Anchorage, Alaska, USA

A days long temperature inversion over Anchorage trapped moisture close to the ground creating thick fogs. From these fogs, beautiful crystals of ice grew on any still surface.

5.1 x 4.3 x 3.9 cm A rarely seen locality specimen of native Gold on whitish massive Quartz matrix with minor sulfides from the Hope Mining District, just southeast of the city of Anchorage. The area around the Kenai Mountains has been a well known Gold producer since the late 1890's but specimens are almost never available. Russian explorers ...

© Brian Kosnar - Mineral Classics

This is a piece of Chugach-Type Low-Sulfide Au-Quartz Vein (model 36A.1) collected from the road cut at the mouth of Bird Creek. The vein is hosted in metagraywacke which has been stained by chalcopyrite weathering out of the quartz vein. Also present are various iron oxides and small pyrite cubes (not shown in picture).

Tiny 1mm quartz crystal from a >50kg boulder moved during dredging operations. This photo is of a 14cm piece cleaved off before rolling the rest of the boulder down stream and out of the way. These tiny crystals represent the typical size occasionally found in the creek.

Stream worn piece of arsenopyrite with gold. This piece was separated from a larger piece of vein material after etching with HCl.

This is a piece of Chugach-Type Low-Sulfide Au-Quartz Vein (model 36A.1) collected from the road cut at the mouth of Bird Creek. The vein is hosted in metagraywacke which has been stained by chalcopyrite weathering out of the quartz vein. Also present are various iron oxides and small pyrite cubes (not shown in picture).

Microscopic interpenetrating pyrite crystals form quartz/calcite vein hosted in greenschist.

Small gold crystals between arsenopyrite and quartz from this classic Alaskan placer mine. Self collected on 1 August 2015 while running a two inch dredge.

Small gold crystals between arsenopyrite and quartz from this classic Alaskan placer mine. Self collected on 1 August 2015 while running a two inch dredge.

This small arsenopyrite crystal was removed from a piece of weathered vein material found in Crow Creek. While attempting to remove a large piece of gold, the material was placed in HCl to dissolve away the iron oxides. After neutralization of the HCl many tiny bright crystals were found where calcite had dissolved. Identification is from visual ...

5.2 x 3.1 x 2.3 cm A rarely seen locality specimen of native Gold on whitish massive Quartz matrix with minor sulfides from the Hope Mining District, just southeast of the city of Anchorage. The area around the Kenai Mountains has been a well known Gold producer since the late 1890's but specimens are almost never seen on the market. Russian ...

© Brian Kosnar - Mineral Classics

5.1 x 4.3 x 3.9 cm A rarely seen locality specimen of native Gold on whitish massive Quartz matrix with minor sulfides from the Hope Mining District, just southeast of the city of Anchorage. The area around the Kenai Mountains has been a well known Gold producer since the late 1890's but specimens are almost never available. Russian explorers ...

© Brian Kosnar - Mineral Classics

5.1 x 4.3 x 3.9 cm A rarely seen locality specimen of native Gold on whitish massive Quartz matrix with minor sulfides from the Hope Mining District, just southeast of the city of Anchorage. The area around the Kenai Mountains has been a well known Gold producer since the late 1890's but specimens are almost never available. Russian explorers ...

© Brian Kosnar - Mineral Classics

Arsenopyrite crystals with gold. This piece was separated from a larger piece of vein material after etching with HCl.

Feathery crystals of ice along the edge of fresh, crystal clear ice of several centimeters thickness. The specimen was destroyed in short order by my children. Locality is Arctic Valley, Alaska, near the Alpenglow Ski Area.

5.2 x 3.1 x 2.3 cm A rarely seen locality specimen of native Gold on whitish massive Quartz matrix with minor sulfides from the Hope Mining District, just southeast of the city of Anchorage. The area around the Kenai Mountains has been a well known Gold producer since the late 1890's but specimens are almost never seen on the market. Russian ...

© Brian Kosnar - Mineral Classics

5.2 x 3.1 x 2.3 cm A rarely seen locality specimen of native Gold on whitish massive Quartz matrix with minor sulfides from the Hope Mining District, just southeast of the city of Anchorage. The area around the Kenai Mountains has been a well known Gold producer since the late 1890's but specimens are almost never seen on the market. Russian ...

© Brian Kosnar - Mineral Classics

This panoramic was taken on the south side of the creek, looking from southwest to northeast.