Can I strike it rich looking for gold in Alaska?

[Steve Herschbach]

Yes, you most certainly can. But it is not easy. This post is aimed specifically at the large number of new inquiries we are getting in Alaska due to high gold prices and a certain TV show.

The problem is gold is VERY hard to find at a profit even when you have years of experience. Beginners have to plan on having sufficient funding to just chalk up a season or two to learning as it is almost impossible to make money right off the bat. Unless somebody who does know what they are doing takes you on as a partner.

The number one problem is getting access to ground that has enough gold to pay well. Most of the good stuff is claimed up or off limits due to being in parks or other places closed to mining. People do not want to believe this but it is true, even in the most remote portions of Alaska. So you usually have to buy or lease a claim. Good claims cost a lot of money. Leases can work well if structured properly but can have issues of their own.

There are also a pile of regulations and permits to deal with. That alone is enough to make a new prospectors head spin. There are different rules for different land status types. You can get a start in that regard near the bottom of the page at http://www.akmining.com/forums/showt...als-for-Alaska along with a lot of good research material.

Last but not least in Alaska you can only mine for half the year or less. Most of us here hold regular jobs and prospect and mine on the side. The ones that mine for a living have a lot of money invested in bulldozers, excavators, and washplants to be able to make enough in the short season to live on through the winter.

The cheapest way a person can go is a one man operation running a 6" suction dredge. You can get fully outfitted for about $10,000.00 not including food, gas, transportation, lease overhead, maintenance. If you can find some good ground and work at it, you could average 1/4 oz to 1/2 oz per day. Very rich ground could give up an ounce a day or more. I am talking good ground with experienced operator. Trust me there are lots of people who are not even doing as good as that who would like to. You get better days and you get worse days - they average out. And ALL days count. People tend to just figure the gold they get the days they are mining. But travel time counts. Days to fix breakdowns, the days you get flooded out, they all count against the gold average. Your expenses do not stop just because you are not getting gold.

Your food, gas, transportation, lease overhead, maintenance, depreciation of equipment, etc. all come out of the gold you get. The gold is not pure. Figure you will end up with about 75%-85% of whatever the current market price is. Maybe more if you get jewelry gold and can market it effectively.

I have some exceptionally rich ground that I could perhaps average an ounce or more a day with a six inch dredge. But it is very remote, with at best a 90 day operating season. Fuel flown in will run over $10 per gallon on site. About $1 a pound for every pound of gear/food flown in. And lots of floods which can shut you down for days or weeks. It is like farming - mother nature can really mess with you.

Metal detecting gets a lot of interest since people think it is easy and because many detectors can be had at very reasonable prices that can do the job. But for nearly everyone metal detecting is more of a hobby activity, with few people ever finding enough to pay for the detector. Even more so than other types of prospecting you must have access to premium ground. I do believe there are good opportunities for the serious detectorist in Alaska but it will take a lot of research and dedication to do well detecting in Alaska.

The current high price of gold sure makes things easier, but the fact is it is just not as easy as people who have never done it think. That is not being negative, that is just years of experience talking. So if you want to give it a go by all means do so but be realistic. Frankly, if you are starting cold with nobody to guide you figure the first trip is a money loser just to get the education. If you are willing to invest time and money into the trade and persevere then you can be one of the few who do actually succeed.

[GrizRod1]

Good info Steve and at least people are getting the straight poop. That's what I like about your forum. Don't have to keep emptying my boots out from all the bull crap.

In Guyana about the whole country was claimed but leases were plentiful, same problems though, remote areas only workable part of the year due to the rainy seasons. Expensive fuel having to be hauled over rough roads with six-wheel drive trucks. I'd heard of some good claims producing 15 ounces per week with four inch land dredges, could have been bull. Never saw that myself anywhere I went. And that would be with a four man crew and a cook.

An ounce a day sounds great, but as you said inexperienced gold miners will never see that without spending the time to learn the craft. Now if we all could just find an old retired pro who's bored and would like to get back in the field for expenses and a percentage.

[Lanny]

Great, straight-shooting post Steve. You did a great job telling it the way it really is. Moreover, gold mining is hard, hard work, and lots of people fail to grasp this in any way whatsoever.

One more thing, as you sell mining equipment, I truly admire your integrity in shooting straight--it could cost you a lot in lost equipment sales. But you most certainly are not a hustler, simply in it to make a ton of money off of fleecing the Cheechakos that think it's easy to strike it rich.

