Gold Bullion

The Gold Bullion is a gold, mercury, and copper 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: Gold Bullion
Secondary: New Bullion
Secondary: Ready Bullion
Secondary: Willow Creek Mines Inc.

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Mercury
Primary: Copper

Location

State: Alaska
District: Willow Creek

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: Wall-Rock Alteration Within A Few Inches Of The Veins Is Intense, But Seldom Extends More Than 10 To 12 Inches Beyond The Quartz Filling. Sericitization And Carbonate Alteration Predominate, But There Is Some Pyritization And In The Outer Parts Of The Alteration Zone Chloritization Is Present (Ray, 1954). Oxidation Of Copper Minerals.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Cinnabar
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Deposit): ADJACENT TO A GOLD-BEARING VEIN IN THE MINE WAS 56 M.Y., SUGGESTING A LATE PALEOCENE AGE FOR MINERALIZATION (SILBERMAN AND OTHERS, 1978). WALL-ROCK ALTERATION WITHIN A FEW INCHES OF THE VEINS IS INTENSE, BUT SELDOM EXTENDS MORE THAN 10 TO 12 INCHES BEYOND THE QUARTZ FILLING. SERICITIZATION AND CARBONATE ALTERATION PREDOMINATE, BUT THERE IS SOME PYRITIZATION AND IN THE OUTER PARTS OF THE ALTERATION ZONE CHLORITIZATION IS PRESENT (RAY, 1954).

Comment (Deposit): MINE DEVELOPED ON ONE OR MORE QUARTZ VEINS 1.5 TO14 FT THICK THAT ARE INTERMITTENTLY EXPOSED OVER 3,000 FEET OF STRIKE LENGTH (CAPPS, 1915). THE VEINS CUT THE LATE CRETACEOUS WILLOW CREEK PLUTON AND CONTAIN GOLD, SMALL AMOUNTS OF PYRITE, CHALCOPYRITE, OTHER SULFIDES, AND COPPER CARBONATES STAINS. AT LEAST THREE NORMAL FAULTS ARE KNOWN TO DISPLACE THE VEINS. VISIBLE SLICKENSIDES AND GOUGE OCCUR ALONG THE VEIN WALLS (KATZ, 1911). CAPPS (1915) REPORTED CINNABAR IN CRACKS OF QUARTZ IN ONE TUNNEL. ACCORDING TO CHAPIN (1920), MOST MINING OCCURRED ON ONE VEIN THAT STRIKES N 10 E, AND DIPS 14 NW. THE ORE MINED REPORTED TO HAVE AVERAGED ABOUT 1.7 OZ/TON AU (RAY, 1933). THE WILLOW CREEK PLUTON IS A ZONED PLUTON: THE OUTER PART CONSISTS OF HORNBLENDE QUARTZ DIORITE AND LESSER HORNBLENDE TONALITE; THE CORE CONSISTS OF HORNBLENDE-BIOTITE GRANODIORITE, AND LESSER HORNBLENDE-BIOTITE QUARTZ MONZODIORITE AND BIOTITE QUARTZ MONZONITE. THE K-AR AGE FROM MUSCOVITE IN A QUARTZ-SERICITE SELVAGE

Comment (Geology): THE K-AR AGE FROM MUSCOVITE IN A QUARTZ-SERICITE SELVAGE ADJACENT TO A GOLD-BEARING VEIN IN THE MINE WAS 56 M.Y., SUGGESTING A LATE PALEOCENE AGE FOR MINERALIZATION (SILBERMAN AND OTHERS, 1978).

Comment (Workings): FIRST STAKED BY WILLIAM BARTHOLF IN 1907 (CAPPS, 1915). FROM 1909 TO 1927, MINE WAS THE SECOND LARGEST PRODUCER IN THE DISTRICT (RAY, 1933). THE FIRST ORE FROM THE PROPERTY WAS FROM AN OPEN CUT ON A VEIN OUTCROP. THE ORE WAS CARRIED TO THE MILL 1,600 FT BELOW BY PACK HORSE. THE 2-STAMP MILL, ON CRAIGIE CREEK, HAD A CAPACITY OF SIX TONS A DAY IN 1909 (STOLL, 1997). STOLL (1997) ALSO INDICATES THAT A 5-STAMP MILL WAS ADDED TO THE PROPERTY IN 1911, INCREASING THE MILL CAPACITY TO 21 TONS OF ORE PER DAY. BY 1915, A CYANIDE PLANT, FIVE TUNNELS, NUMEROUS OPEN CUTS, SEVERAL AERIAL TRAMS, AND OTHER SURFACE IMPROVEMENTS WERE REPORTED (CAPPS, 1915). ACCORDING TO CAPPS (1919) UNDERGROUND WORKINGS TOTALLED MORE THAT 5,220 FT IN LENGTH. THE ORE MINED REPORTED TO HAVE AVERAGED ABOUT 1.7 OZ/TON AU (RAY, 1933). RAY (1954) REPORTED THE OLD TAILINGS WERE CYANIDED IN 1939-1940 AND SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS OF GOLD WAS RECOVERED.

