states that rival alaska

[Jwoot]

Ive noticed that cheaper claims in Alaska on creeks have often been mined to death then you have some of the western states that allow dredging in some places and the claims are often much cheaper. Would you guys think a famous streams in Alaska that has been hit over and over for 100 years are usually that much better than one in say Colorado or Idaho that hasn't been dredged to death? Or do the Alaskan claims just carry the prestige and that's where the price comes in? I mean lets be honest here... most people in the US don't think of Idaho or Colorado when it comes to gold even though they had a huge Gold rush. Most average Americans are going to say Alaska or California and I bet that has a huge affect on the price of claims.

 

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[KevinInColorado]

Good questions, either way be very very careful about buying a claim, especially online. There are more crooks than fair dealers!

 

[Terry Soloman]

What usually set’s the price of a claim are two things: Its history and the gold it is known to hold or, whatever a greenhorn with nuggets in their eyes will pay. Nothing has changed since 1848 as far as I know.

 

[kuger]

MARK TWAIN ONCE SAID.........................

 

[TheNewCatfish]

I think you can't beat the lower 48 states. There are about 30 different breeds of mosquitoes in Alaska. Some are so big they're mistaken for birds. Knats are a problem there too. I've heard stories about Alaskans who've been swarmed by knats, gone insane and shot themselves (that's terrible). Then of course there is the varied cuisine. Samon steak, samon salad and a big frosty glass of samon juice (Yuck!). Tired of samon ? Then you'll have eat Elk ! Hey how bout eight months a year of darkness living on the Ice Planet "Hoth" in StarWars ! Well you'll love winter in Alaska. Man gimme Cali or Colorado any day of the week.

 

[smokeythecat]

Don't forget the East Coast. There was so much gold found in NC and GA mints were established there.

 

[Vance in AK]

Never been here have you TNC?
We don't have elk (except on some islands FAR from the mainland) and the diet is as varied as your imagination while at Safeway or Walmart. No serious gold dredger I know eats much salmon when they are in the bush because #1, as a rule you aren't allowed to dredge when/where salmon are spawning 9only time they are around), #2, they are too busy working to go fishing. Drinking "salmon juice"? My 52 yr old wife was born & raised in kenai on the river, her folks comercial fished, & she's never heard of it... My 92 yr old father-in-law has been all over the state (had a charter air service & guided hunters) & has been here since 1940 & spent a LOT of time in villages & has never heard of it... Bugs can be bad, but I've seen as bad in Oregon & Montana. Light? Try 20+ hrs a day of light during dredging season. Even in winter Anchorage & south still has at least about 5hrs a day of light.
Is the gold here better? Not neccessarily. I wouldn't come here just for the gold. BUT, there are places here... Just like everywhere else!

 

[goldenIrishman]

Hey now!! Alaska does not hold the record on skeeters! I'd say that "honor" would have to go to Louisiana! While stations at Ft. Polk (aka Ft Puke) for Basic and AIT in the 70s I can remember hearing the skeeters talking over our bunks. "Hey Joe!!! Think we should fly off with a couple of these guys before the big ones get here and drain them all?" That is one state I'm proud to say you could not get me to move back to! Six months there for training was more than enough! I will be honest though and admit that I wonder if you could do some dredging in some of those bayous and get anything other than gators.

 

[B H Prospector]

Minnesota's state bird is the skeeter!

 

[Lanny in AB]

Never been here have you TNC?
We don't have elk (except on some islands FAR from the mainland) and the diet is as varied as your imagination while at Safeway or Walmart. No serious gold dredger I know eats much salmon when they are in the bush because #1, as a rule you aren't allowed to dredge when/where salmon are spawning 9only time they are around), #2, they are too busy working to go fishing. Drinking "salmon juice"? My 52 yr old wife was born & raised in kenai on the river, her folks comercial fished, & she's never heard of it... My 92 yr old father-in-law has been all over the state (had a charter air service & guided hunters) & has been here since 1940 & spent a LOT of time in villages & has never heard of it... Bugs can be bad, but I've seen as bad in Oregon & Montana. Light? Try 20+ hrs a day of light during dredging season. Even in winter Anchorage & south still has at least about 5hrs a day of light.
Is the gold here better? Not neccessarily. I wouldn't come here just for the gold. BUT, there are places here... Just like everywhere else!

I did eat some salmon while in Alaska, but Vance, I like what you're saying about the fine state of Alaska. I ate it because we were lucky enough to catch one, and the rest of the grub was commercial food just like anywhere else, just like you said.

TNC may have just been having some fun, but maybe he forgot to say so.

Alaska is drop-dead gorgeous, and the gold there is beautiful too. I'd go back in a heartbeat, and as for bugs--anywhere in the north there's bugs. There's no boundary that delineates where the little bloodsuckers live--I can vouch for that. I've fought my fair share of them many times over.

