Alaska-Gastineau Mine

Map of the Gold Creek area showing the location of the Perseverance shaft (top right)

The Alaska-Gastineau Mine was located within the Silver Bow Basin. Its concentrating plant was situated near Thane.[4] The mine had a 2 miles (3.2 km) shaft running through Mount Roberts that reached the Perseverance Mine near Gold Creek.[5] It adjoined the Alaska-Juneau Mine.[6] The mine's low-grade ore is situated on a mountain above the Gastineau Channel. Its ore body covered approximately 2,000 acres (810 ha), more than 2 miles (3.2 km) in length, with 20 miles (32 km) of tunnels and crosscuts. According to Jackling, the block of ore had at least 100,000,000 tons above sea level.[6] The property consisted of a group of claims whose lode system covered 11,000 feet (3,400 m).[2] It was operated on a 6,000-ton daily capacity.[7]

The mine's large scale development began in 1912.[2] In 1913, while it was under construction, Emile Gastonguay was hired as the mine's chief electrician[8] by managing director, Daniel C. Jackling.[9] Bartlett L. Thane was the manager.[9] Becoming unprofitable, it was shut down in 1921.

For a period of time preceding World War I, the Alaska-Gastineau Mine was the largest gold mine in the world.[3] Its mills were said to be the largest and most modern gold-crushing plant in the world.[6] For its time, the ore was handled more economically than in any other Northwest mine.[10] "The mill avoided chemical processing with cyanide (cyanidation) or mercury amalgamation circuits by smelting all the concentrate."[11]