Juneau mining district

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Juneau mining district
Alaska Mining District
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Juneau mining district
Coordinates: 58°20′N134°40′W / 58.333°N 134.667°W / 58.333; -134.667

The Juneau mining district is a gold mining area in the U.S. state of Alaska.

Contents

In 1880 a local inhabitant, Chief Kowee, revealed to prospectors Joe Juneau and Richard Harris the presence of gold in what is now named Gold Creek in Silver Bow Basin. The city of Juneau was founded there that year. The strike sparked the Juneau gold rush which resulted in the development of many placer and lode mines. The largest early mines were the Treadwell complex and the AJ lode mine. The steep, wet, timber-covered, seaside mountain setting provided water power, transportation, and lumber such that, "extraordinarily low costs of operation make available low grade ore that under conditions only slightly different would be valueless." [1]

The first claims of what was to become the Treadwell complex were staked in 1881. Mining the Treadwell site began by sluicing residual placers over the lode deposits. Underground mining began with a five-stamp mill operating in 1883. In the mid-1910s, with 960 stamps grinding ore and tunnels reaching as far as 2,400 feet (730 m) below the surface and extending under the sea, Treadwell was one of the most technologically advanced mines of its day. Up to 2000 people worked at the mine before a collapse allowed the rising tide to flood the tunnels in 1917. All operations at the Treadwell ceased by 1922. [2]

As the Treadwell mines declined and closed, the AJ (Alaska Juneau) mine rose in prominence. After years of losses and labor problems, the mine became profitable in the mid-1920s: with 600 workers it was setting production records. Through the decade, it was the main economic engine of Juneau. In the 1930s, with 1000 workers, it was an important factor in softening the impact upon Juneau of the Great Depression. [3] Economic pressures of WWII lead to the closure of the AJ in 1944; this was the end of the dominance of mining in the Juneau economy. [4]

Although those two mines are long-since closed, as late as 2010 one of the hydropower plants built to power the AJ was still in use. [5] Fires and time have destroyed most traces of the Treadwell complex; the AJ mine buildings were burned by vandals and little can be seen by visitors these days because of the growth of alders. The Juneau mining district, comprising the area between the Canada–US border, Lynn Canal, Admiralty Island, and Frederick Sound, has produced over 7 million ounces of lode gold and 80,000 ounces of placer gold. [6]

History

Period of 1869–1921
Treadwell Mine Treadwell Mine.jpg
Treadwell Mine
Treadwell Miners Treadwell Miners.jpg
Treadwell Miners

The year 1869 was historic in Alaskan history as it marked the first discovery of gold tracers at Powers Creek and Windham Bay, which resulted in the first gold production in Alaska. [7] The initiative to establish mines were from Treadwell and Alaska Juneau establishments and both became large mining complexes. The emphasis in the initial stages was to extract gold from on gold tracer deposits. However, in the early 1880s, importance shifted to Lode deposits. In 1881, in order to increase production the Treadwell (They were a complex of three firms with four mines) established their first stamp mills in Silver Bow Basin and production started rising, particularly of lode extraction. John Treadwell (1842–1927) a Canadian gold miner owned and operated the Treadwell gold mine through the Treadwell Mining Company. [8] He was responsible for initiating low-grade gold mining in Alaska adopting most advanced operations on a big scale, which boosted the economy of the wilderness areas. [8] His four mines formed the largest complex in the world at that time. [9] Treadwell's mine complex "put Juneau on the map". [10]

The Alaska Mill and Mining Company was established in May 1882. Explorations on an experimental basis included a five-stamp mill. The results proved profitable and the company expanded with a bigger sized 120-stamp mill in 1883 and another in 1887. [8] In the initial years, the Treadwell Complex had four mines (Treadwell, Ready Bullion, the Mexican and the Seven-Hundred-Foot) [9] ) and five mills. The gold yield was worth about US$70 million.

