MOORE CREEK GOLD MINE
McGrath, Alaska
$15,000,000
2,720± Acres
20 UNPATENTED CLAIMS; ACTIVE GOLD MINE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Located on the Iditarod National Historic Trail in the heart of Alaska’s Yukon-Koyukuk Borough, the Moore Creek Gold Mine offers a rare opportunity to own an active gold mining claim with a rich history and extensive potential. It comprises 20 unpatented state claims over 2,720± claim acres.
Located in a region renowned for its mineral wealth, the Moore Creek Mine focuses primarily on placer gold extraction, with secondary commodities including chromium, silver, tungsten, mercury, titanium, and zircon ores. This placer mine also contains hard rock gold deposits and has been worked for both ancient terrace gravels and modern stream alluvium. The gold-rich area stretches about two miles long and 300 to 1,300 feet wide, with gravels up to 20 feet thick.
Older terrace deposits are inferred to be Late Tertiary to early Pleistocene, based on similarities with other dated deposits in Interior Alaska, lending the area both geological significance and exceptional placer deposits, with gold nuggets up to 19 ounces having been found, though the gold’s fineness is relatively low.
Mining began in 1911, with operations shifting from hand methods to mechanized equipment like draglines and bulldozers by the 1930s. Large-scale mining continued until 1986, with intermittent activity afterward. From 1911 to 1986, the mine produced at least 53,990 ounces of gold and 12,520 ounces of silver, with peak production in the 1930s and 1950s. Fossils found in the area date back 36,000 years, and reserves remain undetermined, with coarse nuggets still being discovered in old tailings.
The Moore Creek Gold Mine is an exceptional investment, blending the allure of gold with the rugged beauty of Alaska’s frontier. It promises both economic opportunity and a chance to work in one of North America’s last great wilderness areas.
www.fayranches.com | 800.238.8616 | info@fayranches.com
PROPERTY HIGHLIGHTS
• 20 unpatented claims; 2,720± claim acres
• Access to the property is by private airstrip, approximately 2,700’ long x 100’ wide
• Overburden averages 2-14 feet
• Claims are located on Moore Creek, Willow Creek, Little Willow Creek, and other small tributaries
• Claims are located within the historically productive Iditarod Mining District
• Located 55± miles SW of McGrath, Alaska, which offers a 6,000± foot long x 100-footwide asphalt runway, offering fuel, lodging, and limited supplies
• The property is currently permitted for mining operations, and approximately 75% of the claims in the area remain unmined
• Soil samples and cores from prior hard rock exploration are cataloged and existent on this site
• Equipment included (see pages 7-8
• Infrastructure on-site (see pages 5-6)
Moore Creek Gold Mine | McGrath, Alaska 2
Moore Creek Gold Mine | McGrath, Alaska
INFRASTRUCTURE
Buildings
• Shelter logic enclosed tent – 24’ x 60’
• Old log cabin with 4-6 available beds – 16’ x 24’
• Tool storage – 16’ x 60’
Main Camp
• 6 crew cabins – finished with wood stoves and four available beds per cabin – 12’ x 16’
• Galley kitchen – fully equipped with two propane stoves and all utilities necessary to cook large meals – 16’ x 32’
• Generator Building – 8’ x 10’
• Warm Room | Oil Storage – 16’ x 20’
• Mechanic Tent | Tool Storage – 12’ x 32’
*All buildings have metal roofs, fully finished windows and doors, are insulated and finished with 1/2” finish grade plywood, and are all equipped with wood-burning stoves.
Power Source
6 kW Kubota Diesel Generator powers each cabin and the entire main camp. There are also (6) 2000w Honda generators used for powering tools, the old cabin, and (2) 6500w Honda generators.
Water Source
• Natural spring with filtration in the galley kitchen for drinking
• A bladder supplies non-drinkable water to the galley for dishes and cleaning
• The cabins do not have plumbing
Septic
There is an outhouse and a grey water drain from the galley kitchen.
Fuel Storage
• 1x – 5,000-gallon tank
• 4x – 1,000-gallon tanks
• 5x – 300-gallon tanks
• 250 gallons of plastic gas container of various sizes
Access
• 2,700’ long x 100’ wide grass airplane land strip
• Winter snowmobile trail from McGrath/Takotna
The surrounding area has wildlife, including grizzly bears, black bears, moose, caribou, wolves, and wolverines.
