Little Eldorado Cr.

The Little Eldorado Cr. 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

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: Little Eldorado Cr.
Secondary: Skookum Cr.
Secondary: Snow Gulch
Secondary: Coarse Money Cr.
Secondary: Bonanza Creek
Secondary: Bonanza Creek Area
Secondary: Includes Bonanza Cr.

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Tertiary: Molybdenum
Tertiary: Mercury
Tertiary: Lead
Tertiary: Copper

Location

State: Alaska
District: Chisana

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
Year First Production: 1913
Discovery Year: 1913
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Silver
Gangue: Cinnabar
Gangue: Molybdenite
Gangue: Galena

Comments

Comment (Reserve-Resource): SMALL,UNDISCOVERED PLACER DEPOSITS PROBABLY STILL EXIST IN BONANZA CREEK AREA, BUT THESE ARE OF LITTLE RESOURCE VALUE;THE TERTIARY GRAVELS COPPING GOLD HILL MAY BE OF FUTURE ECONOMIC IMPORT SINCE THEY ARE KNOWNTO BE AURIFEROUS, ALBEIT LOW GRADE, AND THEY HAVE AN ESTIMATED VOLUME OF 40 MILLION CUBIC METERS,USGS MF.655K, LOC.65

Comment (Location): BEST LOCATION: RICHTER AND JONES, 1973, I-749. AREA CONTAINS PRODUCTIVE PLACERS AT THE HEADWATERS OF BONANZA CR. DRAINING THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF GOLD HILL. ACCURATE WITHIN 1000 FT RADIUS.

Comment (Production): AU: EST. 50,000 OZ 1913-1959. PRODUCTION IN THE DISTRICT WAS DOMINATED BY BONANZA AND LITTLE ELDORADO CREEKS. PRODUCTION DATA ARE FOR ENTIRE CHISANA DISTRICT. MOST MINING WAS BETWEEN 1913 AND 1915, WHEN ABOUT HALF OF THE DISTRICT'S TOTAL PRODUCTION TOOK PLACE; PRODUCTION SINCE 1940 HAS BEEN MINOR.

Comment (Workings): ATTEMPT WAS MADE AT DRIFT MINING ON UPPER BONANZA CREEK. REPORT OF 85 FT SHAFT WITH 25 FT DRIFT DUG INTO OLD CHANNEL WITHOUT DISCOVERING PAYING GROUND. MANY OF THE GRAVELS WERE FROZEN LOCALLY. CURRENT CONDITION UNKNOWN. FINENESS VALUES BETWEEN 791 AND 818, (REPORTED IN MOFFIT (1954, P. 200) AS ASSAY VALUE OF 16.35 TO 16.90 DOLLARS/OZ, WITH AU AT 20.67 DOLLARS/OZ). TYPE OF WORKINGS: CHIEFLY SURFACE. INTERMITTENT MINING SINCE DISCOVERY IN 1913.

Comment (Deposit): SMALL-SCALE PLACER MINING AND PROSPECTING HAS ALSO TAKEN PLACE ON CHATHENDA CREEK AND ITS TRIBUTARIES, INCLUDING AN ATTEMPT AT DRIFT MINING ON DRY GULCH (NOW CALLED SALT CREEK). PRODUCTION, IF ANY, WAS PROBABLY NOT SIGNIFICANT

Comment (Deposit): HOST MATERIAL IS AURIFEROUS GRAVEL. STREAM, BENCH, AND OLD CHANNEL GRAVELS RANGE FROM 2 TO 12 FT IN DEPTH, AVE. 4 TO 5.5 FT. GOLD IN STREAM PLACERS WAS ON AND IN TOP 1 TO 2.5 FT OF RIPPABLE BEDROCK. GRAVELS ARE THIN, HETEROGENEOUS, AND ANGULAR WITH LOCALLY ABUNDANT BOULDERS.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

References

Reference (Deposit): USGS OFR 397

Reference (Deposit): RICHTER, D.H., AND MATSON, N.A., 1972, METALLIC MINERAL RESOURCES MAP OF THE NABESNA QUADRANGLE, ALASKA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MISCELLANEOUS FIELD STUDIES MAP MF-422, SCALE 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, 1915, USGS B 622, P. 202-204, 208-216, 222

Reference (Deposit): RICHTER, D.H., AND MATSON, N.A., 1970, GEOCHEMICAL DATA FROM THE NABESNA A-2 QUADRANGLE, ALASKA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT 70-275, 12 P., 1 SHEET, SCALE 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): CAPPS, S.R., 1916, THE CHISANA-WHITE RIVER DISTRICT, ALASKA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 630, 130 P.

Reference (Deposit): BROOKS, 1921, USGS B 714, P.84

Reference (Deposit): MOFFIT, F.H., 1943, GEOLOGY OF THE NUTZOTIN MOUNTAINS, ALASKA, WITH A SECTION ON THE IGNEOUS ROCKS, BY R. C. WAYLAND, AND GOLD DEPOSITS NEAR NABESNA, BY R. C. WAYLAND, 1943: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 933-B, P. 103-199.

Reference (Deposit): RICHTER, D.H., AND OTHERS, 1975, MINERAL RESOURCES MAP OF THE NABESNA QUADRANGLE, ALASKA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MISCELLANEOUS FIELD STUDIES MAP MF-655-K, SCALE 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): RICHTER, D.H., AND JONES, D.L., 1973, RECONNAISSANCE GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE NABESNA A-2 QUADRANGLE, ALASKA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MISCELLANEOUS INVESTIGATIONS SERIES MAP I-749, SCALE 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): USGS PP 610, P. 25.

Reference (Other Database): BAG-MF-655K-65

Reference (Production): USGS BULL 714,P84;USGS PP610,P.25

Reference (Deposit): MOFFIT, F.H., 1954, GEOLOGY OF THE EASTERN PART OF THE ALASKA RANGE AND ADJACENT AREA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 989-D, P. 65-218.

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.