I remember years ago I asked you for some honest information on some metal detectors I was comparing, and you did the same thing for me--you laid it out straight for me, and you told me then that it was more important for you to tell me the truth, even if it cost you a sale.

All the best, and thanks for such a great, honest post, eye-opening post

Lanny

[micropedes1]

Get rich quick?? Not very likely. Case in point: I moved a pair of 8 inch dredges from California to Alaska last season. Took along some help, too. Assembled equipment, sampled lots of ground, shook lots of hands, and made good contacts where ever I went. I plan on being there for many seasons to come. Don't want to step on any toes or irritate any of the old time miners that are resident. All expenses, absolutely no income. But that was expected. Probaby $16K cost. This year, I already have claim owners calling me to sample/work their claims. Good equipment and strong work ethic make a difference. Mining is the hardest work that you will ever love. Will I make some money? I dunno; never can tell. That's why they call it prospecting. Now...just watching the ice melt! Come on spring.

[Walt_Anchorage]

Steve,
With all respect, I think you may be overly optimistic. Every Alaskan I have known who mined for a living was usually on the verge of going broke. Even my friend who found a 294 oz nugget (and many smaller ones) had to sell it to pay off the debts he had accumulated from mining and now goes back out looking for another pay streak every summer.

Don’t think you can save your mortgage by mining in Alaska. You may as well plan on winning the lottery. On the other hand if you’re looking for adventure and money is not the object there is nothing better than searching for gold in Alaska.

[Steve Herschbach]

Most miner go broke. To quote myself:

"The problem is gold is VERY hard to find at a profit even when you have years of experience. Beginners have to plan on having sufficient funding to just chalk up a season or two to learning as it is almost impossible to make money right off the bat. Unless somebody who does know what they are doing takes you on as a partner."

My post was intended to warn people it is not easy. If you are reading anything else I wrote it wrong. As micropedes1 illustrates it is not about knowing how to mine in California. It is knowing about how to mine in Alaska. And it is about being a businessman. There are miners and there are smart businessmen, but few are both. And most importantly, it is not what you know, but who you know.

Get rich? Not likely, though I know a few who have. As in millions. Make darn good money? Yes, it can be done. But do not think it will be easy, and do not think it will be without risk.

[micropedes1]

With the possibility of great opportunity comes great risk. Most are unwilling to risk the money or they lack the work ethic required to do any serious mining. From what I have seen, when faced with all the hard work that goes into mining, most tuck their tail and seek an easier job. Serving fries at a fast food joint will earn most of them more money in the long run. Too many responsibilities at home have them trapped into being "wage slaves". Just as well; that keeps it mighty quiet while dredging in the backcountry.

[Geo Jim]

Well I dont entirely agree with what Steve wrote about 99% of the good stuff is all claimed up. I could agree to 90%, but not 99%. Maybe i have a skewed perspective being a geologist that has lived here for over 30 years. However I think that any savvy prospector could find what I have found by combing the USGS's and ADGGS's maps and other publications.

You must be thinking something like, "If he is so damn smart, why aint he rich?" Steve already answered that question. It takes wads of money to prove that the gold is there. The prospects are too difficult to get to those remote locations. Anybody out there have a helicopter that wants to stake some mining claims?

There are some dandy areas that are locked up in national parks and other restricted areas. Another problem is some of my likely prospects are deep. The geology may be perfect, but if it is 50 or 100 feet deep, it will probably stay undiscovered for a while.

I guess I ought to prepare an atlas of maps to my secret prospects. Then sell them for $25,000 each. Just joking about the atlas, but not anything else in this post.
Geo Jim

[Steve Herschbach]

Ha! You just like to agree to disagree Jim!!. 99% is just a number pulled out of my posterior. Maybe it is 89%. Maybe 95%. Whatever. The point is the good stuff is mostly claimed. Or in National Parks or other off limits lands. Same difference.

There is good stuff left out there and like you I have my secret map. Mine is not for sale however.

[Geo Jim]

OK. Well I dont mean to imply that all my secret spots are in national parks. I know of likely streams in ground open for staking and unclaimed. I dont do national parks or even state parks. Yes, I know of some good spots in national parks, but i wont elaborate about them. I have a list on good looking placer prospects in Alaska on state land mostly.
Geo Jim