Moore Creek Gold Mine | McGrath, Alaska
EQUIPMENT
• Caterpillar D-9 Bulldozer
• John Deere 450 Bulldozer
• John Deere 350 Excavator
• Hitachi 160 Excavator
• Takeuchi 145 Excavator
• Takeuchi 135 Excavator
• 4-cylinder Diesel Caterpillar water pump | generator combination for sluice – 120/240-volt generator
– 6" suction | 4" discharge
• 2015 Goldfield International vibrating screen deck | trommel wash plant
• "Prospector" Mini-Sluice for processing gold concentrates and gold exploration
• Gold Cube fine gold processing system and everything necessary for processing gold concentrates
• Cleanout tent to house all the gold processing supplies
• 3x Minelab 4500 metal detectors
• 1x Garrett ATX waterproof metal detector
• 10 ATVs in varying condition
• 2x large tire ATV trailers
• 3x small ATV trailers
• Many 2" and 4" gas powered water pumps
• All the hoses and supplies of various sizes for utilizing pumps and moving water
• 2025 Ski Doo Expedition SE 900 snowmobile
• 2x older Tundra snowmobiles
• Sno-Go all terrain vehicle
• 2x large Otter sleds
• Various other Otter sleds and snow sleds
• Yanmar Tractor
• 2 Brand new Husqvarna chainsaws and multiple older models
• Lincon Arc Welder
• Dewalt Air Compressor
• Every hand tool necessary to complete any repair necessary on site
Moore Creek Gold Mine | McGrath, Alaska
OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
• Access: the site is accessible via a private 2,700± foot airstrip
• Elevation: top 2000±, bottom 950±
• Latitude and longitude: 62.6006, -157.1378
• Overburden: 2-14’
• Mindat Report: https://www.mindat.org/loc-198970.html
• Crew capacity: 24–28 people
• NI 43-101: N/A
• Gold Assay: 76% gold / 24% silver
Estimated Operational Costs:
The current estimated operational cost is $310 per mining hour. The current mining capacity is 10-12 hours per day and roughly 60 mining hours per week with the given equipment and crew. That would place the estimated weekly costs at $18,600 and the monthly costs at $74,400. These numbers fully account for mining claim fees and overhead associated with the entire mining process.
Historical Production
Beginning in 1910, the Moore Creek valley has produced somewhere in the range of 60,000 ounces of gold. Current operations yield roughly $40 per yard of gravel sluiced at a rate of 20 yards per hour. This leaves an hourly revenue of roughly $800 per mining hour and a sufficient profit margin given the $310 per yard cost associated with mining activity.
Geotech
Soil samples and cores from prior hard rock exploration are cataloged and existent on site. In the past, extensive exploration was done with this sampling and trenching, searching for hard rock deposits and other minerals present at the Moore Creek placer.
Sellers quote: “I estimate 25% of the placer claims have been mined, but there were never any excavators there until we started mining. We have found very rich ground that was below the level they mined with the old dozers and drag lines. Zero percent of the hard rock claims have been mined. A multimillion-dollar soil, trench, and core drill program was performed in 2009, I believe. Just prior to our acquiring the mine.”
Type of Gold
The gold at Moore Creek is very raw, and experts believe the placer gold is very close to the lode source. The placer entails large, course nuggets that most likely have not traveled far. The particle size of the fine gold is also large compared to many mines in the region, another indication that the gold in this valley is very near to its original source. It is one of, if not the only, gold mine in the interior that has intrigue that an active vein and lode source could be located.
Mining Methodologies
Placer mining is a method of extracting valuable minerals from alluvial deposits, which are accumulations of sand, gravel, and other sediments found in riverbeds, streambeds, and floodplains. These minerals are typically denser than the surrounding material, allowing them to settle at the bottom over time. Gold, platinum, tin, and gemstones are commonly extracted using this method.
Moore Creek Gold Mine | McGrath, Alaska
https://www.mindat.org/loc-198970.html
Moore Creek Gold Mine | McGrath, Alaska
Moore Creek Gold Mine | McGrath, Alaska
DISCLOSURES & DISCLAIMERS
The information provided by Fay Ranches, including but not limited to property descriptions, maps, reports, studies, geotech, and any other materials, is offered solely for the prospective buyer’s convenience. While efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy or reliability of the information provided, it is up to the prospective buyer to confirm.
Prospective buyers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own independent due diligence, including but not limited to in-person site inspection, verification of property boundaries, assessment of mineral rights, environmental considerations, permitting requirements, and any other factors material to their purchase decision. The property is sold as is with no guarantees, warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to the existence, presence, quality, or extractable mineral resource.
