Alaska-how much has been detected?

[northoceanbeach]

Hi, I was going to get a minelab sd and kayak from ketchikan, see what I could find, in hard to get to places. What I'm wondering is how much tereritory has been gone over in a detector?

I know the old timers went over most everthing, and it seems like in alot of the popular spot down here(cali, ari., nevada) quite alot has been detected. But what's it like up there, especially if I kayak somewhere where there are no roads. Think it would be worthwhile? Or is this what alot of people already have done and I would be just reworking ground.

Thanks.

[Nashoba]

About all I can say is that it is a big state with lots of gold , and the old timers ,nor anyone since, have even come close to getting it all.
Do a little homework and go have a ball.
I wish you a prosperous trip.
~Nash~

[Steve Herschbach]

Hi northoceanbeach,

Alaska is virtually undetected. What detecting has been done has been on known gold locations which in Alaska means on mining claims.

I gather you are thinking of detecting in places that are not claimed. Be fun but the issue there is the likelihood of finding gold drops to near zero. It is hard enough to find gold in Alaska when you are sitting right in the middle of rich mining ground like at Ganes Creek or Moore Creek. So wandering around on ground where nobody has ever found gold before would be a real long shot.

Not impossible, however. First, you need the geology, so the best bet would be to work in known gold producing districts. Second, you need detectable gold within 2 feet of the surface if large enough and less than a foot if smaller. So now you can narrow it down to districts with larger gold and shallow ground cover. No point in hunting deep ground or an area known for only fine gold.

So you research out Big Gold Creek, find out where the claims are and stay off them if you do not have permission, and assuming the surrounding ground is open to prospecting (not National Park or Native Land) then hunt the ridges and gullies in the unclaimed areas. It is entirely possible you could locate a very high bench (ancient placer) deposit of even a residual or eluvial hillside deposit.

I'd like to do this in the high country up around my claims at Moore Creek, but the problem for me is time is limited, and so if I have the day to spend I invariably go for the sure thing of hunting the known nugget ground as opposed to the extreme long shot of wandering the hills. But if a person got lucky the payoff could be big so someday I'll have to give it a go.

Steve Herschbach

[warsawdaddy]

I'd certainly make sure there was a gold pan in my gear.

[EARTHLING]

make sure you have

gold pans
mini sluice
detector
pick and trowel
pinpointer optional

i have a BAIDARKA cedar strip kayak called a LAUGHING LOON that i spent 1 yr building from scratch... i wnvy the hell out of you if you do this cause thats what i always wanted to do

WATCH OUT....... a lot of the land is private owned along a lot of the rivers and you dont want to end up getting shot.... their laws are about the same as here in TEXAS

[EARTHLING]

1 more thing.............. you might try to get yourself a book called.......... "where to hunt for gold in Alaska without getting shot"........... this is not a joke... i dont know if it is in print anymore but try anyway

[Seamuss]

Most prospectors that get a lot of gold in one spot don't get all that is at that location. They also don't tell exactly how much or how little they get there. Nor do they tell their exact location. New gold is being washed down out of the hills every year replenishing the gold that was taken out.

Reseach where gold has been found before and how to extract it and have fun claiming your share.

[jog]

make sure you have

gold pans
mini sluice
detector
pick and trowel
pinpointer optional

i have a BAIDARKA cedar strip kayak called a LAUGHING LOON that i spent 1 yr building from scratch... i wnvy the hell out of you if you do this cause thats what i always wanted to do

WATCH OUT....... a lot of the land is private owned along a lot of the rivers and you dont want to end up getting shot.... their laws are about the same as here in TEXAS

Don'T forget bear pepper spray or a big hand gun.(BIG BEARS)

[killian110]

Yes, definitely watch out for the big bears and know what bear sign is. Bear sign is bear poop full of pepper and hand guns.

[MD Dog]

New technique to learn swing detect yell, swing detect yell. That should solve the bear problem. If you run into a bear at night, run, it's no accident your being stalked !

[Hoser John]

There have been many miners but how many knew what the LL they were doing--especially with detectors--just be damn sure you are on public property!!! tons a au 2 u 2-John

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Read and agree with you 5 X 5 John.

Don Jose de La Mancha

[Newt]

Just go and report back.
Good luck!
Newt