Kennicott Mine

The Kennicott Mine is a copper, lead, zinc, 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: Kennicott Mine
Secondary: Erie
Secondary: Jumbo
Secondary: Bonanza
Secondary: Mother Lode

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: Lead
Primary: Zinc
Primary: Silver

Location

State: Alaska
District: Nizina

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

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

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Oxidation Of Deposits Which Is Not Related To Present Land Surface.

Rocks

Name: Greenstone
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Triassic

Name: Greenstone
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Late Triassic

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Galena
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Enargite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Covellite
Ore: Tennantite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): KENNICOTT MINES WERE RENOWNED FOR THE SIZE AND RICHNESS OF THEIR COPPER SULFIDE LODES. THE LARGEST KNOWN ORE BODY (JUMBO MINE) CONSISTING OF ALMOST PURE CHALCOCITE AND COVELLITE AVERAGED 360 FT IN HEIGHT, WAS BETWEEN 2 FT AND 60 FT WIDE, AND EXTENDED ALONG ITS NORTHEASTERLY PLUNGE FOR 1,500 FT. ORIGIN AND GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF DEPOSITS IS COMPLEX, OBSCURE, AND MULTIPLE HYPOTHESES ARE STILL DEBATED. MAINLY CHALCOCITE AND COVELLITE, WITH MINOR ENARGITE, BORNITE, CHALCOPYRITE, LUZONITE, AND PYRITE. TENNANTITE, SPHALERITE, AND GALENA EXTREMELY RARE. LOCAL SURFACE OXIDATION OF SULFIDES TO MALACHITE AND AZURITE. SULFIDES OCCUR MAINLY AS LARGE, IRREGULAR, MASSIVE, WEDGE-SHAPED BODIES, MAINLY IN DOLOMITIC PARTS OF THE UPPER TRIASSIC CHITISTONE OR NIZINA LIMESTONE. GENERALLY LESS THAN 100 M ABOVE THE MIDDLE AND(OR) UPPER TRIASSIC NIKOLAI GREENSTONE. ONE OF THE MOST PRODUCTIVE GROUP OF MINES IN ALASKA FROM 1913 UNTIL 1938 WHEN THE ORE WAS EXHAUSTED. MORE THAN 96 KM OF UNDERGROUND

Comment (Location): THREE MILES NORTHWEST OF TOWN OF KENNICOTT. COORDINATES ARE FOR POINT AT JUMBO, LARGEST PRODUCER OF KENNICOTT MINES. OTHER MINES OF KENNICOTT COMPLEX ARE WITHIN 2 MI. OF JUMBO AND ALL ARE CONNECTED UNDERGROUND. BEST LOCATION: MACKEVETT, 1970.

Comment (Production): PRODUCED ABOUT 544 MILLION KG CU AND 280 MILLION G AG FROM 4.3 MILLION TONNES ORE BETWEEN 1913 AND 1938. ABOUT 75 PERCENT OF ORE MINED WAS SULFIDE MINERALS OF WHICH 95 PERCENT WAS CHALCOCITE.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Workings): MINES LOCATED 4,000-6,000 FT ELEVATION WITH OVER 700 MI IN UNDERGROUND WORKINGS; LOWEST WORKINGS REACHED 2,800 FT ELEVATION. SURFACE AND UNDERGROUND WORKINGS.

Comment (Deposit): MINOR PRODUCTION IN LATE 1960'S FROM SURFACE TALUS DEPOSITS.

Comment (Deposit): WORKINGS. DEPOSITS INTERPRETED BY ARMSTRONG AND MACKEVETT (1982) AS HAVING FORMED BY MOBILIZATION OF CU FROM THE UNDERLYING NIKOLAI GREENSTONE AND DEPOSITED BY OXYGENATED GROUNDWATER AND DEPOSITION IN FOSSIL KARSTS OF A DOLOMITIC SABKHA INTERFACE IN OVERLYING LIMESTONE. AGE OF DEPOSITION INTERPRETED AS CRETACEOUS(?) WITH FORMATION DURING REGIONAL LOW-GRADE METAMORPHISM.

References

Reference (Deposit): Miller, D.J., 1946, Copper deposits of the Nizina district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 947F, p. 93-120.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., 1970, Geologic map of the McCarthy C-5 quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Quadrangle Map GQ-899, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Armstrong, A.K., and MacKevett, E.M., Jr., 1982, Stratigraphy and diagenetic history of the lower part of the Triassic Chitistone Limestone, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1212-A, 26 p.

Reference (Deposit): Bateman, A.M., and McLaughlin, D.H., 1920, Geology of the ore deposits of Kennecott, Alaska: Economic Geology, v. 15, no. 1, p. 1-80.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and MacKevett, E.M., Jr., 1980, Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the McCarthy Quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-885, 156 p.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., 1976, Mineral deposits and occurrences in the McCarthy quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-773B, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., Albert, N.R.D., Barnes, D.F., Case, J.E., Robinson, Keith, and Singer, D.A., 1977, The Alaskan Mineral Resource Assessment Program: Background information to accompany folio of geologic and mineral resource maps of the McCarthy quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 739, 23 p.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., 1971, Stratigraphy and general geology of the McCarthy C-5 quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1323, 35 p.

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.