11/14/2023 0 Comments Gold dredge 8 facebook![]() You’ll definitely want to take a peek inside! A dedicated, hardworking group of volunteers eventually restored the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge and it’s now open for tours for a nominal charge from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The deteriorating dredge sat unused for a few decades, and then was donated to the Forest Service. The dredge left behind over five miles of these "dredge tailings" as it worked its way upstream.įrom 1940 until all the company’s claims were worked out in1952, the enormous dredge dug out 6,000,000 cubic yards of stream gravel and recovered an estimated $1,200,000 in gold. Located on the Yankee Fork of Idaho’s Salmon River between the ghost towns of Bonanza and Custer (nine miles down a wide gravel/dirt road off State Highway 75, thirteen miles east of Stanley, Idaho), you can’t help notice evidence of the dredging-huge mounds of gravel and rock alongside the road. The tour includes time to explore the gold dredge on foot and shop for souvenirs in the well-appointed gift shop.Brought in by the Snake River Mining Company in 1940 to mechanically recover gold missed by central Idaho’s earlier prospectors, the massive Yankee Fork Gold Dredge operated successfully for about 12 years. The effort pays off, though, because every guest gets to keep the gold they discover. Panning is surprisingly difficult, even with the assistance of helpful staff nearby. Attempting to master the swirl and pour technique gives a new appreciation for those early prospectors. During its operation between 19 this machine extracted millions of ounces gold.Īfter arriving back at camp, every guest is given a small sack of pay dirt to try their luck at gold panning. Along the way, miners demonstrate the use of traditional mining equipment like gold pans and sluice boxes before the train rounds a corner and pulls in front of Gold Dredge #8. After a brief presentation and a fun photo opportunity along the pipeline, the tour turns back the clock from today's black gold to yesterday's elusive mineral gold.Īn entertaining conductor provides historical commentary and live music as the train continues its route through the historic mining area. ![]() ![]() The train's first stop is the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, an 800-mile oil channel that runs right through the Gold Dredge #8 mining district. ![]() This popular historical tour kicks off aboard a replica of the narrow-gauge Tanana Valley Railroad. ![]()
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