Lower White Creek

The Lower White Creek is a 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

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Site Name

Primary: Lower White Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Copper
Secondary: Lead

Location

State: Alaska
District: Valdez Creek

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

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

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Arsenopyrite
Ore: Realgar
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Orpiment
Ore: Magnetite
Ore: Hessite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Geology): Age = Stratigraphic relations suggest that the pay streak on White Creek is younger than the paleochannels on lower Valdez Creek.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Reger and Bundtzen, 1994

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = White Creek drains the west slope of Gold Hill, which probably is the source of much of the placer gold. The productive part of White Creek is its lower end, which consists of a prograde delta containing a large volume of low-grade auriferous gravels. Intercalated with the gold-bearing fluvial gravels are several extensive fine-grained, black, delicately cross-bedded, barren lake sediment deposits up to twenty feet thick.? the best paystreaks appear to be high-energy channels cut through the low-grade gravels and lake sediments. These channels contain boulders up to four feet in diameter but are not incised into bedrock to any appreciable extent. The lower end of these channels appears to spread out over older gravels to form blanket deposits that contain elevated gold values. These gold-bearing gravels merge with lower grade Valdez Creek gravels at the lower end of White Creek. The White Creek gravels probably were the source for most of the gold reconcentrated in the Valdez Creek channel deposits farther downstream (D.L. Stevens, personal observations).? Other auriferous ground is on the lower slopes of Gold Hill just above White Creek. Systematic ground sluicing downslope from a water ditch revealed auriferous gravels and rock derived from up slope. The lode source of this gold has not been found.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Lower White Creek was first drilled in 1987, and has been mined each summer commencing about 1990.? the lower slope of Gold Hill was mined during the 1930's, and there has been small-scale mining more recently.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Confidential data.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Commodity): Ore Material = NATIVE Copper

References

Reference (Deposit): Wiltse, M.A., and Reger, R.D., 1989, Geologic map of Gold Hill and Lucky Hill, Valdez Creek mining district, Healy A-1 quadrangle, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological "&" Geophysical Surveys, Public-data File 89-5, scale 1:12,000, 1 sheet.

Reference (Deposit): Wiltse, M.A., 1988, Preliminary litho-geochemistry of Gold Hill and Lucky Hill, Valdez Creek mining district, Healy A-1 quadrangle, southcentral Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological "&" Geophysical Surveys, Public-data File 88-41, 9 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:12,000.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, T.E., 1981, Geology of the Clearwater Mountains, south-central Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological "&" Geophysical Surveys Geologic Report 60, 72 p., 3 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Ross, C.P., 1933, The Valdez Creek mining district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 849, p. 289-467.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, T.E., 1971, Geology, economic geochemistry, and placer gold resources of the western Clearwater Mountains, east-central Alaska: Reno, University of Nevada, Ph.D. dissertation, 440 p.

Reference (Deposit): Tuck, Ralph, 1938, The Valdez Creek mining district, Alaska, in 1936: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-B, p. 109-131.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1908, The mining industry in 1907: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 345, 294 p.

Reference (Deposit): Moffit, F.H., 1909, Mining in the Kotsina-Chitina, Chistochina, and Valdez Creek Regions: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 379, p. 153-160.

Reference (Deposit): Moffit, F.H., 1914, Preliminary report on the Broad Pass region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-H, p. 301-305.

Reference (Deposit): Mendenhall, W.C., 1905, Geology of the central Copper River region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 41, 133 p.

Reference (Deposit): Reger, R.D., and Bundtzen, T.K., 1994, Multiple glaciation and gold-placer formation, Valdez Creek Valley, western Clearwater Mountains, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological "&" Geophysical Surveys, Professional Report 107, 30 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.

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