Big Nugget Mine

Useful Information

Location:	Porcupine, near Haines. (59°20'47.22"N, 135°52'26.73"W)
Open:
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Classification:	Gold Mine Placer Mining Alluvial Deposit
Light:	n/a
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Address:	Big Nugget Mine, John J. Schnabel, PO Box 149, Haines, AK 99827, Tel: +1-907-766-2228.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1984	John Schnabel buys a claim at Porcupine Creek for summer vacation.
2011	grandson Parker Schnabel becomes boss of the mine and the Big Nugget Crew.

Geology

Description

Big Nugget Mine is a huge placer gold mine, a typical type of gold deposit in Alaska. The claim was bought by John Schnabel in 1984 as a place to take his children in the summers. When he started to wash gold and actually found it, he started making money from the site. The site is named Porcupine Creek, but the mining operation was named Big Nugget Mine.

There is a sort of scripted reality gold mining series in the U.S. television which is named Gold Rush. During the filming of the first season they were at a mine on the other end of Porcupine Creek, but frequently came to John Schnabel for advice and equipment. As a result, the Big Nugget Mine became a focus of the show during the second season.