robust 4,000 folks now inhabit what was once one of probably the most populous cities in Alaska. Fifty percent of the populace are Native American Eskimo. Incorporated in 1901, Nome lies inside the location of the Bering Straits Native Corporation. The Sitnasuak Village Corporation has its land holdings in and across the city of Nome.

Find out more about Gold Prospecting in Alaska on Discovery Channel's New Show:

GOLD RUSH: ALASKA, follows six men who, in the face of an economic meltdown, risk everything - their families, their dignity, and in some cases, their lives - to strike it rich mining for gold in the wilds of Alaska. Inspired by his father Jack, Todd Hoffman of Sandy, Oregon, leads a group of greenhorn miners to forge a new frontier and save their families from dire straits. While leasing a gold claim in Alaska, Todd and his company of newbies face the grandeur of Alaska as well as its hardships, including an impending winter that will halt operations and the opportunity to strike gold.

Here are six areas that have alleged treasure.

Eagle is actually a town located on the Yukon River. This old town was a fur-trading post that became a boomtown during the gold rush of the 1800's. Rumors have it that you will discover buried gold caches in the vicinity of the hundreds of deserted dwellings inside the area.

Fort Yukon is situated on the Yukon River, approximately 135 miles northeast of Fairbanks. There are actually various tales of buried treasures left by the miners who worked that region.

Nome is situated on the south shore of Seward Peninsula. This was the web-site of a well-known gold legend. In 1898 at Anvil Creek, 4 miles north of Nome, a tent city that extended 15 miles along Nome Beach became wealthy with a large number of miners producing record numbers of gold finds. Stories of buried gold in that location have circulated given that that time.

Fort William H. Seward can be a ghost town located at the neck of Chilkat Peninsula. This town was founded right after the gold rush of 1898. Approximately eighty brick buildings can still be noticed. Searching around the old buildings having a metal detector could yield some superb treasures, or relics.

Old Sitka is located 6 miles north of Starrigavan Bay. This town was the most important Russian settlement in Alaska when it was attacked and destroyed by the Tlingit Indians in 1802. The ruins of some buildings are nonetheless visible. Like the town of Old Sitka mentioned above, searching around the old buildings may perhaps lead to artifacts. Fort William H. Seward Ghost Town situated at the neck of the Chilkat Peninsula, at the southeast corner of the State.

Founded in 1898, Fort William H. Seward grew as a result of the discovery of gold in that location. It is now a ghost town. Today, many of the ruins can nonetheless be seen.

Because this was as soon as a prosperous town, many relics, or treasures may well have been left behind. For More Information about Discovery Channel Gold Rush and other Gold Prospecting related topics, check out WWW.Gold-Prospecting-Equipment.net

How to Find The Best Gold Prospecting Supplies

There's Still Plenty Of Gold In Them There Hill's ...Part 5

Let's back up a little now to pin-pointing those gold bearing crevices and pockets. We now know that gold travels and is moved from one area to another through the seasons, but how do we know what areas of a winding river to prospect? Picture in your mind a running river winding its way down through a canyon. You can see inside and outside turns as the water runs down. These turns are the important part. As the gold bearing gravel travels with the water it is dropped at these turns where the water would come against the banks thusly slowing it, causing the gold to drop and settle into crevices, pockets and other traps like large boulders..

A Likely Crevice

As you are planning a day of panning and crevicing , locate an area where the bedrock has been exposed by receding water. You will notice crevices and pockets that are filled with gravel and sand as well as some fairly large rocks. The crevices that run diagonally across the bedrock or against the river flow would most likely be the heavier holders of gold. When I decide on a crevice I begin working it as close to the waters edge as I can. I work up the bank removing and panning the material from the crevice until I run out of color. If your itching to get started early, before water levels drop to their lowest, you can work crevices higher on the bank. But chances are these crevices have been hammered by other prospectors because of their year-round accessibility. Bedrock areas are like fishing holes people store them in their memory banks and will return each spring and summer to work them.

These crevices will not be the only areas holding gold. Any part of the river can be holding. For instance long stretches of bedrock bottom even if they are straight runs still have many fractures, crevices, and pockets. The constant is, gold is heavy and will go to the bottom and hang up. It won't hurt to try a sample pan or two that's what prospecting is all about. If possible find a vantage point above the area your thinking about working. Visualize that part of the river running over the now exposed bedrock and try to picture where the heavies might have dropped.