During 1890 to 1915, many smaller mines came to be established in addition to the major players in the field. the smaller mines were: the Sumdum Chief, the Crystal, Comet, Jualin, Silver Queen, and Eagle River mines. Production figures of Treadwell complex (including the Treadwell, 700 Foot, Mexican, and Ready Bullion Mines) peaked to a record production record of 5,000 short tons (st) of ore every day. However, by 1917 the smaller mines folded up and Treadwell had sudden closure of operation due to a major mining accident in which their mines got flooded; a cave in occurred and the sea water flooded the mines. After this incident they traded in Ready Bullion. However, the old Perseverance Mine got reestablished as the Alaska Gastineau Co, adopted innovative techniques for mining by adopting ball mills pattern that had been successfully adopted in the porphyry copper ore extracted in the American southwest. Their production peaked for a time and then went down due to problems to the mines and mining. They closed their mines in 1921. Treadwell had ended producing about 3.1 million oz gold from ore that averaged 0.13 oz/st gold by the time they ended their operations. [7]

Period 1915–1921

The Alaska Juneau Mine, however, were successful, after overcoming initial teething troubles, to increase their production using the same innovative technique which the Alaska Gastineau Co had used. The use of ball mill for ore grinding became a success and they could extract 12,000 short tons of ore per day. Their profit was reported as an average of 0.04 oz/st gold. [7]

Period 1921–1944

Between 1930 and early 1940s, the Alaska Juneau Mine became the largest and lowest-grade gold mine in the world and also were the largest in lead producers. However World War II, the inflation that followed and a fixed price for gold could not sustain their operations and they closed their mines in 1944. Their operations resulted in total production of 2.9 million troy ounce (oz) gold, 1.9 million oz silver, and 40 million lbs lead. [7]

Period 1970–1985

Since the late 1970s, with gold prices rising to $600-$800 an oz, many claims were staked again. Old prospects and mines were reexamined but did not proceed further than that. It was only in 1985, that efforts were made to reestablish the old great Alaska Juneau Mine. [7]

The yield from the Mines in the Juneau Gold Belt during the period 1880–1983 was worth $157,000,000 from 6.7 million oz gold, 3.1 million oz silver, and 45 million lbs lead. [11]

Period 1985–

Since 1985, many mining establishments are examining possibilities of restarting some of the mines like the great Alaska Juneau Mine. Alaska Mining Centre undertook the reevaluation study of the old mines under the Bureau of Mines, as part of the Mineral Land Assessment Program in the Juneau Mining District. [7] This study by the Bureau covered about 85 mines from where 675 samples were collected to examine the further prospects. For the purposes of studies and sampling, the gold belt was geographically examined in three areas of: a)the Berners Bay, Bessie Mountain, Yankee Basin, and Eagle River areas; b) Spaulding Meadows and the Juneau and Douglas areas; and c) Areas south from Taku Inlet to Holkam Bay. [11]

Mines

Treadwell mine

Miners in an under-sea part of the Treadwell mine, 1916 Treadwell Miners.jpg
Miners in an under-sea part of the Treadwell mine, 1916

French Canadian prospector Pierre Erussard, known as "French Pete," found gold on Douglas Island, across Gastineau Channel from Juneau. A consortium led by John Treadwell, a carpenter from California, purchased the claims and adjoining gold-bearing land. The resulting mine/mill complex produced more than 3 million troy ounces (93 tonnes) of gold before closing in 1922.

Kensington & Jualin mines

The underground Kensington hardrock mine is approximately 45 miles (72 km) north of Juneau. The mine site is within the City and Borough of Juneau and the Tongass National Forest.

Development and ore production occurred at the Kensington mine site from 1897 through 1938. The adjacent, also underground, Jualin mine was discovered in 1895 and operated from 1896 to 1928. Together the mines produced 40,513 ounces of gold from 75,208 tons of ore.

Interest in the dormant mines was renewed during the 1980s and 1990s. The Kensington Project is now in the final stages of permitting. The proposed underground mine will produce approximately 2,000 tons of ore per day and 400 tons per day of development rock over an estimated 10 years. The project now encompasses both the Kensington and Jualin prospects. The proposed mine, access roads, and tailings disposal areas are located on federal land overseen by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), State of Alaska tidelands, and on private patented property. [12] The project will employ approximately 300 to 400 people during the 22 months required for construction of the facilities and 225 full-time employees to operate the mine and processing facilities. The operation will use a froth flotation process which involves crushing the ore then flooding the ore with water containing chemicals which combine with gold, float to the surface, and are skimmed off.

