Stikine River placer gold is believed to be derived from sources in the Coast Mountains and originated in post-glacial time. Glacial ice moved up the Stikine River as far as Telegraph Creek where it appears to have halted. The richest placer and the coarsest gold is found a few kilometres below on Buck Bar. At this bar bedrock is less than a metre above the river channel and is composed of sand- stone, which dips in a downstream direction. Most of the gold was recovered from the bedrock surface, within the clay and sand. Some gold occurs in bars lower down but it is very fine, flour gold.

The Stikine River formerly flowed along a west side terrace course below Hyland Creek. Buck Bar lies on this course and other parts of the old channel may contain gold.

The Stikine placers were discovered and worked in the 1860's. Buck Bar is known to have yielded $100 a day, per rocker (in 1860's dollar value). Work was done for a considerable period, though total production is unknown.