Research, Research, Research!

Hi,

The absolute key to success in prospecting is research. It is the perfect winter activity. And easier than ever these days thanks to the internet. We are lucky here in Alaska as the state has undertaken to scan and make available a wide range of publications online at no charge. The USGS Bulletins are a particular favorite of mine. The Alaska Territorial Department of Mines reports in various years are also fascinating reading, all about who was doing what and where. There are also lots of maps available.

You can easily get a full list of available publications by Quadrangle at http://www.dggs.dnr.state.ak.us/pubs/pubs?reqtype=quads - just click on a Quad and there you go! You can download the reports to your computer for faster access.

They have a site search feature but I do not find it as useful as Google. Go to the Google Advanced Search at http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en and enter your search term. You can also put in terms to exclude. The key is to put dggs.dnr.state.ak.us in the Search within a site or domain: box near the bottom. This forces a search on only the state website holding the publications. A search on "Moore Creek" returns 67 results.

Some of the reports include a lot of geologic terminology you may be unfamiliar with. Not a problem really as mostly what you are looking for is historic information. But learning about the types of rocks in which gold occurs is a good idea, as seeking out those types of formations is also a key to serious prospecting. But that is another subject for another post!

Finally, if your research reveals a good area, check for land status and existing mining claims online at The Alaska Mapper and BLM Alaska SDMS. Plat searches at LandRecords.info can also be helpful.