Hogback

The Hogback is a lead, silver, and zinc 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: Hogback
Secondary: Purkeypiles
Secondary: Little Mountain

Commodity

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

Location

State: Alaska
District: McGrath

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

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

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Sn veins

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Quartz-fluorite alteration developed with vein assemblage. Country rocks are converted to skarn minerals (Maloney and Thomas, 1966; C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., 1978).

Rocks

Role: Host
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age in Years: 54.250000+-1.950000
Age Young: Early Eocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Smithsonite
Ore: Sphalerite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Fluorite
Gangue: Goethite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Several bulldozer cuts have been made, and a tractor road leads from this prospect to the Mespelt Prospect (TL005).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Fringe zone of Pb, Zn, and Ag sulfide mineralization to tin veins (generally related to the tin vein model of Cox and Singer, 1986; model 15b).

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Despite the paucity of tin values in published analyses for this prospect, its proximity to Mespelt and the Boulder Creek tin area suggests that it is the fringe part of the tin mineralizing system related to these other prospects. In much of the literature the Purkeypile group of lode claims includes Hogback, Jiles-Knudson, Mespelt and Boulder Creek.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = A tractor road leads from the Mespelt prospect (TL005) to the Hogback prospect where several bulldozer cuts expose mineralized fissure veins that crosscut quartzite and limestone. The prospect consists of 3 to 4 high-grade stringers, ranging from 1.2 to 3.0 feet wide, of argentiferous galena and zinc minerals, separated by vein quartz and altered, sheared granite in a zone 32 feet wide. Quartz-fluorite alteration is developed within and adjacent to the quartz-sulfide veins. Country rocks are converted to skarn minerals (Maloney and Thomas, 1966; C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., 1978). Tin in the nonmagnetic heavy-mineral concentrates from stream silt samples collected by Curtin, Karlson, Tripp, and Day (1978) is in excess of 1,500 ppm from the Canyon Creek drainage to the west of this prospect.? Reed and others (1978) report the veins contain 5 to 48% lead, and 32 to 70 oz/ton silver. Maloney and Thomas (1966, Table 1) collected high-grade samples that yielded 19.30 to 134.76 oz/ton silver, trace to 0.04 oz/ton gold, 2.89 to 67.2% lead, 2.32 to 36.0% zinc, 1.2% copper. ? the geologic setting of the Hogback lead-zinc-silver vein is described, as follows, by C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., (1978) and Reed and Nelson (1980). Blocky slate, argillite, thin-bedded siliceous limestone and chert define a belt of lower Paleozoic sedimentary and metavolcanic rocks (possibly Keevy Peak, other Totalanika series, or equivalents) bordered by the early Tertiary Tonzona granitic pluton (Tmt), part of the McKinley sequence of intrusive rocks mapped by Reed and Nelson (1980). The granite has three phases; a coarse-grained, locally porphyritic biotite granite; a medium-grained biotite granite; and a late fine-grained, leucocratic, locally aplitic, muscovite-tourmaline granite in which ovoid clusters of small black tourmaline crystals give the rock a 'dalmatian' appearance. Muscovite may exceed biotite and accessory minerals include tourmaline with lesser amounts of topaz, fluorite, garnet, zircon, and apatite. Late-stage greissen veinlets contain muscovite, topaz, tourmaline, locally abundant beryl, and occasionally, cassiterite. Lead, zinc, and silver mineralization at the Hogback prospect occurs in the lower Paleozoic metasediments and metavolcanic rocks along the north and northeast contact of the pluton. The Tonzona pluton has metamorphosed the country rocks to skarn assemblages along the contact and has formed skarn- hosted polymetallic mineralization such as at the Jiles-Knudson (TL004), Boulder Creek (TL073) and the nearby Mespelt prospect (TL005). ? In much of the literature, the Jiles-Knudson, Mespelt, Hogback and Boulder Creek are included as the Purkeypile group of lode claims.? Despite the paucity of tin values in published analyses for the Hogback prospect, its proximity to Mespelt and the Boulder Creek tin areas and elevated tin values in streams sediment samples regionally suggests that it is part of the tin mineralizing system related to these other prospects.

Comment (Geology): Age = Chron age is for McKinley Sequence.

Comment (Geology): Age = Tertiary; mineralization in the Boulder Creek, Jiles-Knudson, Mespelt and Hogback areas is interpreted to be linked to the Tonzona granite (Tmt), part of the McKinley Sequence, that has been determined to range from 52.3 to 56.2 m.y. in age (Reed and Lanphere, 1972; Reed and Nelson, 1980).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Maloney and Thomas, 1966

References

Reference (Deposit): Reed, B.L., and Nelson, S.W., 1980, Geologic map of the Talkeetna quadrangle: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map I-1174, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Reed, B.L., Nelson, S.W., Curtin, G.C., and Singer, D.A., 1978, Mineral resources map of the Talkeetna Quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-870-D, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1927, The Toklat-Tonzona River region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 792-C, p. 73-110.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., 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): Capps, S.R., 1925, An early Tertiary placer deposit in the Yentna district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 773, p. 53-61.

Reference (Deposit): C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., 1978, Mineral appraisal of lands adjacent to Mt. McKinley National Park, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 24-78, 275 p., 7 plates.

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): Reed, B.L., and Lanphere, M.A., 1972, Generalized geologic map of the Alaska-Aleutian range batholith showing potassium-argon ages of the plutonic rocks: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-372, 2 sheets, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and Reed, B.L., 1980, Summaries of data and lists of reference to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Talkeetna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-884, 106 p.

Reference (Deposit): Curtin, G.C., Karlson, R.C., Tripp, R.B., and Day, G.W., 1978, Geochemical and generalized geologic map showing the distribution of tin, tungsten, and beryllium, Talkeetna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-870-F, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Clark, A.L., and Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Talkeetna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-369, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Conwell, C.N., 1973, Grandview Exploration Company, tin and silver prospects, Talkeetna D-5 quadrangle: Alaska Divsion of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Property Examination 75-4, 42 p.

Reference (Deposit): Conwell, C.N., 1977, Boulder Creek tin lode deposits: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geologic Report 55, p. 35 -38.

Reference (Deposit): Maloney, R.P., and Thomas, B.I., 1966, Investigation of the Purkeypile prospects, Kuskokwim River basin, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 5-66, 12 p.

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