I recall one time when I was running a bank operation with a grizzly. I had noticed a rivulet of water coming out of a spring about a hundred feet up the bank, for some reason it interested me. I took my bucket and shovel walked to the spot. With no particular discrimination, I dug a couple of shovels of dirt and tossed them in the bucket. I found a shady spot on the river and began panning. Remember I said gold can be illusive. I put the last of the material in my gold pan and shook it down, low and behold there was one nugget. It weighed a little better than a half ounce and was shaped like a medieval castle. It was gorgeous, but it was also all that I would find there. I have thought about that nugget many times and wondered why it was a loner. Sometimes it pays to break the rules and follow your instincts. If you're a devoted prospector or just a weekender looking for a peaceful weekend with the family. Crevicing and panning offers a lot of fun and a good chance at finding your share of the gold.

Snorkeling & Sniping

Another way to search for gold on bedrock where the water is still flowing over it, but is fairly shallow ( a foot or so) is called snorkeling. You will probably be more comfortable using a wet suit for this as the water is still cold even in mid summer. You will also need a face mask. I also have a five gallon bucket nearby for my concentrates. The method is to float on top, very slowly, and watch the bottom. You will be surprised at the pieces of gold you will come across ( referred to as sniping). Don't get into swift water or you will travel to fast for good spotting. You may also come across a small pocket in the bedrock that you would like to clean out. This can be done very efficiently with a suction device (Suction Gun) that you can make yourself out of ABS plastic pipe or purchase one at a mining supplies outlet. The nozzle of the device is poked into the small pocket and by pulling the handle the contents of the pocket are sucked in. Clean your gun into the bucket and continue on. This method can be very lucrative especially when the river you are working has reached its lowest point for the season.

Power Placer Mining

There are many ways to mine placer gold. Crevicing and panning, snorkeling, and sniping are more along the lines of hobby operations for the weekend gold seeker. However many large gold bearing pockets have been located while snorkeling. Also you may have been working a crevice that is yielding good gold but unfortunately the best part is under water. Now its time to set up shop and bring in the dredge. Let's discuss power dredges and what their function is.

While there are quite a few manufacturers of power dredges the basic functions remain the same, they allow the miner to work the bedrock that is underwater. The biggest difference will be in the size of the suction hose that is used for lifting the material from the river bottom. They range from 1.5 inches to 14" inches in diameter. The larger unites are generally considered as commercial operations. The smaller mining operations will generally use up to 6 inch dredges. Dredges are basically designed for two functions. The first, to move large amounts of overburden which is covering the area over the crevice or pocket that you are attempting to work. Overburden consist of low gold bearing material that are constantly moving along the river bottom settling over crevices and pockets which have already collected a wide assortment of rocks. This material can take a lot of work to move out of the way, a good dredge can get the job done fairly quick. I should mention that you want to be sure the dredge tailings are not dropping somewhere that you are planning to work next. The second function of a power dredge is to lift gold bearing material out and run it over a riffle box that separates the gold from it. Used correctly, dredges are very efficient. Your investment in a dredge and what it takes to operate it will be substantial. It is also a gamble, there are no guarantees when it comes to gold prospecting. It is vitally important that you do your homework when it comes to prospecting. Just finding areas to operate a dredge in can be as complicated as finding the gold its self. You make the mistake of dropping in on somebody's claim, you could pay dearly for it. Personally I have two goals in prospecting, first is, bust my fanny to find a spot nobody knows about ( there are some left) and secondly I don't like to do a lot of hard labor for nothing. I want to see some color either in my riffle box or gold pan. Now I'm not insinuating that you need to buy a donkey and disappear into the sunset (although I have given that some serious concideration) I'm just encouraging you to take some time when choosing an area.

Other equipment that you will have to decide on. Unless your using a small dredge in very shallow water, you will be working under water. This means that you will have to decide on an air supply while your under. There are two types, scuba and hookah. Personally I prefer hookah, it relieves you of the cumbersome diving tanks which you have to refill on a regular basis. With hookah your dredge would be equipped with its own air compressor, air tank, and air supply hose. You would also need a regulator which fits in your mouth for breathing. The air hose is made of a special vinyl plastic that is resistant to the effects of oil, gasoline and sunlight. A hookah hose is colored bright yellow or orange and will be long enough to allow the diver freedom to work ( 25-30 feet). Scuba diving involves the use of high pressure metal tanks which are worn on the diver's back while diving. The equipment is quite technical in nature. Scuba gear should not be used by persons who have not become a certified diver involving expensive specialized instruction. Without this certification you cannot purchase compressed air. If you have never worked under water with either air supply you should get instruction, no matter which way you decide. For sure working under water presents a whole different environment and is enjoyable.

There's nothing like being eyeball to eyeball with the fish!

