Homestake

The Homestake is a lead, zinc, gold, copper, 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

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Site Name

Primary: Homestake

Commodity

Primary: Lead
Primary: Zinc
Primary: Gold
Primary: Copper
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: Past Producer
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

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

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

Comments

Comment (Geology): Age = Lead-isotope studies of galena from the Homestake mine (Maas and others, 1929, p. 229-248) indicate that the deposit is Eocene in age, contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = A 25-foot crosscut adit is reported to have cut the vein 35 feet below its outcrop (Buddington, 1926, p. 53).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Polymetallic veins

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Buddington, 1929

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The country rock in the area of the Homestake mine is Triassic Texas Creek Granodiorite, which regionally underlies and locally intrudes pelitic metasedimentary and subordinate andesitic metavolcanic strata of the Jurassic or older Mesozoic Hazelton Group; and the Eocene Hyder Quartz Monzonite, which intrudes the Hazelton and Texas Creek rocks (Smith, 1977, Koch, 1996).? the deposit consists of a quartz fissure vein 4-5.5 feet thick in Texas Creek Granodiorite (Buddington, 1925, p. 88-89). The vein was traced in outcrop for about 250 feet. The mineralized parts of the vein contain bands of solid sulfide up to 4 feet thick consisting mainly of argentiferous 'steel' galena, accompanied by pyrite, chalcopyrite, and a little sphalerite. The granodiorite hanging wall of the vein contains stringers of tetrahedrite. So-called 'steel' galena resembles augen gneiss with eyes of granulated pyrite in flow-banded galena; this texture indicates that the mineral deposit was subjected to intense stress since its formation (Buddington and Chapin, 1929, p. 320).? A 9.5-ton test shipment of sorted ore sent to a smelter in 1925 contained 50% Pb, 0.7% Zn, 22.87 oz Ag per ton, and 0.29 oz Au per ton (Buddington, 1929, p. 95; Cobb, 1978, p. 39).? Lead-isotope studies of galena from the Homestake mine (Maas and others, 1929, p. 229-248) indicate that the deposit is Eocene in age, contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Property originally staked in 1923

References

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.

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): 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): 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): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bradfield Canal quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-922, 98 p.

Reference (Deposit): Buddington, A.F., 1926, Mineral investigations in southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 783, p. 41-62.

Reference (Deposit): Buddington, A.F., 1925, Mineral investigations in southeastern Alasaka: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 773, p. 71-139.

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