In 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 6–3 decision [13] which ruled that the United States Army Corps of Engineers had properly issued a permit allowing mine slurry, crushed rock mixed with water, to be discharged as "fill" into Lower Slate Lake, a 23-acre (93,000 m2) lake with a maximum depth of 50 feet (15 m). The Environmental Protection Agency deferred to the decision of the Corps of Engineers with respect to the discharge of waste into the lake, issuing a permit for discharge of treated water from the lake. While waste is being discharged into the lake surface waters are routed around it. A dam will be built to impound water as the original lake is filled by waste, the area of the lake being enlarged to 50 acres (200,000 m2) over the life of the project. At the termination of the project the bottom of the lake will be coated with native material and the lake restocked. The alternative to use of the lake for waste disposal was building of tailing ponds which would have displaced wetlands. Enlargement of the lake will produce additional wetlands, at least according to the majority opinion in the Supreme Court case. Environmental groups maintain that this decision was made possible by an administrative rule change made by the Bush administration:

The Clean Water Act allows "fill material" to be put into waters for constructive purposes such as the creation of levees, seawalls, and the like, under permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers. For decades the regulatory definition of "fill material" expressly excluded waste, meaning the Army Corps could not permit waste dumps in waters. In 2002 the Bush administration changed the definition of "fill" so that most solid material, including waste and contaminated materials, could be placed into waterways. In the Kensington Mine case, the Bush administration expanded its interpretation of the rule, through an informal EPA memo that was never subject to public notice or comment, to allow dumping of toxic, industrial wastewater slurries directly into lakes and other water bodies, a practice that had long been prohibited by EPA rules. The Court based its ruling on this informal memo. [14]

The rule could be overturned by pending legislation, The Clean Water Protection Act, H.R. 1310, amending the Clean Air Act sponsored by Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Dave Reichert (R-WA) and 151 cosponsors. Also a new or amended rule could be adopted or the informal memo withdrawn. A related controversy, also involving mining, and affected by the same rule change, is the practice of Mountaintop removal mining which involves dumping overburden into stream beds in adjacent valleys.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treadwell gold mine</span>

The Treadwell gold mine was on the south side of Douglas Island, .5-mile (0.80 km) east of downtown Douglas and southeast of downtown Juneau, owned and operated by John Treadwell. Composed of four sub-sites, Treadwell was in its time the largest hard rock gold mine in the world, employing over 2,000 people. Between 1881 and 1922, over 3 million troy ounces of gold were extracted. Not much remains today except for a few crumbling buildings and a "glory hole". Although John Treadwell had twelve years of experience in both placer and lode mines, he was a carpenter and builder by trade who had come to Alaska prior to the Klondike Gold Rush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold mining in the United States</span>

In the United States, gold mining has taken place continually since the discovery of gold at the Reed farm in North Carolina in 1799. The first documented occurrence of gold was in Virginia in 1782. Some minor gold production took place in North Carolina as early as 1793, but created no excitement. The discovery on the Reed farm in 1799 which was identified as gold in 1802 and subsequently mined marked the first commercial production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver mining in the United States</span>

Silver mining in the United States began on a major scale with the discovery of the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1858. The industry suffered greatly from the demonetization of silver in 1873 by the Coinage Act of 1873, known pejoratively as the "Crime of 73", but silver mining continues today.

Silver mining in Nevada, a state of the United States, began in 1858 with the discovery of the Comstock Lode, the first major silver-mining district in the United States. Nevada calls itself the "Silver State." Nevada is the nation's second-largest producer of silver, after Alaska. In 2014 Nevada produced 10.93 million troy ounces of silver, of which 6.74 million ounces were as a byproduct of the mining of gold. The largest byproducers were the Hycroft Mine, the Phoenix Mine, the Midas Mine and Round Mountain.

