Gold in Alaska! Thousands have spent their lives searching for the elusive metal in the Great State. My name is Steve Herschbach. I am fortunate indeed to have been born in Alaska, and to have been introduced to gold mining at an early age by my father, Bud Herschbach. Prospecting has taken me far and wide across Alaska, and is the main reason Alaska Mining & Diving Supply was founded. Although the company has grown far beyond it's original beginnings, to this day I am still actively involved in the search for gold and other minerals. Most of my spare time in the summer is spent gold dredging, metal detecting, and prospecting. While the extra income is nice, it is the search itself that keeps me going... the adventure of prospecting in Alaska!
Steve with 14.1 Dwt Nugget found at Ganes Creek, Alaska
I plan to update this page after each outing I make in the future, and I will also backtrack and document some of my earlier mining adventures. I hope to give you an idea of what can be done by one person with relatively inexpensive equipment in Alaska. Keep in mind I have been doing this most of my life as a professional, and that I am familiar with the areas I am working. I don't want to imply you can just jump right in and have the same results I have. On the other hand, if one works at it, the rewards of gold mining can be immense. I'm not talking about just the gold, but the sheer fun and adventure of the search! So here we go, with the successes, and occasional failures, of a prospector in Alaska. If you have any mining related questions check the Alaska Gold Mining FAQ. If the answer is not there, then email me at coldminer@akmining.com and I'll do my best to help you out. The reuse of these stories and images is strictly protected under the copyright laws. You may not do so without my express permission. Image reuse on other websites will normally only require a credit and a link back to this page... but only if I am notified in advance for permission! This Journal is dedicated to my lovely wife, Karen, for encouraging and supporting my adventures, and to my father, for getting me started on the search for gold. ~ Steve Herschbach First Gold with a Metal Detector
1973 - 1989 Winter Dredging at Crow Creek
Fall 1996 Spring Dredging at Crow Creek
April 24, 1999 What's Placer Gold Worth?
May 1, 1999 Origin of Gold at Crow Creek
May 8, 1999 Flooded Out! of Crow Creek
Goldmaster & SD2200D Detectors
May 15, 1999 Detecting w/Tesoro Lobo at Crow Creek
May 23, 1999 Detecting Small Gold at Crow Creek
May 30, 1999 About Subsurface Gold Dredges
June 24, 1999 Old Stream Layers at Crow Creek
July,10 1999 Mills Creek Cooperative
July 17, 1999 4" Subsurface Dredge at Mills Creek
August 15, 1999 5" Subsurface Dredge at Mills Creek
August 21, 1999 Gold Mining at Mills Creek
September 5, 1999 Gold Dredging at Mills Creek
October 2, 1999 Metal Detecting at Mills Creek
October 5, 1999 4" Subsurface Dredges at Crow Creek
October 9, 1999 Sluicing Gold at Crow Creek
October 17, 1999 Sniping for Gold at Mills Creek
October 24, 1999 Gold in Hawaii
Winter 1999 Spring Gold at Crow Creek
May 2000 SD2200D at Crow Creek
June 10, 2000 GPAA Claims at Mills Creek
June 24, 2000 Detecting Gold at Chisana
July 21, 2000 Detecting for Lode Gold
August 13, 2000 | Detecting Gold in the Fortymile
September 1, 2000 Fall Mining at Mills Creek
September 16, 2000 Fall Dredging at Crow Creek
November 4, 2000 Gold Layers at Crow Creek
June 15, 2001 Detecting Gold at Ganes Creek
June 22, 2001 Exploring Petersville, Alaska
August 5, 2001 Lode Gold at Hatcher Pass
August 12, 2001 Minelab SD2200D at Fortymile
August 18, 2001 First Gold with White's GMT
May 11, 2002 Memorial Day at Ganes Creek
May 25, 2002 Detector Reps at Ganes Creek
June 17, 2002 Labor Day at Ganes Creek
August 29, 2002 Shadow X5 at Crow Creek
September 18, 2002 Garrett Infinium in Hawaii
February 18, 2003 GP 3000 Gets Fortymile Gold
June 6, 2003 Moore Creek, Alaska
June 28, 2003 Minelab GP 3000 at Moore Creek
August 7, 2003 Garrett Infinium at Moore Creek
Fall 2003 White's Electronics in Alaska
1972-2002 Moore Creek, 2004
June 2004 George's Nugget (Moore Creek)
July 2004 Platinum in Hawaii
December 18, 2004 The Bulldozer Adventure (Moore Creek)
Fall 2004 & Spring 2005  Minelab GP 3500 Review
September 2005
White's Matrix M6 in Hawaii
December 20, 2005 Minelab X-Terra 50 in Cabo
Spring 2006 |
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