Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This footage documents placer gold mining operations in the Fairbanks area, circa 1938. The clip is drawn from a film labeled “Fairbanks Alaska, Gold Dredge Mining.”
Scenes include a large-scale placer mining site, with hydraulic giants (monitors) directing high-pressure water to wash away overburden and expose gold-bearing layers. A cameraman is seen filming the active mining operation. Additional images show earth being blasted away, a mining camp (possibly near Fox, Alaska), and a worker walking along a pipeline that is likely fed by or part of the Davidson Ditch system.
The film also features a gold dredge in operation and tailings piles, illustrating the scale and impact of industrial gold mining in Interior Alaska during the early 20th century.
Location details are based on available information and have not been fully verified.
Source & Format
B&W, silent, 16mm film
Arnie M. Lee and Family Collection (AAF-16335)
Alaska Film Archives
Repository
The Alaska Film Archives is a unit of the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives Department, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Contact
If you have additional information or can help further identify what’s seen here, we welcome your insights. Please contact us using the information in the “About” section.
Support the Alaska Film Archives
The Alaska Film Archives appreciates your support. Donations of any amount help us preserve and share Alaska’s audiovisual history. Visit the “About” section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help. Thank you!
This footage documents placer gold mining operations in the Fairbanks area, circa 1938. The clip is drawn from a film labeled “Fairbanks Alaska, Gold Dredge Mining.”
Scenes include a large-scale placer mining site, with hydraulic giants (monitors) directing high-pressure water to wash away overburden and expose gold-bearing layers. A cameraman is seen filming the active mining operation. Additional images show earth being blasted away, a mining camp (possibly near Fox, Alaska), and a worker walking along a pipeline that is likely fed by or part of the Davidson Ditch system.
The film also features a gold dredge in operation and tailings piles, illustrating the scale and impact of industrial gold mining in Interior Alaska during the early 20th century.
Location details are based on available information and have not been fully verified.
Source & Format
B&W, silent, 16mm film
Arnie M. Lee and Family Collection (AAF-16335)
Alaska Film Archives
Repository
The Alaska Film Archives is a unit of the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives Department, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Contact
If you have additional information or can help further identify what’s seen here, we welcome your insights. Please contact us using the information in the “About” section.
Support the Alaska Film Archives
The Alaska Film Archives appreciates your support. Donations of any amount help us preserve and share Alaska’s audiovisual history. Visit the “About” section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help. Thank you!
