Nome mining district
Encyclopedia
The Nome mining district, also known as the Cape Nome mining district, is a gold mining
district in the U.S. state of Alaska
. It was discovered in 1898 when Erik Lindblom
, Jafet Lindeberg
and John Brynteson
, the "Three Lucky Swedes" , found placer gold
deposits on Anvil Creek and on the Snake River, a few miles from the future site of Nome
. Word of the strike caused a major gold rush
to Nome in the spring of 1899.
This was one of the first and was the biggest Alaskan gold rush: in North America, only the California and Klondike stampedes were larger. A chaotic and lawless scene ensued, with rampant claim-jumping, crooked judges, and not enough gold found for the 20,000 prospectors, gamblers, shop and saloon-keepers, and prostitutes living in the tent city on the beachfront tundra, at least not at first. Then someone thought to pan the red-and-black streaked beach sands. Within days, gold was found for tens of miles up and down the beach from Nome. More than a million dollars worth of gold was taken from the beach in 1899. Subsequently the second and third beach lines were discovered and mined. Anvil Creek produced the second-largest gold nugget found in Alaska (182 troy ounces), as well as the 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th-largest.
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.
A myriad of small hard-rock gold deposits were exploited near Nome, but production was very small, compared to the placer deposits, and none of the hard rock mines operated for more than a few years.
In 1908, the Alaska Road Commission
began constructing a trail from Seward
to Nome, and in 1911, one year after the trail was completed, thousands of prospectors mushed or hiked to the Iditarod
gold fields, a population boom that helped lead to Alaska becoming a territory. That trail is known as the Iditarod Trail
, and is about 900 miles long.
Plans include additional ore from the Big Hurrah mine, 42 miles west in the Solomon River watershed, to be trucked to the mill at Rock Creek. Big Hurrah originally opened in 1908, an underground mine exploting large quartz veins cutting black slates. The mine closed after only a few years; it was reopened for a few years in the 1950s and again in the 1970s. Big Hurrah was the largest underground mine on the Seward Peninsula.
Both sites will be mined from open pits and ore recovery will use a combination of gravity methods and vat cyanide leach procedures. Rock Creek and Big Hurrah have combined probable reserves of 510,000 ounces of gold, with 32,000 additional indicated and inferred ounces of gold. Ore grade is about 1.75 g/t gold (0.05 ounces per ton gold).
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
district in the U.S. state of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. It was discovered in 1898 when Erik Lindblom
Erik Lindblom
Erik O. Lindblom was one of the “Three Lucky Swedes” who discovered gold in the Nome mining district.-Background:Erik Olof Lindblom was born in Dalarna, Sweden, the son of Olof Lindblom and Brita Lindblom. Lindblom's father was a respected land owner and school master in Sweden...
, Jafet Lindeberg
Jafet Lindeberg
Jafet Lindeberg was a gold prospector and co-founder of the city of Nome, Alaska.-Background:Jafet Lindeberg was born in Kvænangen, Troms county, in Norway. In his youth, he tried prospecting for gold in northern Norway. Lindeberg's father, Isak, was a farmer and fisherman...
and John Brynteson
John Brynteson
John Brynteson was one the "The Lucky Swedes" who founded and developed the Nome mining district.-Background:...
, the "Three Lucky Swedes" , found placer gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
deposits on Anvil Creek and on the Snake River, a few miles from the future site of Nome
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
. Word of the strike caused a major gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
to Nome in the spring of 1899.
This was one of the first and was the biggest Alaskan gold rush: in North America, only the California and Klondike stampedes were larger. A chaotic and lawless scene ensued, with rampant claim-jumping, crooked judges, and not enough gold found for the 20,000 prospectors, gamblers, shop and saloon-keepers, and prostitutes living in the tent city on the beachfront tundra, at least not at first. Then someone thought to pan the red-and-black streaked beach sands. Within days, gold was found for tens of miles up and down the beach from Nome. More than a million dollars worth of gold was taken from the beach in 1899. Subsequently the second and third beach lines were discovered and mined. Anvil Creek produced the second-largest gold nugget found in Alaska (182 troy ounces), as well as the 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th-largest.
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.
A myriad of small hard-rock gold deposits were exploited near Nome, but production was very small, compared to the placer deposits, and none of the hard rock mines operated for more than a few years.
In 1908, the Alaska Road Commission
Alaska Road Commission
The Board of Road Commissioners for Alaska, more commonly known as the Alaska Road Commission or ARC, was created in 1905 as a board of the U.S. War Department...
began constructing a trail from Seward
Seward
-Family name:* Bronwyn Seward , San Joaquin League Female athlete of the year * Madelyn Seward , Warriors CIF Basketball all league forward* Adam Seward , National Football League player...
to Nome, and in 1911, one year after the trail was completed, thousands of prospectors mushed or hiked to the Iditarod
Iditarod
Iditarod may refer to:*Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, an annual sled dog race in the Alaskan Interior and western coast*Iditarod Trail, a historical trail across the Alaskan Interior*Iditarod, Alaska, a town for which the trail and races are named...
gold fields, a population boom that helped lead to Alaska becoming a territory. That trail is known as the Iditarod Trail
Iditarod Trail
The Iditarod Trail, also known historically as the Seward-to-Nome Mail Trail, refers to a thousand-plus mile historic and contemporary trail system in the U.S...
, and is about 900 miles long.
Rock Creek mine
A new hardrock gold mine, Rock Creek, has been built. Start-up procedures began in September 2008. Production efforts were suspended in November, due to design inadequecies in the mill and complications meeting regulatory requirements. NovaGold's Rock Creek project has two planned components; the Rock Creek mine and mill complex seven miles north of Nome and the historic underground Big Hurrah mine site 42 miles east. Both sites are on the road net. The gold deposit at Rock Creek consists of sheeted gold and sulfide-bearing quartz veins in metamorphosed and deformed pelitic sediments. A placer gold deposit exploited in the early and late 1900s overlies the hardrock deposit. Early miners sunk workings to explore for hardrock gold, but did not find the large and high-grade gold-in-quartz veins necessary to be economic at that time. A prescient USGS geologist in 1908 identified the cluster of small veins as essentially a "large low grade gold deposit". Underlying land is patented land owned by NovaGold and by the Sitnasauk Native village (surface) and Bering Sea regional (subsurface) Alaska Native Corporations.Plans include additional ore from the Big Hurrah mine, 42 miles west in the Solomon River watershed, to be trucked to the mill at Rock Creek. Big Hurrah originally opened in 1908, an underground mine exploting large quartz veins cutting black slates. The mine closed after only a few years; it was reopened for a few years in the 1950s and again in the 1970s. Big Hurrah was the largest underground mine on the Seward Peninsula.
Both sites will be mined from open pits and ore recovery will use a combination of gravity methods and vat cyanide leach procedures. Rock Creek and Big Hurrah have combined probable reserves of 510,000 ounces of gold, with 32,000 additional indicated and inferred ounces of gold. Ore grade is about 1.75 g/t gold (0.05 ounces per ton gold).