The Alaska-Gastineau Mine (alternate: Perseverance Mine)
was a
gold mine Gold Mine may refer to:
* Gold Mine (board game)
*Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena
*"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album ''ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characteri ...
in Perseverance, about east of
Juneau, Alaska, USA.
It was briefly the largest gold mine in the world.
The mine was operated by the
Alaska-Gastineau Mining Company.
Geography
![Gold Creek map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Gold_Creek_map.PNG)
The Alaska-Gastineau Mine was located within the
Silver Bow Basin. Its concentrating plant was situated near
Thane
Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven taluk ...
.
The mine had a shaft running through
Mount Roberts that reached the Perseverance Mine near Gold Creek.
It adjoined the Alaska-Juneau Mine.
The mine's low-grade ore is situated on a mountain above the
Gastineau Channel
Gastineau Channel ( Lingít: ''Séet Ká'') is a channel between the mainland of the U.S. state of Alaska and Douglas Island in the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska. It separates Juneau on the mainland side from Douglas (now part ...
. Its ore body covered approximately , more than in length, with of tunnels and crosscuts. According to Jackling, the block of ore had at least 100,000,000 tons above sea level.
The property consisted of a group of claims whose lode system covered .
It was operated on a 6,000-ton daily capacity.
History
The mine's large scale development began in 1912.
In 1913, while it was under construction, Emile Gastonguay was hired as the mine's chief electrician
by managing director,
Daniel C. Jackling.
Bartlett L. Thane was the manager.
Becoming unprofitable, it was shut down in 1921.
Features
For a period of time preceding World War I, the Alaska-Gastineau Mine was the largest gold mine in the world.
Its mills were said to be the largest and most modern gold-crushing plant in the world.
For its time, the
ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...
was handled more economically than in any other Northwest mine.
"The mill avoided chemical processing with cyanide (''
cyanidation'') or mercury
amalgamation
Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form.
Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal
**Pan am ...
circuits by smelting all the concentrate."
References
{{Reflist, 2
Gold mines in the United States
Buildings and structures in Juneau, Alaska
Gold mining in Alaska
1912 establishments in Alaska
1921 disestablishments in Alaska
Mines in Alaska