The Alaska-Gastineau Mine (alternate: Perseverance Mine) was a

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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

The Alaska-Gastineau Mine was located within the Silver Bow Basin. Its concentrating plant was situated near

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. 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

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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