There are currently about 170 commercial-scale placer operations in Alaska. Most of these are small operations with just a few people working; they are often family affairs that operate seasonally only during favorable weather.

It rained over four inches that night and the creek flooded both my backyard and my workshop. When I opened the door to my workshop Christmas morning, an unwelcome sight greeted me.

Day three was a copy of day two. I started real low in the long wash to see if I could prove how far down the gold had made it.

Looking at the exceptions to the basic rules is sort of an advanced prospecting discussion, but the readers of ICMJs Prospecting and Mining Journal are plenty able to handle it.

This wash was not far from where I once dug a half-ounce nugget, so I knew there was gold in the area.

You might think that gold prospecting techniques are basically the same everywhere, and in many instances you’d be correct. Some geographical locations, however, due to their unique geological conditions, present unusual challenges...