Denali National Park - Alaska and Points North: Tips and Tales from the Road - page 125

Interesting Info:
Gold Mining at Independence
In 1897 gold was discovered in Grubstake Gulch, a tributary of Willow Creek just southwest
of the current Independence Mine. They must have been a calmer bunch than most of the
other “stampeders” flooding Alaska because the miners conscientiously formed the Willow
Creek Mining District for the purpose of recording mining claims and maintaining peace
and order.
There was gold in the creek but panning was not delivering the results they expected so
prospectors took to the hills in search of the mother lode. This is the “hard” gold that is
found within quartz veins in the mountain rock. For several decades mining was seasonal
and sporadic but in 1937 construction began on the Independence Mine. Completion of the
camp turned the operation into a year-round mine employing 204 men. Over 15 years they
extracted more than 180,000 ounces of gold.
World War II arrived with its own priorities, shutting down the mine because the production
of gold was declared nonessential to the war effort. After the war it reopened but with pro-
duction costing $45 per ounce and gold only fetching $35 per ounce there was no point con-
tinuing.
In the surrounding hills, however, you can still see active mines. Independent prospectors
cut ledges into the side of a mountain where suspended in mid air, they chip away at the
face, always hopeful that the next quartz vein will deliver the mother lode. Throughout the
north we met quite a few people who identified themselves as prospectors.
When we think of gold mining we usually think of the big strikes that make people rich
overnight. In fact, gold mining is an industry that primarily flourishes by dint of simple hard
work. Modern day prospectors don't often get rich but those that know what they are doing
can earn a living at it.
At industrial mines tons and tons of material are moved and crushed and sifted for those
few precious ounces. It's not glamorous and it is usually ugly. Over and over again, we have
seen beautiful valleys where the earth has been gouged out to reveal the bedrock. The rock
is cut out, crushed, sifted for gold then spit out into huge piles of debris called tailings. The