Coal Creek Gold Dredge
Allan C. 2014. Coal Creek Gold Dredge
In 1933, General Alexander McRae and Earnest Patty brought industrial-scale placer mining to the Coal Creek area with the purchase of a $156,000 gold dredge. The dredge made its way from California via steamship, railway, and finally, steamboat up the Yukon River to Slaven's Roadhouse. From the roadhouse, a crew of men hauled 400-tons of equipment seven miles up Coal Creek before they were finally able to assemble the machine. Dredges, with the ability to take in 3,000 cubic yards of material in 24 hours, quickly replaced manual mining with hand tools. Piles of gravel left behind after the dredging process, called tailings, are visible in the Coal Creek area.
- Type
- Resource Brief
- Authors
- Allan, Chris
- Date of Issue
- 2014
- Units
- YUCH
- Keywords
- Coal Creek, gold dredges, gold placer mining, industrial mining, Yukon River, Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve