Permits for AK?

[Capt Nemo]

I have been looking for the permits required for my Alaska trip. I looked into the permit for the Department of Revenue and found that I don't need a permit for exploration, which is our primary mission ( locate and post claims). The APMA doesn't seem to apply yet. We would be panning and running gold traps to determine extent and value of the deposit. I do have to find ground worth building 30 miles of road required for mine development. We would be about 3 miles upstream of the furthest known extent of salmon in the stream, so I don't think we'll have any problem with that.

So other than the paperwork for MTRSC claims, anything else I might need for permits?

 

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[KevinInColorado]

Are you heading up this summer? I am!

 

[dredgernaut]

i go crazy when i drive that far , i start thinking about how much gold i drove over just to hopefully go find some , i crossed tons to find ounces , lol , will you be working by hand only , how much prospecting are you planning to do , or are you mostly going to file claims .

since your from wisco like me , a friendly reminder , take your cheese with you , they do not have good cheese , lol

 

[Capt Nemo]

I may put it off a year, just to make sure I'm totally prepared for a month away from everything. Easy to forget something critical to survival.

We're going up to first locate, sample and test the area, and hopefully post claims. Pretty much all will be done by hand. We'll have pans, Flow Pans, Grizzly Explorers, possibly a model 4 fluid bed or modded Bucket Buddy bed, and a miller table. My big worry is finding that the deposit is just a pocket of stupidly rich material that one could mine in a week, and everything else has little to nothing. 5 oz per hour panning sounds almost too good to be true. Either it was too remote for prospectors to penetrate, or there wasn't enough gold to make it pay. We're going to roll the dice and see what happens. Worst case is a bust, expecting a break even for the trip, and best case we go home with a mine.

 

[dredgernaut]

sounds like a good time , 5oz per hour sounds unreal , but good luck anyways , but for that kinda gold you don't go visit , you move , lol

 

[Sockeye1730]

As long as your using hand tools for "recreational" prospecting, I don't think any permits are required. The AK mining and diving website has a lot of good info you might find useful.

 

[Sockeye1730]

Dredging and pumps are another story

 

[Capt Nemo]

The only pumps we'd be using would be for recirculation on the fluid bed, and miller table. The recirc bed will be for those areas away from the main creek where you can't pan easily. There's a lot of meltwater streams for water, but not deep enough to do much in.

 

[dredgernaut]

hey captain , i would like to go , i can be ready to go with 20 min lead time , lol , but seriously

 

[Goldwasher]

5oz per pan...where did that info come from

 

[Capt Nemo]

That info came from a friend's brother that panned it up there. He spent 3 hours panning and went home with 15 oz. He's a fool for not going back and claiming that! But no new claims have appeared since that report. So, we're going to go check it out and stake it if true. That's kind of why I think it's a rich pocket not representative of the rest of the ground. I had looked at this area as a spot of good potential, and then I got this report from almost the same spot. I think what's keeping people out is the mountain. If you built a road over it, it's 30 mi to civilization, but hiking the stream, 150 mi. Hopefully, there's enough there to warrant building the road.

 

[Vance in AK]

30 miles of road over a mountain up here is millions of dollars & a permitting nightmare but if there really was ground that rich I guess it would be worth it. I do find it hard to believe his report (and the fact that he went to all the trouble of prospecting this once in a million life times ground & didn't stake it) but if you know him to be a man of integrity... If it's not there you had an expensive adventure right :-)
How are you getting in?

 

[Goldwasher]

I don't care who it is even If i'm related if the 15 oz weren't put right in front of me I would never believe a "report" like that.

It also doesn't makes sense that there would be one pocket that rich in an area that didn't have at least a good amount of activity.

More than a "pocket" if you pan 15 oz in three hours.

I have heard of several large fine gold concentrations on some of the rivers here but, they were discovered and recovered while dredging.

I hope it goes well for you.

 

[akflyer]

Why a road? if the ground is that rich. cough cough cough, flying everything in would be the way to go. You sure your buddy was not dabbling in the dope and mistook 3 hours for 3 days? 5 oz and hour with a pan is pretty much too damn good to be true.

 

[Capt Nemo]

We're flying in by helicopter to start, as there's not enough space for fixed wing landing. But you're not going to airlift a dozer, excavator or drilling equipment up there. You'd need a road in there for a mine.

From the photo I saw, nothing in that pan was smaller than #20, and the largest was 3/8". It makes me wonder how far upstream the gold goes. I think we're pretty close to a lode just from the size. As for trustworthiness, I wouldn't expect many lies within a family. You'd call all the family in on something like this, and the whole family gets rich, or at least those that want to work for it.

 

[Sockeye1730]

I wouldn't worry at all about a recirculating bilge / battery powered pump. The ADF&G habitat permit covers gas-powered equipment, with a primary concern over fish bearing streams. Even in productive fish streams they generally allow dredging and highbanking when eggs are not in the gravel. If you're not prospecting an anadromous (salmon) stream, the rules are generally quite lenient up here. Call the AK Fish and Game Habitat Division and talk to them about the drainage you are planning to prospect.

 

[dredgernaut]

sounds like there could be millions just through a highbanker , why waste on overhead , with that kind of pay you could work a couple weeks and take years off from work , recreationally. mixing blood and money is dangerous be careful

if you need more than 5 oz. per hr. - there will never be enough gold in the world , but best of luck too ya, wish i could see it,

 

[Capt Nemo]

We're a few miles above the last known point of salmon in the stream, and beyond that there's not much to provide enough food for the fry. Plus the water is a little cloudy from the glacial debris. There's a small dead spot in the stream at almost the exact mileage I was told, so that's the perfect spot for the gold to get trapped. Downstream there's a real nice patch of boulder bar that could stand a good prospecting. Lots of bare benches on both sides for a mile.

 

[Vance in AK]

We're flying in by helicopter to start, as there's not enough space for fixed wing landing. But you're not going to airlift a dozer, excavator or drilling equipment up there. You'd need a road in there for a mine.

Not arguing but you would be surprised what equipment get's flown in up here! It's amazing what you can stick in a C-130 with a little imagination & determination. They take the blade, c-frame & ROPS canopy of of dozers & fly them in (not to mention fuel for same). In remote areas much of the equipment goes in with no road during the winter if river ice is capable of carrying the weight. Some places roads just aren't feasible. If it really is that rich than a large sample plant (or small production plant) with a small excavator & small dozer should make you rich in a short time & be easy on fuel needs. Fuel will be a killer for you (dollars).
Good luck & be sure & take a TON of pics & video for us!

 

[ProspectorALEX]

hi. so, i have been getting permits for beach mining here in kenai and was able to talk to a man who works for the DNR. if you were to work in a stream where the salmon are spawning, they have to go out to the area and examine it first. as far as dredges go, i have found no needed permits as long as you don't go any larger than a five or six inch depending on land ownership. in some areas, they have general permits for whole drainages that are over the counter and don't cost a cent. there is the no mining in anadromous streams rule from July 1 to May 15. other than that, i haven't found anything as far as permits that will be needed.