John and Mary Roop have been involved with mining in Alaska since 1982. In past years we had dredging operations on the Forty Mile River, using a 10-inch suction dredge and two 8-inch suction dredges. Summers were spent in isolation with only riverboat access. Although we no longer are active miners, we maintain close association with many miner friends and participate in the annual Alaska Miner’s Convention held in November in Anchorage with our J & M Alaska Gold Nugget Jewelry booths.

Alaska’s placer gold is brought to life for your through John’s hard work and artistry in his Anchorage studio. We also offer 14K gold cast items featuring Alaska icons, such as moose, bears, sheep, mosquitoes, totems, ulu knives, or dogsleds. A wide selection of tie tacs are available. We offer a selection of bolo ties, both nuggeted and with cast figures. Men’s watches are available with choices of wing tips, watch faces, and full nuggeted bands. Ladies will be enchanted with our beautiful bracelets, necklaces, and watches, with full nuggeted bands. We also offer custom design for all fine jewelry products. Each nugget used in our jewelry is a natural gold nugget - one of a kind. We do not change the nugget from its natural state.

Some of the more interesting study I have done is a book by Pierre Berton, “Klondike Fever”. Copyright 1958 by Pierre Berton. (nonfictional)