Gold bearing pockets and crevices are like any opening in the earth's surface. The crevice you are working may look shorter than it actually is. Be sure to follow it to the end or as far as you can especially if it show's promising color. Actually the more inaccessible it becomes, all the better for you. There are a lot of dredges on the rivers these days. Chances are someone at sometime has been in that hole before you and probably recovered all the easy stuff. The good stuff will be well worth the labor. But be safe! If they quit because a boulder the size of a city bus is tilted over the dig, back off, it isn't worth it. Things look different under water and move easier too, especially if your vacuuming the stabilizing dirt out from under them. Jubilee, when you actually find a series of pockets or crevices no one has worked, its rare but there are some out there. There are gold holding areas other than crevices. Look for pockets where boulders and other materials are lying on the bedrock jammed against the river bank on a bend. If you locate an area like this you would start dredging the bedrock area just below the sluff and work your way up the bedrock until you have freed the boulders and cleaned around them, always cleaning any fractures or pockets thoroughly. Just remember not to tackle any overhanging banks or boulders that could come down on you.

Puddle Jumping

We have looked at large dredge operations, now lets talk about some uses for smaller dredges. Some of the smaller dredges ( 1.5 to 2" suction hose) are designed to be carried on your backpack. You and your dredge become very maneuverable, allowing you to explore and work smaller feeder streams and potholes. I dubbed this kind of prospecting, puddle jumping. Depending on your aggression and leg power you can get away from it all with this unit. I have worked some very worth while pockets high up on streams where most folks wouldn't have bothered with because of the steep grade and thick brush. A word of caution, if your in an area known for rattlesnakes be careful, there going to be laying in shady spots near water especially on hot days.

We had a fellow miner that was working a claim further up stream from ours walk into camp and announce that he had been bitten by a rattlesnake, he had the two fang marks on his lower leg to prove it. We were thirty miles back in the mountains and the last several miles were walk in. There was no way we were going to get him out in time. He laid in the shade of a tree for several hours and slept. I wasn't to sure about his chances but he must have been tough or the snake didn't get a large dose of venom into the bite. He stood up announced that he thought he would probably be ok and headed back to his digs. As far as I'm concerned God was watching over him that day.

Back to business. These smaller streams run shallow so you won't need to bother with diving equipment, just roll up your pant legs and go to work. I wouldn't attempt to wear knee, or hip boots on any long distance walk, especially up hill. A pair of old work boots will serve you better. I have a special tool I made myself for studying the bottom of these streams. I use a two foot section of 6" black stove pipe with a cheap diving mask placed over one end of it with a dryer clamp to hold it securely so water doesn't leak in. On the other end, about four inches from the top I put a screen door handle. Holding this spotting glass with the mask end in the water will reveal the bottom surprisingly well and will help you locate crevices, seams, pockets, and an occasional gold nugget.

I should mention that whether your running a large or small dredge be sure that it isn't tipped to one side while in use. Also be sure that it isn't tipped down or back accessibly. Any of these positions abused, can lose your gold for you. Running time is important, to long of a run could load your riffles and push gold over the top and out. Curiosity about what your finding will have to wait until you shut the dredge off disturbing the water flow at the riffles while it is running will also lose gold you worked hard for. A kind of standard is to clean your sluice after about two hours of running time, and of course this depends on the size of the dredge and the density of the material you are moving ( more often if your into clods of clay or a lot of black sand). Balled up clay is know for picking up gold and carrying it out of the sluice.

In some cases good dredging can be several feet from the waters edge- not a problem. Get your trusty pick and shovel and channel into the bank pulling your dredge behind ( be sure that you complying with any State or Federal laws concerning excavation of waterways) remember to work down to the bedrock. Keep in mind that during those extreme winters those streams became running torrents that reached much higher on the banks, thus dropping gold there too. So if you're finding good gold in the stream take a moment to sample pan higher up on the banks, the same rules apply, shattered bedrock, pockets, boulders and any other traps that might have caught gold. Moss and roots are also collectors of gold, shake them out over your bucket classifier screen to be panned.

There are other options for smaller dredges 1.5" to 2" in size. I worked a claim in Idaho that was established in the era of hydraulic mining, when huge nozzles washed tons of material through giant sluice boxes. While much gold was found using this method it was probably one of the most inefficient and destructive techniques ever invented for placer gold mining. Large holes had formed at the bottoms of the banks they had been washing. I put a 2" dredge in the series of shallow holes and recovered some very nice gold mostly all in nugget form. Carelessness and greed created this opportunity. I found the location through researching mining annuals and excerpts from personal diaries written in that period. Good Luck!

 

Gold rings are different than gold nuggets since they're often alloyed with other types of metal. They're normally near to the surface and sometimes cannot be tuned out or chosen for with a notch filter despite having the very best metal detector. By far the right place to look for gold rings is at the beach. Specifically in the shallows of the dropping tide at a popular resort location. The explanation is because many vacationers do not realize that the cooler watercould make their fingers shrink and unsuspectingly lose their highly valuable ring jewelry.