Comment (Deposit): FOR MANY YEARS THIS WAS ONE OF MAJOR MINES IN DISTRICT. MINING REPORTED NEARLY ALL THE YEARS BETWEEN 1909-1927, BUT VERY LIMITED DATA ON PRODUCTION. SOME LITERATURE CALLS MINE NEW BULLION AND READY BULLION, BUT GENERALLY REFERRED TO AS GOLD BULLION.

Comment (Production): APPROACHING $800 PER OUNCE. SUBSEQUENTLY THE PRICE OF GOLD RETREATED TO A LEVEL THAT CURTAILED THIS EFFORT AND THERE WAS NO ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION FROM THE READY BULLION. ACCESS TO THE PROPERTY DURING THIS WORK WAS BY A STEEP ZIG-ZAG ROAD UPWARD FROM THE HEAD OF LITTLE WILLOW CREEK.

Comment (Location): MARKED WITH ADIT SYMBOLS AND LABELED 'GOLD BULLION MINE' ON THE ANCHORAGE D-7 1:63,360-SCALE TOPOGRAPHIC MAP. NEAR TOP OF NORTHWESTERN FLANK OF BULLION MOUNTAIN, THE DIVIDE BETWEEN WILLOW AND CRAIGIE CREEKS. ACCURATE WITHIN 400 FT. LOCALITY 9 OF COBB (1972) AND LOCALITY 8 OF MACKEVETT AND HOLLOWAY (1977).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Production): CREDITING THE GOLD BULLION LODE WITH THE FEW THOUSAND OUNCES OF GOLD OBTAINED FROM THE OLD TAILINGS, A SUM OF VERY ROUGHLY 77,000 OUNCES OF GOLD MAY HAVE BEEN RECOVERED FROM THE PROPERTY. FROM 1908 TO 1951, THE LODE WAS THE THIRD LARGEST CONTIBUTOR OF GOLD IN THE DISTRICT (STOLL, 1997). THE READY BULLION WAS ALSO MINED IN THE MID-1970'S AND THE FOLLOWING ISBASED ON ORAL COMMUNICATIONS IN 1998 WITH DAN RENSHAW WHO DID THE WORK. ORE WAS RECOVERED FROM SURFACE PITS ALONG THE RIDGE ABOVE THE READY BULLION ADITS FROM FROZEN, NEAR-SURFACE PORTIONS OF THE VEIN THAT HAD BEEN LEFT IN PLACE DURING EARLY MINING TO PROTECT THE UNDERGROUND WORKINGS.SEVERAL HUNDRED TONS WERE MINED THAT RAN 3 TO4 OUNCES OF GOLD PER TON. THE ORE WAS TRUCKED TO THE GOLD CORD MILL (ARDF NUMBER AN007) ON UPPER FISHHOOK CREEK; THE LAST OF IT WAS MILLED IN 1977. MINING STOPPED WITH ADDITIONAL ORE IN SIGHT WHEN THE PROPERTY WAS FOLDED INTO A CONSOLIDATION OF A NUMBER OF PROPERTIES PUT TOGETHER WHEN GOLD WAS

References

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, A.H., 1912, THE MINING INDUSTRY IN 1911: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 520-A, P. 17-44.

Reference (Deposit): MARTIN, G.C., 1920, MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, REPORT ON PROGRESS OF INVESTIGATIONS IN 1918: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 712, 204 P.

Reference (Deposit): COBB, E.H., 1979, SUMMARY OF REFERENCES TO MINERAL OCCURRENCES (OTHER THAN MINERAL FUELS AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IN ANCHORAGE QUADRANGLE, ALASKA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT 79-1095, 184 P.

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, A.H., AND MARTIN, G.C., 1921, THE ALASKAN MINING INDUSTRY IN 1919: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 714, P. 59-95.

Reference (Deposit): MOFFIT, F.H., 1927, MINERAL INDUSTRY IN ALASKA IN 1925 AND ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 792-A, P. 41-49.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, P.S., 1929, MINERAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA IN 1926 AND ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 797-A, P. 1-66.

