Blasher

The Blasher is a zinc, lead, molybdenum, copper, gold, and silver mine located in Alaska.

About the MRDS Data:

All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.

Mine Info

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Site Name

Primary: Blasher
Secondary: Lone Star Group

Commodity

Primary: Zinc
Primary: Lead
Primary: Molybdenum
Primary: Copper
Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver

Location

State: Alaska
District: Hyder

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Prospect
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Hostrock identified as quartzite may have formed by silicification of pelitic country rock.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Sphalerite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Property has been explored by a short drift, surface opencuts, trenches, and pits, and seven diamond drillholes.? A weighted average of assay data over the exposed length of the vein gives 0.93% Cu, 1.15% Pb, 1.25% Zn, 0.002% Mo, and 4.4 oz Ag and 0.016 oz Au per ton (Berg and others, 1977).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Berg and others, 1977

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The country rocks in the area of the Blasher prospect include pelitic metasedimentary and subordinate andesitic metavolcanic strata of the Jurassic or older Mesozoic Hazelton Group; the Triassic Texas Creek Granodiorite, which underlies and locally intrudes the Hazelton; and the Eocene Hyder Quartz Monzonite, which intrudes both the Hazelton and Texas Creek rocks (Smith, 1977; Berg and others, 1977, p. 15-18, 22-23; Koch, 1996).? Buddington (1929, p. 100) describes the deposit as a shattered and fissured zone in quartzite, less than 200 feet above the contact of the Texas Creek Granodiorite. The zone, traced along strike for about 1500 feet, contains a quartz vein about 4 feet thick and many mineralized quartz stringers. The veins carry galena, pyrite, sphalerite, and minor chalcopyrite. A short adit driven in argillite to undercut the lode encountered quartz veinlets containing disseminated molybdenite. ? Berg and others (1977, p. 38-39, 72, 85-89) describe the deposit as a quartz vein up to 2 feet thick and exposed along strike for about 140 feet . The hostrocks are Hazelton hornfels and quartz monzonite that is interpreted as a cupola of the Texas Creek Granodiorite. The vein contains erratically distributed chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, and molybdenite. A weighted average of assay data over the exposed length of the vein gives 0.93% Cu, 1.15% Pb, 1.25% Zn, 0.002% Mo, and 4.4 oz Ag and 0.016 oz Au per ton. Small amounts of powellite are present locally in the vein, and the quartz monzonite and hornfels country rocks locally contain sparse molybdenite.? Lead-isotope studies of galena from the Blasher prospect (Maas and others, 1995, p. 244) indicate that the deposit is Eocene in age, contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite.?

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = the Blasher prospect was originally staked in 1923, restaked several times, and covered in 1970-71 by the Lone Star group of 32 claims (Berg and others, 1977, p. 85).

Comment (Geology): Age = Lead-isotope studies of galena from the Blasher prospect (Maas and others, 1995, p. 244) indicate that the deposit is Eocene in age, contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Polymetallic veins

References

Reference (Deposit): Buddington, A.F., 1929, Geology of Hyder and vicinity, southeastern Alaska, with a reconnaissance of Chickamin River: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 807, 124 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, J.G., 1977, Geology of the Ketchikan D-1 and Bradfield Canal A-1 quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1425, 49 p.

Reference (Deposit): Berg, H.C., Elliott, R.L., Smith, J.G., Pittman, T.L., and Kimball, A. L., 1977, Mineral resources of the Granite Fiords wilderness study area, Alaska, with a section on aeromagnetic data by Andrew Griscom: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1403, 151 p.

Reference (Deposit): Elliott, R.L., and Koch, R.D., 1981, Mines, prospects, and selected metalliferous mineral occurrences in the Bradfield Canal quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-728-B, 23 p., 1 sheet, scales 1:250,000 and 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Maas, K.M., Bittenbender, P E., and Still, J.C., 1995, Mineral investigations in the Ketchikan mining district, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 11-95, 606 p.

Reference (Deposit): Koch, R.D., 1996, Reconnaissance geologic map of the Bradfield Canal quadrangle, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-728-A, 35 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

The Top Ten Gold Producing States

These ten states contributed the most to the gold production that built the West from 1848 through the 1930s. The Top Ten Gold Producing States.