Besides, where there's lots of bugs, there's less people, and there's a better chance of finding nicer gold, vs. the well-hammered places where there's no bugs and lots of tourist types.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[KevinInColorado]

My wife recently announced that she wants to see ALL the national parks in her lifetime so I know for sure I will get to AK sometime or other. Bugs or not I am excited to see some of it and do a little sluicing here and there

 

[Steve Herschbach]

A claim being mined for 100 years often has more gold than one that has not. Ganes Creek, Alaska, has been mined for 100 years, has produced over 250,000 ounces of gold, and to this day can still produce over 1000 ounces in a season.

There are new practically virgin claims that have almost no gold on them.

Which would you pay more money for?

Personally I buy claims on creek with lots of mining history. "Mined out" is a relative term. Mined out for commercial mining purposes can mean lots of gold left for an independent small scale miner.

What makes Alaska special is I can go get a claim and go run a 6" dredge with an over the counter free permit and no hassle. Tell me what other state you can do that in?

 

[Jwoot]

Great points Steve. I'm really looking for a place to camp and dredge for the summer and since I have no experience I figured it might be best for me to stay in the lower 48 since it requires a smaller investment and has some good ground also. I was all about Alaska but there are just a few too many unknowns for me. cheaper and smaller claims in the lowers 48 seem to be a lot cheaper than Alaska, on the surface I would think this means less gold(in most cases) but most states don't carry the prestige of Alaska when it comes to gold mining. It's not like there is a Gold Rush Idaho/Washington/Colorado/Montana show haha. I guess I'm wondering if all the TV hype has affected the smaller claims in Alaska that anybody with a little savings can afford while not affecting the historically rich gold bearing streams in some of the lower 48.. especially east of CA

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Claim pricing has not changed in Alaska from before the shows and after from what I have seen. What I see is that here you are buying claims that can really be mined. They have value. Why would anyone sell genuine productive mining claims cheap?

 

[Jwoot]

I think we are on a different page. I was just looking at small claims for a couple people to work but work hard. What is considered recreation I guess but I feel like wages could be made with hard work on decent ground that most wouldn't bother with. It's not like it's easy work...certainly 10x tougher than my day job.

I'm pretty new to this and just askin questions, trying to get a feel while prospecting on the weekends.

 

[nuggetshooter323]

I spent a year remote tour at Shemya, in the Aluetian Islands at Ericsson Air Force Station. Even though we were on a 4 mile diameter island, I got lots of time in the Anchorage area, on the mainland. Alaska hands down is the best place I ever went to, even if you don't prospect, the hunting(a wolf hunt there is my dream hunt) fishing being close to nature. Plus I like the frontier attitude still present in Alaska.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Let's cut to the chase? What would you like to spend on a mining claim? Not holding you to it or anything, more for the educational discussion for people reading this.

By the way you say "dredge". Does that not eliminate California at least, if not the entire Lower 48 the way things are going?

 

[Jwoot]

That's really not what this thread was about. Anyway, buying a cheap claim is just an option, that's all. I'd rather not spend a dime on a claim.....Getting on a lease would be much easier for me but I'm on the EC now and I'm not wiling to invest a ton to head out west without something set in stone. Yea CA is obv eliminated and so is Oregon(just in case) but I doubt anyone else is going to pass legislation by summer 2013. This isn't a life plan.. I have a skill that makes great money and allows me to take very long vacations after every contract which I take advantage of and enjoy my life. That's all this is. Of course, in the back of my mind, I think maybe this is something I would enjoy more than my job and maybe I would keep at it while the gold price is high. While I still don't have the slightest clue, I have done a ton of research and understand basic things like dredging is illegal in CA.

In the lower 48 I find a lot of small 10 acre claims without a ton of water footage for well under 5k on historically gold bearing rivers but in remote areas.. the one I like has year round dredging and is down river from many historical mines that produced a lot. In Alaska they have more river footage because of the way the claims lay as far as I have seen but the cheaper seem to be slightly over 5k up to 10k. Those deadmans claims you wrote about were 6k each and you said that might be steep for overworked claims but you seemed to think there was a chance to do pretty well.

Let's cut to the chase? What would you like to spend on a mining claim? Not holding you to it or anything, more for the educational discussion for people reading this.

By the way you say "dredge". Does that not eliminate California at least, if not the entire Lower 48 the way things are going?

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Well, if you can get a good paying claim for only $5000 sounds like a deal to me. The assumption in Alaska would be that for $5000 it could not have much gold on it. I am in the market for a claim but expect I to pay a lot more than that. I was eyeballing one for $17,000 recently and I thought that was cheap. Again, I think the main thing driving prices here is the expectation of being able to do more with the ground. I would not pay much for a claim in California based solely on the idea that I would never really be able to do more than play around on it. And if that is exactly what you want to do then that is the way to go.

Not saying that is a bad thing either. I may get one if those little California claims myself!

 

[Jwoot]

Yea I don't have any interest in California. They seem extremely expensive and probably only have a few years left if politicians and environmentalists have their way.

I'd like to mainly start with dredging so Cali is out.