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, A.H., 1925, ALASKA'S MINERAL RESOURCES AND PRODUCTION IN 1923: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 773-A, P. 1-52.

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, A.H., AND CAPPS, S.R., 1924, THE ALASKAN MINING INDUSTRY IN 1922: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 755, P. 3-49.

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, A.H., 1922, THE ALASKAN MINING INDUSTRY IN 1920: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 722-A, P. 1-74.

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, A.H., 1923, THE ALASKAN MINING INDUSTRY IN 1921: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 739-A, P. 1-50.

Reference (Deposit): CHAPIN, THEODORE, 1921, LODE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WILLOW CREEK DISTRICT: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 714-E, P. 201-206.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Anchorage quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-409, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Moffit, F.H., 1927, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1925: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 792-A, p. 1-39.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1939, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1938: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 917-A, p. 1-113.

Reference (Deposit): CHAPIN, THEODORE, 1920, LODE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WILLOW CREEK DISTRICT: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 712-F, P. 169-176.

Reference (Deposit): CAPPS, S.R., 1919, GOLD LODE MINING IN THE WILLOW CREEK DISTRICT: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 692-D, P. 177-205.

Reference (Deposit): MARTIN, G.C., 1919, THE ALASKAN MINING INDUSTRY IN 1917: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 692-A, P. 11-42.

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, A.H., 1918, THE ALASKAN MINING INDUSTRY IN 1916: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 662-B, P. 11-62.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, S.S., 1917, THE MINING INDUSTRY IN THE TERRITORY OF ALASKA DURING THE CALENDAR YEAR 1915: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 142, 66 P.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, S.S., 1917, THE MINING INDUSTRY IN THE TERRITORY OF ALASKA DURING THE CALENDAR YEAR 1915: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES BULLETIN 153, 66 P.

Reference (Deposit): CAPPS, S.R., 1916, GOLD MINING IN THE WILLOW CREEK DISTRICT: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 642-G, P. 147-194, 195-200.

Reference (Deposit): CAPPS, S.R., 1915, THE WILLOW CREEK DISTRICT, ALASKA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 607, 86 P.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., and Holloway, C.D., 1977, Map showing metalliferous mineral deposits in the western part of southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-169-F, 38 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): CAPPS, S.R., 1914, GOLD LODES AND PLACERS OF THE WILLOW CREEK DISTRICT: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 592, P. 245-272.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, P.S., 1930, MINERAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA IN 1927 AND ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 810-A, P. 1-64.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1916, Gold mining in the Willow Creek district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 642-E, p. 147-200.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1941, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1939: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 926-A, p. 1-106.

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, A.H., 1915, THE ALASKAN MINING INDUSTRY IN 1914: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 622, P. 15-68.

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, A.H., 1914, THE ALASKAN MINING INDUSTRY IN 1913: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 592, P. 45-74.

Reference (Deposit): MACKEVETT, E.M., AND HOLLOWAY, C.D., 1977, MAP SHOWING METALLIFEROUS AND SELECTED NON-METALLIFEROUS MINERAL DEPOSITS IN THE EASTERN PART OF SOUTHERN ALASKA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT 77-169-A, 99 P., 1 SHEET, SCALE 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, A.H., 1913, MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, REPORT ON PROGRESS OF INVESTIGATIONS IN 1912: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 542, 308 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): RAY, R.G., 1954, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE WILLOW CREEK MINING DISTRICT, ALASKA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1004, 86 P.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, P.S., 1942, MINERAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA IN 1940: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 933-A, P. 1-102.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, P.S., 1939, MINERAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA IN 1937: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 917-A, P. 1-113.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, P.S., 1938, MINERAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA IN 1936: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 897-A, P. 1-107.

Reference (Deposit): STOLL, W.M., 1997, HUNTING FOR GOLD IN ALASKA'S TALKEETNA MOUNTAINS 1897-1951: GREENSBURG, PA, HENRY PRINTING, 301 P.

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, A.H., 1910, MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA, REPORT ON PROGRESS OF INVESTIGATIONS IN 1909: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 442, 426 P.

Reference (Deposit): RAY, J.C., 1933, THE WILLOW CREEK GOLD-LODE DISTRICT, ALASKA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 849-C, P. 165-229.

Reference (Deposit): SMITH, P.S., 1930, MINERAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA IN 1927 AND ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 813-A, P. 1-96.

Reference (Deposit): KATZ, F.J., 1911, A RECONNAISSANCE OF WILLOW CREEK GOLD REGION: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 480-G, P. 139-152.

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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.