Unnamed (on Red Mountain)

Site Name

Primary: Unnamed (on Red Mountain)

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Commodity

Primary: Chromium
Secondary: Nickel

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Homer?

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Land Status

Not available

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Not available

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

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

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Podiform chromite (major)

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Not available

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Serpentzation occurs along the margin of the ultramafic body.

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Rocks

Name: Dunite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Name: Dunite
Role: Host
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Chromite

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Comments

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = About 26,000 million tons of ore containing from 38 to 43% chromite were produced between 1943 and 1958. The remaining reserve are estimated to be 1.5 million tons of contained chromic oxide in 33 deposits (Foley, 1992). About 88,000 million tons of chromic oxide are contained in 20 relative high-grade deposits with more than 20 percent chromite. The bulk of the reserves, 1.35 million tons are in three low-grade deposits that contain 5 to 6 percent chromic oxide (Foley, 1992). These are the Turner Stringer Zone, (1.13 million metric tons chromic oxide), the Star Stringer Zone (189,000 metric tons chromic oxide) and the Horseshoe Stringer Zone (26,000 metric tons chromic oxide) (Foley, 1992).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Age = Mesozoic; based on the age of the ultramafic body that host the deposit.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Gill, 1922; Guild, 1942

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Total production from 1943 to 1958 was 26,000 metric tons of ore containing 38 to 43 percent chrome; the Chrome Queen mine produced 6,650 tons and the Star No. 4 mine produced 19,350 tons (Foley and Barker, 1985).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The area was discovered about 1910 to 1915, and some minor development and production occurred in 1920 (Brooks, 1922). During WW II, the Bureau of Mines drilled over thirty diamond drill holes to evaluate the deposits. From 1942 to 1944, the Chrome Queen mine produced 6,650 tons of 40 to 42% chromite ore. ? Ongoing exploration continued through the late 1980's. Anaconda Minerals drilled six diamond drill holes in about 1982 and 83 which tested the Horseshoe Stringer Zone and the Turner Stringer Zone (Bill Ellis, 1999, Personal communcation). Anaconda Minerals also flew regional airborne geophysics in the early 1980's.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Red Mountain ultramafic complex covers about 7 square miles and is part of the informally named Border Ranges ultramafic and mafic complex of Burns (1985). The Jurassic Border Ranges complex is thought to be the dismembered basal section of an island arc complex (Burns, 1985) which extends from the tip of the Kenai Peninsula to east of Sutton, Alaska. ?The dunite body is a klippe thrust over the Cretaceous McHugh Complex graywackes and slates. The margin of the Red Mountain klippe is serpentized and the gross overall structure of the klippe is an elongated basin.? the Red Mountain ultramafic body is mostly dunite with some pyroxenite and garnet-pyroxenite layers (Guild, 1942). Chromite layers and lens up to 300 feet long and 60 feet wide are found only within the dunite. Generally, the layers strike northwest and dip steeply near the margins of the klippe and are nearly flat lying near the center of the body. ? There are over 30 identified chromite occurrences that occur in thin lens bands and pod within the dunite layers of the ultramafic body. Small scale folds and small scale normal faults commonly disrupt the chromite layers. The Cr/Fe ratio of the chromite generally varies from 2.6 to 3.6; at least 90% of the chromite is with these limits (Gill, 1922).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Podiform chromite (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 8a)

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = There is little information regarding the actual mining of this deposit.

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References

Reference (Deposit): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1919, Chromite deposits in Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 692-D, p. 265-267.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1979, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than minerals fuels and construction materials) in the Seldovia quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report 80-87, 47 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1931: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 844-A, p. 1-81.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., Singer, D.A., and Holloway, C.D., 1978, Maps and tables describing metalliferous mineral resource potential of southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-1-E, 12 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Grant, U.S., and Higgins, D.F., Jr., 1910, Preliminary report on the mineral resources of the southern part of Kenai Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442-D, p. 166-178.

Reference (Deposit): Moxham, R.M., and Nelson, A.E., 1952, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in the southern Cook Inlet region, Alaska, 1949: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 207, 7 p., 1 plate, scale 1:500,000.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1932: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 857-A, p. 1-91.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1918, Mineral resources of Alaska, 1916: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 662, 469 p.

Reference (Deposit): Gill, A.C., 1920, Preliminary report on the chromite of Kenai Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 712, p. 99-129.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1921, The future of Alaska mining, in Martin G.C. and others, Mineral resources of Alaska, 1917: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 714, p. 5-57.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1931: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 844-A, p. 1-82.

Reference (Deposit): Gill, A.C., 1922, Chromite of Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 742, 52 p.

Reference (Deposit): Martin G.C., Johnson, B.L., and Grant, U.S., 1915, Geology and mineral resources of Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 587, 243 p.

Reference (Deposit): Martin, G.C., 1920, The Alaska mining industry in 1918: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 712-A, p. 1-52.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1936, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1934: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 868-A, p. 1-91.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1937, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1935: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 880-A, p. 1-95.

Reference (Deposit): Guild, P.W., 1942, Chromite deposits of Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 931-G, p. 139-175.

Reference (Deposit): Wells, R.R. , Sterling, F.T., Erspamer, E.G., and Stickney, W.A., 1957, Laboratory concentrates of chromite ore, Red Mountain district, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 5377, 22 p.

Reference (Deposit): Berg, H.C., and Cobb, E.H., 1967, Metalliferous Lode Deposits of Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1246, 254 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic minerals resources map of the Seldovia quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-397, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1938, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1936: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-A, p. 1-107.

Reference (Deposit): Bird, M.L., 1978, Electron-microprobe study of chromatites associated with alpine ultramafic complexes and some genetic implications: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-119, 53 p.

Reference (Deposit): Forbes, R.B., 1974, Garnet-clinopyroxenite from Red Mountain pluton, Alaska: Geological Society of America Bulletin v. 85, p. 285-292.

Reference (Deposit): Foley, J.Y., and Barker, J.C., 1985, Chromite deposits along the Border Ranges fault, part 1, Field investigations and descriptions of chromite deposits: U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 8990, 58 p.

Reference (Deposit): Foley, J.Y., 1992, Ophiolite and other ultramafic metallogenic provinces in Alaska (west of the 141th meridian): U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report 92-20-B 65 p.

Reference (Deposit): Rutledge, F.A., 1946, Exploration of Red Mountain chromite deposits, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 3885, 26 p.

Reference (Deposit): Toth, M.I., 1981, Petrology, geochemistry, and origin of the Red Mountain ultramafic body near Seldovia, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-0514, 92 p.

Reference (Deposit): Burns, L.E., 1985, The Border Range ultramafic and mafic complex, southcentral Alaska: Cumlative fractionates of island-arc volcanics: Canadian Journal of Earth Science, v. 22, p.1020-1038.

Reference (Deposit): Foley, J.Y., Barker, J.C., and Brown, L.L., 1985, Critical and strategic minerals investigation in Alaska - chromium: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 97-85, 54 p., 1 sheet.

Reference (Deposit): Williams, J.A., 1954, Magnetic exploration of the Red Mountain chromite deposit, Kenai, Peninsula: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Prospect Evaluation 104-3, 22 p.

Reference (Deposit): Twenhofel, W.S., 1953, Potential Alaskan mineral resources for proposed electrochemical and electrometallurgical industries in the upper Lynn Canal area, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 252, 14 p.

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