By submitting an offer, the buyer acknowledges they have relied solely on their own investigations, observations, and due diligence and NOT on any information, representations, or warranties provided by Fay Ranches or the seller.
Moore Creek Gold Mine | McGrath, Alaska 16
CLIMATE
Summer is the most pleasant time of the year for McGrath, Alaska, with temperatures around 70 degrees and winter lows around 5 degrees. On average, there are about 26 inches of rain, 110 inches of snow, and 130 sunny days per year.
Climate charts courtesy of https://www.city-data.com/city/McGrath-Alaska.html
www.fayranches.com | 800.238.8616 | info@fayranches.com
MINERAL RIGHTS
All mineral rights appurtenant to the property and owned by the seller will be conveyed to the buyer by deed at closing and closed through Alyeska Title. It is suggested that the buyer conduct an independent mineral search with a title company or through an attorney.
WATER RIGHTS
The property is subject to stateregistered water use rights under Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
LOCATION
The mine site is on Moore Creek at about the confluence of Little Willow Creek. The site lies SW of McGrath, approximately 55± miles in the Iditarod Mining District, Alaska, 260 air miles NW of Anchorage, and 270 air miles SW of Fairbanks; McGrath offers a 6,000’ asphalt runway on the upper Kuskokwim River.
GETTING THERE
Fly to Anchorage, Ted Stevens International Airport; from Anchorage, charter a 180, 206, Super Cub, or a helicopter.
AIRPORT SERVICES
Moore Creek airfield strip facilitates access to the property, which is 1,200’ and located adjacent to a portion of the Project reserves. This airfield presently accommodates single-engine and light twin aircraft.
Moore Creek Gold Mine | McGrath, Alaska
HISTORY
Gold was first discovered in Nevada Gulch, a tributary of Moore Creek, in 1910, with claims staked in 1911. Initial mining was conducted using hand methods and scrapers. In 1927, a Northwest dragline was introduced, marking the transition to mechanized mining, with draglines and bulldozers becoming the dominant method by the 1930s. Despite plans for dredging, no dredge was ever deployed. Large-scale mining was nearly continuous until Alaska’s statehood and continued intermittently until 1986, with small-scale operations persisting through 2001.
Between 1911 and 1986, at least 53,990 ounces of gold and 12,520 ounces of silver were recovered from Moore Creek, with an additional 1,383 ounces of gold and 64 ounces of silver from nearby Nevada Gulch (1911–1929). The Moore Creek Mining Company, founded by Gus and Charlie Uotila, John Ogriz, and Elmer Keturi, introduced bulldozer-based placer mining in the early 1930s. From 1933 to 1937, the mine was the largest gold producer in the Iditarod District, peaking in 1937 with 6,500 ounces of gold. Mining in the 1980s focused on recovering coarse nuggets from tailings.
Though undated, the older terrace deposits are inferred to be Late Tertiary to early Pleistocene, with Pleistocene fossils dated at 36,000 BP. The full extent of remaining reserves is unknown, but past operations lacked nugget collectors, and coarse nuggets have been recovered from tailings in recent years.
Moore Creek Gold Mine | McGrath, Alaska
$15,000,000 Cash
Conventional Financing
This is an exclusive co-listing with Fay Ranches and Real Broker of Alaska. Please contact Troy Dana at (360) 402-5500 | tdana@fayranches.com or Yvan Corbin at (907) 301-0875 | Yvan@alaskatopshelfrealty.com to schedule a showing. An agent from Fay Ranches or Real Broker Alaska must be present at all showings unless otherwise noted or other arrangements are made. To view other properties, fly fishing properties, and sporting ranches that we have listed, please visit our web page at www.fayranches.com.
DATA ROOM
The Data Room will provide additional information such as geology, gold reserves, mining plans, and additional maps. To request access to the Data Room, please email tdana@fayranches.com or yvan@alaskatopshelfrealty.com.
Offer is subject to errors, omissions, prior sale, change or withdrawal without notice, and approval of purchase by owner. Information regarding land classification, carrying capacities, maps, etc., is intended only as a general guideline and has been provided by the owners and other sources deemed reliable, but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Prospective purchasers are encouraged to research the information to their own satisfaction.
www.fayranches.com | 800.238.8616 | info@fayranches.com
Moore Creek Gold Mine | McGrath, Alaska
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