Alaskan Gold Nuggets

Jewelry Discussion
1

A student of mine who is setting up as a jeweller wants my help
turning some alaskan gold nuggets into a ring band. Has anyone here
experience with this gold? is it very pure? How close to 14k is it?
What might we expect in the way of pollutants?

Thanks in advance

Brian
B r i a n A d a m
Auckland NEW ZEALAND
www.adam.co.nz

2

Adam,

Yes, I work with Alaska nuggets. They generally run in the
neighborhood of .900 fine. There are those which run much higher, but
I’ve never run into any as low as 14k. The melting point is always
well above that of 14k. Alaska gold tends to be alloyed with copper
as opposed to California gold which is more often mixed with silver.

Jerry in Kodiak, Alaska

3

Brian,

here is what you do. Take some of the nuggets and melt them down
using flux of course. Then pour an ingot and roll it out. Test its
working properties. If this is not satisfactory, send to refiner and
get the 24kt gold back and alloy to your delight.

The gold nuggets as I have come in contact with are usually fairly
pure in the gold areas, however, there is usually other minerals
locked inside. Unless there is some sentiment involved, I would save
time and have it refined.

Robert

4

nuggets usually assay at about 22kt. you should first take them
outdoors and heat them with you upwind. Often times there is trace
amounts of mercury that came from mining waste returned to the
river. You should use a higher carat gold but i have seen many in
10kt. pickle first before solder also.

Ringman

5 
    Yes, I work with Alaska nuggets. They generally run in the
neighborhood of .900 fine. There are those which run much higher,
but I've never run into any as low as 14k. The melting point is
always well above that of 14k.

Oops sorry, I meant how close are the nuggets to 24k, not 14k.
That’ll teach me to read what I write.

    Alaska gold tends to be alloyed with copper as opposed to
California gold which is more often mixed with silver.

Thanks, that’s a great help.
The customer who bought the gold says she was informed it is 24k.

But I’d wonder about that, wouldn’t you? unless of course she has
documentation from the refiner. I await more info from the customer.

Jerry in Kodiak, Alaska

Brian in the South Pacific, just down the road, really

6

Brian,

To be perfectly accurate, it’s not possible to make a general
statement as to the purity of Alaska nuggets. Alaska is a pretty big
place and gold is found all over the state. In some places copper
will predominate as the impurity, but there are some places where
there is silver or a combination of both. It is highly unlikely that
the gold you friend has is 24k (.999) although it may be close.
Some places have purer gold than others. Also, very fine gold will
tend to be more pure than that which is more coarse. The gold you
have in Australia tends to be more pure than most of the gold found
here.

Jerry in Kodiak, (where Spring is only a month or so away)

7 
    To be perfectly accurate, it's not possible to make a general
statement as to the purity of Alaska nuggets. Alaska is a pretty
big place and gold is found all over the state.

I have a ring that my husband’s grandfather (who prospected for gold
in Alaska in the 1890-1900s) had made for his wife of gold he found
in Alaska. It has gold from 3 different places and so is 3 different
colors, red, green and yellow, a grape leaf design and is stamped
18k. It is beautiful!

It didn’t do him any good as his wife divorced him anyway - tired of
too many years spent raising the children alone while he spent years
in Alaska prospecting. My father-in-law also spent time looking for
gold in Alaska but he had better luck in the matrimonial field -
marrying my mother-in-law who was teaching at the University of
Alaska.

I love this story.
Jan