Hi Lackin,
$1,000 a day may be cheap for heavy equipment, food to feed a camp of folks, repairs, human needs and the like but not if it is just yourself. What it costs you at home to go prospect (gasoline, food, camping permit and the like) is what it costs you in Alaska (okay Hoser at least out of Anchorage, not way up there or out of McGrath) unless you will be mining on say the Gains Creek Mining Claim then you need to pay a fee. Regardless of where you are mining you MUST make certain it is not someone elses claim as in Alaska you might just get shot for claim jumping so plan ahead. As a matter of fact, do not just jump at this and go for it as you will likely waist a good deal of money and time, plan this in advance so you really know what your are doing.
In Alaska folks sluice, dredge, pan, high bank as well as move overburden with D-8 Cat's, it is an unusual place. You must know something about Alaska before going to where you want to go. The state bird is the Mosquito and it sucked the blood out of the things that came in 2nd and 3rd place for that title. Bring a thin coat that is kept in a heavy plastic bag and keep the coat soaked with mosquito repelent and put the coat on when you need to keep the bugs away. This way you do not put the repellent on your skin as after a week or so your skin will crack from constantly applying the repellent. The "Bug's" in general are bad there especially the flying biting ones, they only have a short season to eat, mate and die so they are very active all day long. Oh and the days are nearly 24 hours long with light, at 3 in the morning it looks like the sun is just about to set in Illinois.
Then there are the Black & Griz Bears, the Moose and a few other large and dangerous animals as well as a couple of small ones but no snakes unless you play poker. The country has a lot of water, mountains and glaciated areas and stunted forests as well as regular size forests, either type of forest is a turd to get through due to all the dead falls. The rivers and lakes become highways and it is easy to get lost. Feeding yourself is at times easy as the fish will bite on nearly empty hooks on a line that is tied to a stick, no fancy stuff is needed but it will work as well as what I described. Visitors guides are free for the asking as Alaska likes tourist money and even tell them that you will be prospecting and to include information on that, please. $1,000 a day for one guy naa but you may need one detector for heavily mineralized ground and another for easy ground, a gold pan, a high banker and some gas cans as well as water cans and a GOOD water filter system as they do have Beaver Fever in Alaska, comes from drinking water contaminated by beaver droppings.
Look into it, know what you are doing and then make sure you know what you are doing and then go do it if you still want to.
Good Success with your adventure............63bkpkr