Gold mining in Alaska, a state of the United States, has been a major industry and impetus for exploration and settlement since a few years after the United States acquired the territory in 1867 from the Russian Empire. Russian explorers discovered placer gold in the Kenai River in 1848, but no gold was produced. Gold mining started in 1870 from placers southeast of Juneau, Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairbanks mining district</span> Alaska Mining District

The Fairbanks mining district is a gold-mining area in the U.S. state of Alaska. Placer mining began near Fairbanks in July 1902, after Felix Pedro, an Italian immigrant and Tom Gilmore discovered gold in the hills north of the Tanana and Chena Rivers in 1901. Pedro died exactly eight years after finding the richest gold placer he would ever know. By 1903 a new rush started, and prospectors staked thousands of claims. However, mining results were disappointing during the summer of 1903, with little gold recovered. Then Dennis O'Shea struck it rich on Fairbanks Creek, No. 8 Above. This was one of the richest claims in the Fairbanks Mining District and paid as high as $136 to the pan. Discoveries on Cleary and Ester Creeks followed, and almost two-thirds of the gold mined in the Tanana hills before 1910 came from these three creeks. Total production of gold was more than $30 million. Towns grew on every creek with a combined population of 1,600 residents.

The Willow Creek mining district, also known as the Independence Mine/Hatcher Pass district, is a gold-mining area in the U.S. state of Alaska. Underground hard-rock mining of gold from quartz veins accounts for most of the mineral wealth extracted from the Hatcher Pass area. The first mining efforts were placer mining of stream gravels, and placer mining in the area has continued sporadically to this day. Robert Hatcher discovered gold and staked the first claim in the Willow Creek valley in September 1906. The first lode mill in the area started operating in 1908. Underground mining continued at a variety of locations around the pass until 1951. In the 1980s one of the area's hard-rock mines was briefly re-opened. At least one mining company is actively exploring for gold in the area now. Through 2006 the district produced 667-thousand ounces of hard rock gold and 60-thousand ounces of placer gold.

The Admiralty mining district is a mining area in the U.S. state of Alaska which consists of Admiralty Island. Silver and base metals are mined, with gold recovered as a by-product.

Ophir is an unincorporated community in the north-central part of Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States.

Coeur Mining, Inc. is a precious metals mining company listed on the New York Stock exchange. It operates five mines located in North America. Coeur employs 2,200 people and in 2012 it was the world's 9th largest silver producer. In 2013 the company changed its name to Coeur Mining, Inc. from Coeur d'Alene Mines and moved its head office to Chicago, Illinois from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensington mine</span> Mine in

Kensington mine is a gold mine located 45 mi (72 km) north of Juneau, Alaska. The mine is owned by Coeur Alaska Inc., a subsidiary company of Coeur Mining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaska-Gastineau Mine</span> American former gold mine

The Alaska-Gastineau Mine was a gold mine in Perseverance, about 4 miles (6.4 km) 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.

The Alaska-Gastineau Mining Co. had its offices in 25 Broad St., New York City, New York. It was the operating company for the Alaska Gold Mines Co. in Alaska. It worked the Alaska-Gastineau Mine/Perseverance Mine in the Silver Bow Basin, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) from Juneau and processed its ore at an old remodeled mill and crushing plant at Sheep Creek. The property of the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Co. adjoined the Alaska Gastineau on the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Bow Basin</span>

The Silver Bow Basin, often written as Silverbow Basin, is a valley located 2.4 miles (3.9 km) northeast of Juneau, Alaska, USA. It is situated on Gold Creek in an area north of Icy Gulch, and approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Gastineau Peak. A trail from Juneau leads directly to the mountainside. The basin was the site of the earliest gold discovery in the Juneau area, leading to the establishment of the town called Juneau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining Company</span> American mine corporation

The Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining Company (AJGMC) was incorporated under the laws of West Virginia, USA in 1897. Its lode mining claims covered approximately 402.37 acres (162.83 ha) on the wide vein called the Juneau gold belt of which it owned one mile on the outcrop.

