Exploring A 1930s Alaskan Gold Mine! 

@ 1:06:36, did anyone else recognize what looked like an 8 foot diameter rod or ball mill to pulverize the ore down to sand grade for the chemical processing to extract the gold? Up in the superstructure we could see all the belt drive pulleys and shafts to power the mill. The stack we saw protruding from the roof could have been for the stationary steam engine power plant. I didn't see it so it must have been disassembled after decommissioning the operations. It would have been the most valuable machinery in use there.

You never been on a mountain 🏔?

Same here but im stuck in no pay Texas.

I had the exact same thought. Gettin' old stinks, doesn't it? I have a suggestion, though. I live in Arizona. In the Winter, the Western Arizona desert is really pleasant. Because the desert is mostly BLM land, you can camp most anywhere you can get your car to. There are some remote and beautiful areas, with lots of old mines, that you can safely drive your car to. Just make sure you bring plenty of water. I't's not Alaska, but it doesn't get nearly as cold here! If you've got a hankerin' to go camping, I suggest Southwest Arizona in January and February!

JT Thill, I can relate how you. I'm now 64, a six year lung cancer sivivor. No more cancer but it came at a cost, lol..in the last years before the cancer I started thinking of Alaska, live in the wild so to speak. Now, I wouldn't last 5 minutes 'roughing it. I give our of breath pretty fast, got no stamina, guess I earned the 'of man' status. Its all good though. House will be paid off in 3 years and planning to get a small rv, not sure what type as yet, just as long as its got certain creature comforts. Gonna hit the roads and play Nomad for a while, its time to do some things I never did before, lol....

JT Thill... I know just what you mean, man. Me, too. If only I was younger. I'm 71 now. I see a lot of guys making the same comments. There's so much I'd still like to do; so much we'd all like to do, but alas...

lol oooo

Lol

Great job but please slow your camera panning angles down. No time to focus on anything.

Thanks so much!

@@BackyardAlaskan I’m just about to pack my truck and head up. Ready to start gold chasing. Need a partner?😁

I will take that into consideration! Was trying to be slower on panning with this whole filming project. Thanks for watching!

A little foam rubber over the mic should reduce the roar from the wind through the mic.

Yup, I had to quit watching for awhile... made me queezy

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed

@@BackyardAlaskan You did an AMAZING job on this Video brother! Keep up the good work and thank you for creating this content. Cheers 🍻

@@BackyardAlaskan One thing I am a little uneasy about is taking a drill bit for a souvenir. So what. It's just one. But the cumulative erosion of people picking up things as souvenirs is going to slowly ruin it. Maybe nature will do that anyways, but like artifacts, it is best to record these images and avoid the urge to cherry pick. I am sure there are a few people who would love to get their hands on some of those hit-and-miss motors, as well. What is left after it is taken to a private collection? Nothing. Now a Model T front axle. Congrats. Another artifact appropriated. Why not take that Model T head gasket, while you're at it? Bet those are hard to come by. Bit by bit you and the other souvenir hunters will whittle it down to nothing. Surprised you didn't pocket some core samples. You can't do this bro. Not good.

@@jeffreymcneal1507 I was thinking the same thing. As much fun as it would be to have a piece of history It is against the Law in National parks to remove anything at all. Leave nothing take nothing.

Those drill bits must be allowed to rust into oblivion, so no one can ever see them! A couple more years and they will be in their appropriate place…as rusty dust on the ground, where they deserve to be. Stop preserving these “artifacts”! Let it rot! No one should ever attempt to preserve the past. I’m mad you filmed them, too. Thanks. (Video was awesome and wanted to join in on the enlightened, recliner-based commentary.)

Magical!

Wow lucky you, i would love to see that, am so interested in what the old boys did and how they managed to get the machinery into some of these places, I live in New Zealand not far from the bigger places that were mined in the 1900's Even got to have a tour of a modern under ground operation in the 1990's, now that was an eye opener 😲

@@neilfausett6612 That is so cool. This mine also has a more recent operation using big equipment. It is on the other side of the mountain. A friend of mine, who worked there, asked if I would like to work with him to locate a water pump that had been placed in one of the old 1930’s mine portals but had been buried in an avalanche. I told him I would love that. He told me that his company would also pay for my labor. This water pump was used for cooling drill bits that produced core samples. The day we chose to work was sunny and much of the avalanche had since melted away, making it easier to detect the location of the mine portal. We started digging with hand shovels in the morning and by mid afternoon had located the portal and the pump. My friend had me go down into the portal entrance to attach a steel cable to the pump. He told me that a helicopter would be sent later to retrieve the pump. Once down inside the portal, I could see that the old portal timber’s were rotting. There was a steady flow of water running into the mine tunnel from melting snows above. Water was about mid-calf deep, and deeper the further one went into the mine tunnel. I pulled as much of the hose as I could get attached to the pump, without going too far into the tunnel where that water was deeper, and successfully attached the steel cable. It was a great adventure and I felt fortunate to have had the experience.

All that stuff that you are calling junk is worth some money if you find the right person that wants it too

I'd love to have that ol 3/4 ton ford in the shed up there and put it back to running like it did back when it was parked in there too that thing was almost in perfect shape for its model too it was made between the early 70s to 77 because they changed the headlights in them in 79 to square headlights too

I don't believe that sulfuric acid will dissolve gold. Much more likely that it would be a cyanide or arsenic-based extraction. I work for a mining company and we had both processes in place. I remember taking a tour of one of our mills circa 1982 - there was an unused section for arsenic processing of gold ore - it was PROMINENTLY marked as dangerous.

@@guywerry6614 correct yes , couldn't remember exactly what mixture was other than it was some acid combination. Thanks👍

Much of it would have been dragged in during the winter, hauled by tractors hauling large sleds. He mentioned that at the start. I work at a mining company in northern Manitoba (Canada, eh). We build a hydro dam/generator station in the 1920s and all of the material for that was hauled in the same fashion.

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed. I was sure getting tired up but pushed myself to explore further.

Thank you for watching! Glad you enjoyed!

I was thinking that, totally devoid of even the most persistent weeds... kinda tells you something doesn't it.

Absolutely, they would have most likely been using either cyanide or arsenic - these are actually pretty dangerous places to be poking around.

I'm in a gold mining town to in northern Ontario yes very interesting

Thank you for watching! I really appreciate the comment

Very cool!