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Nevertheless, some of the largest gold nuggets found in Alaska have been found in the area, including the 9th largest (92 troy ounces). 92,000 ounces of placer gold and 8000 ounces of gold from lode mines has come from the district. [42] Today, the district is located within Denali National Park and Preserve. [45]
Anvil Creek produced the second-largest gold nugget found in Alaska (182 troy ounces), as well as the 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th-largest. [2] [3] Except while prohibited by law during WWII, placer mining near Nome has continued to this day. Over 3.6 million troy ounces of gold have been recovered from the creeks of the Nome District.
The Ruby–Poorman mining district in the U.S. state of Alaska produced nearly a half million ounces of gold, all from placer mines. Some of the largest gold nuggets found in Alaska are from the district, which lies along the Yukon River. [1] The placers are mostly deeply buried, and most were originally worked with shafts and drifts.
[2] [3] Nuggets are usually 20.5 to 22 karat (k) purity, meaning they are 83% to 92% gold by mass. Gold nuggets in Australia are often 23 k or slightly higher, while Alaskan nuggets are usually at the lower end of the spectrum. Purity can be roughly assessed by nugget color: the richer and deeper the orange-yellow, the higher the gold content.
The mining camp of Petersville, Alaska served as the area Post Office for several years in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Two areas have been set aside for recreational gold mining, the North and South units of the Petersville State Recreation Mining Areas. Many smaller one-man and family placer mining operations continue today.
Their operations resulted in total production of 2.9 million troy ounce (oz) gold, 1.9 million oz silver, and 40 million lbs lead. [7] Period 1970–1985. Since the late 1970s, with gold prices rising to $600-$800 an oz, many claims were staked again. Old prospects and mines were reexamined but did not proceed further than that.
Surpassing 7 million ounces in 2016, Fort Knox is the largest producer of gold in the history of the state of Alaska. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] The mine's life is expected to extend to 2027 following a $100 million expansion investment announced in 2018, increasing life-of-mine production by about 1.5 million gold equivalent ounces. [ 12 ]
The large placer mine gold find was one of the first in Alaska and [1] the Anvil Creek Gold Discovery Site was one of the richest placer claim sites ever found in Alaska. It yielded more than $5 million during its first five years. By 1965 the site was "largely returned to nature". [2] The gold find helped trigger the Nome gold rush. [3]