The Fort Knox Gold Mine is an open pit gold mine, 9 mi (14 km) east of Fox in the Fairbanks mining district of Alaska. It is owned and operated by Toronto-based Kinross Gold. Originally staked in 1913, after very minor mining at the location the property sat idle until being restaked in 1980. Following the initial exploration discovery in 1987, in 1992 the project was purchased by Amax Gold, which brought the mine to production. Amax Gold merged with Kinross Gold in 1998.

Crystal Mine is located near Juneau in the U.S. state of Alaska. The quartz ledge at the Crystal Mine was first discovered in 1895 by B. Heins. It was so named because of the large pyrite cubes which were found occurring in the surface outcrops of the ledge. Gold was extracted till 1905 from quartz using ten-stamp mill and from about 1,000 feet of underground workings yielded 1,210 ounces of gold. Intermittent production of gold is reported till 1925 but there are no records of the yield. The formation was determined as of 54 to 56 Ma age. The gold yielding resources available from the mine were assessed as 9,000 tons of material with yield of 0.21 ounce of gold per ton.

John Treadwell (1842–1927) was a Canadian gold miner. He was born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada. He owned and operated the Treadwell gold mine through the Treadwell Mining Company. He was responsible for initiating low-grade gold mining in Alaska adopting most advanced operations on a big scale, which boosted the economy of the wilderness areas. His four mines formed the largest complex in the world at that time. Treadwell's mine complex "put Juneau on the map".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juneau gold belt</span> Juneau gold belt buried deep underground mystery

The Juneau gold belt is located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska. This belt is approximately 100 miles (160 km) in length, north/northwest-trending, and extends from Berners Bay southeastward to Windham Bay, 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Juneau, and includes Douglas Island. The belt contains over 200 gold-quartz-vein deposits with production nearing 7,000,000 ounces (200,000,000 g) of gold. More than three-quarters of Alaska's lode gold was mined from the Juneau gold belt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jualin Mine</span>

Jualin Mine is a defunct gold mine located within the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska approximately 44 miles (71 km) northwest of downtown Juneau, Alaska. The Jualin gold deposit was discovered by prospector Frank Cook in 1895 and was initially mined by the Jualin Mining Company. A stamping mill with a daily capacity of 30 stone (0.19 t) of ore was installed early in the mine's operation. The mine operated intermittently from 1896 to 1901 and again from 1905 to 1908, when it was closed at a depth of 210 feet due to water infiltration and power shortages. In 1912, the mine was purchased by a Belgian group, which began investing in better equipment and deeper drilling. In 1914, the shaft was deepened to 325 feet, and mining took place at the 310-foot level. A drainage and haulage tunnel was planned to extend 7,800 feet (2,400 m) south of the mine to allow easy access to the mining levels, but the outbreak of World War I halted this effort when the extension was only 5,000 feet (1,500 m) long.

References

  1. ↑ Eakin, H.M., p96., Mineral Resources of Alaska, 1914, USGS Bulletin 622
  2. ↑ David Stone and Brenda Stone (1987) Hard Rock Gold, Vanguard Press.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 4, 2006. Retrieved March 24, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ "Juneau Empire: History of Juneau".
  5. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ↑ Alaskas Mineral Industry 2006, Alaska DGGS Special Report 61, 2006
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Earl Redman. "Development of the mines and prospects from Windham Bay to Berners Bay : 1 8 6 9 – 1 9 6 5" (PDF). Alaska Field Operations Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 "Mining Hall of Fame Inductees Database Treadwell, John". The National Mining Hall of Fame & Museum. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  9. 1 2 Warren, Edwin (April 30, 2007). The Birdman of Treadwell: Diary of a Treadwell Gold Miner. AuthorHouse. pp. 23–. ISBN   978-1-4259-6064-3 . Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  10. ↑ Warren (2007), xxiii
  11. 1 2 "Juneau Gold Belt Area: Preliminary mine, prospect, sample location maps and descriptions" (PDF). Alaska Field Operations Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  12. ↑ http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/mining/largemine/kensington/index.htm Archived March 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Alaska DNR: Kensington Mine Project
  13. ↑ "Cour Alaska, Inc v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, et al." (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on August 13, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Supreme Court Clears Way for Mining Company to Destroy Alaskan Lake". Earthjustice. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
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