Don Piatt Koch
Published: 2019-08-05
Total Pages: 58
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The City of Juneau, Alaska was founded in 1880 following Chief Kowee's revelation to prospectors Joe Juneau and Richard Harris that there was gold in the stream now called Gold Creek in Silver Bow Basin. Juneau history has been firmly linked to gold mining. Prior to the mid 1940's, there were numerous small mining operations and three major mines in Juneau, the Treadwell Complex of four mines at Douglas, the Alaska Gastineau at Sheep Creek and the Alaska Juneau at Gold Creek. Each of these mines, at one point in time, was the largest low grade ore gold mine in the world. They are all long gone. The Alaska Juneau Gold Mine (The AJ) commenced operations in 1912. The AJ purchased the assets of the Alaska Gastineau Mining Company including the hydro projects at Salmon Creek and Annex Creek. They operated from 1912 until 1944, although they were not profitable after 1941. The manpower needs of WWII made the mining operations unprofitable because of the lack of miners to operate to the capacity required. The mill began operations in 1917 and processed more than 90 million tons of ore. This mine had more than 90 miles of tunnels on 15 levels. All of these fed ore to the mill at tidewater. At its peak of operation, it employed 3,000 miners though the usual number was closer to 1,000. Over its life, the AJ produced 2.9 million troy ounces of gold, 1.9 million ounces of silver and 40 million pounds of lead. This book illustrates what the mine looked like 30 years after it closed
