Gold Prospecting, Treasure Hunting, Mining, and Metal Detecting in Alaska

The Last Frontier

GOLD

Gold was first discovered in the Kenai River in 1848. Fifty years later, the gold rush spawned massive gold discoveries in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, the Brooks Range, and Nome. Since then, gold has been discovered almost everywhere in the state.

Placer Deposits

A placer deposit is a concentration of a natural material that has accumulated in unconsolidated sediments of a stream bed, beach, or residual deposit. Gold derived by weathering or other process from lode deposits is likely to accumulate in placer deposits because of its weight and resistance to corrosion. In addition, its characteristically sun-yellow color makes it easily and quickly recognizable even in very small quantities.

The gold pan or miner's pan is a shallow sheet-iron vessel with sloping sides and flat bottom used to wash gold-bearing gravel or other material containing heavy minerals. The process of washing material in a pan, referred to as "panning," is the simplest, most commonly used, and least expensive method for a prospector to separate gold from the silt, sand, and gravel of the stream deposits. It is a tedious, back-breaking job and only with practice does one become proficient in the operation. Thankfully, technology finally caught up with our gold fever and brought us metal detectors!

Much of the gold produced in Alaska 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. 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.

You can always ask for permission to hunt on any private property, but there are also several places you can pan and metal detect in public access areas. As always, please respect other's claims.

The following Public Access Areas are controlled by the BLM (Click Here), the National Forest Service, or State Parks (State of Alaska Dept of Natural Resources' Division of Mining). Contact the designated authority for more information including maps and regulations.

Bachelor Creek: Follow the Steese Highway 80 miles N. of Fairbanks past Montana Creek. 4WD road begins at the Dept of Transportation yard and follows the fenced area. Go 4 miles before reaching the creek mining area. No facilities available. Gold panning, sluice boxes, rocker boxes, metal detectors and dredges (6").
Caribou Creek in the Matanuska River Area (State Property): Access road located at mile 104 on the Glenn Highway. Turn onto 800ft long road at the 4'x5' billboard to parking area. Pans, sluices, detectors, and dredges.
Chugach (National Forest): Located Between Hope and Seward. Almost all active creeks, streams, and rivers are open to pans, sluices, & dredges (4").
Dalton Highway: Area on the "Haul Road" between Fairbanks/Prudhoe Bay.
Eagle, AK (City and State Property): Along American Creek & S. of Eagle
Hatcher Pass Rec Area (State Property): NE of Wasilla
Nome Creek, White Mountain National Rec. Area - N. of Fairbanks (State Property). Road begins at the 57.3 mile on Steese Highway and is about 5 miles long to Nome Creek mining area. The Steese Highway is paved only to mile 44. Gold pans, metal detectors, sluice boxes and rocker boxes. Restrooms and camping areas available.
Pedro Dome: Fairbanks area. 1 acre in size and open to pans, metal detectors, sluice boxes and rocker boxes. No facilities.

GEMS

Garnets from deposits along the Stikine River, often called "Wrangell garnet" after the nearest town which is located on Wrangell Island, are famous as mineral specimens because of their near perfect crystalline form. The garnets have limited use as gemstones because of their deep red color, however some cabochons are cut from them.

The State has several varieties of chalcedony found at different locations, including agates, jaspers, and petrified wood. Various types of agates can be found in gravel pits and gravels of stream and river beds at several locations in the Chicken Creek area near the border with the Yukon Territory.

Agates, jasper, and petrified wood can be found on many beaches, including those on the islands of Adak, Admiralty, Attu, Kuiu, Kupreanof, Nelson, Popof, Tanaga, Unalaska, and Zarembo. These same materials can be found in the gravels or in many of the streams and rivers of the State. Other well known sources are the outlet of Becharof Lake, Little Nelchina River, and Caribou Creek.

COINS, JEWELRY, & RELICS

Alaska offers many incredible opportunities. If this is your interest, here's a few ideas to get you started:

Schools and College Campuses
Parks / Playgrounds / Picnic Areas
Foundations, Wells, and Cellar Holes of Old Churches or Houses
Downtown Construction Sites
Swimming Holes and Beaches
Camp Grounds, Boyscout Camps, WPA Camps, and Mining Camps
Sports Facilities
Under the Chairlifts at Ski Resorts (Summertime)
Ghost Towns
Rodeo Arenas, Riding Stables, and Race Tracks
Old Fair and Carnival Locations
Old Town Dumpsites

LOST TREASURE

As in other areas of the US, there are several tales of lost treasure in Alaska concerning caches buried for safety. In many of these stories, people either died or forgot where they buried the stash. Contributing factors include:

1. Federal laws making possession of gold illegal in the early 1900s

2. Distrust of banks during the Great Depression.

The steamer Islander went down on August 15, 1901 with $3,000,000 in gold onboard between Admiralty and Douglas Islands in Stevens Passage .
A missing safe deposit box in Juneau is said to contain a number of rare national currency $10 notes from that city, stashed away many years ago by a mine owner.
There are several reports of missing gold in the Yukon. Before the area was actually "settled," prospectors buried nuggets on their claims and camps, but probably few minted coins were involved.

These excerpts are a sampling from American Coin Treasures and Hoards