Falls Creek

The Falls Creek is a gold 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: Falls Creek
Secondary: Little Falls Creek
Secondary: Treasure Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Yentna

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
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Hydrothermally altered zones in Falls Creek are noted by Reed and others (1978). Alteration mineralogy is not described at this site. However, based on its reported similarity to altered zones at Thunder Creek (TL032, TL058), it is most likely argillic alteration of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Geology): Age = Pleistocene and Tertiary (Clark and Hawley, 1968).

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Other tributaries to Falls Creek from which placer gold has been produced are Ruby Gulch and Treasure Creek. Also see Cache Creek (TL029). Reed and others (1978) indicate that hydrothermally altered zones similar to those in the headwaters of Treasure Creek are observed along Dollar (TL031) and Thunder Creeks (TL032, TL058), at the headwaters of Dutch (TL033) and Bear Creeks (TL017) and at an unnamed locality east of McDoel Peak (TL053).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = In Falls Creek, C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc. (1978) describe auriferous bench gravels in an old southwest flowing drainage on bedrock of sedimentary rocks of the Tertiary Kenai Group. The alluvial channels are shallow, 5 to 10 feet deep. The Falls Creek channel probably represents an old southwest flowing drainage similar to those at Thunder (TL032, 058), Dollar (TL031), Nugget (TL035) and Willow ( TL042) Creeks. Quartz-breccia in these older channels previously has been described as the basal unit of the Tertiary Kenai Group (Capps, 1913). Hawley and Clark (1973) suggest that the conglomerate is younger than the Kenai Group and is the product of erosion of igneous dikes that intruded along northeast-striking normal faults. ? Clark and Hawley (1968) report the fineness of the gold from Falls Creek ranges from 860 to 863. Ground down to about 10 cents per bedrock foot has been mined profitably in both Cache and lower Falls Creek in the 1970s (C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., 1978). ? Reed and others (1978) indicate that hydrothermally altered zones similar to those in the headwaters of Treasure Creek are observed along Dollar (TL031) and Thunder Creeks (TL032, TL058), at the headwaters of Dutch (TL033) and Bear Creeks (TL017) and at an unnamed locality east of McDoel Peak (TL053). Other tributaries to Falls Creek from which placer gold has been produced are Ruby Gulch and Treasure Creek (Smith, 1939). From these older channels gold was reconcentrated into Cache Creek (TL029).

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

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The drainage has been prospected and mined by various small scale surface methods.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Placer mining is reported as early as 1916. Ground down to about 10 cents per bedrock foot has been mined profitably in both Cache and lower Falls Creek in the 1970s (C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., 1978).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., 1978

References

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1924, Geology and mineral resources of the region traversed by the Alaska Railroad: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 755-C, p. 73-150.

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): Capps, S.R., 1913, The Yentna district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 534, 75 p.

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

Reference (Deposit): Clark, A.L., and Hawley, C.C., 1968, Reconnaissance geology, mineral occurrences, and geochemical anomalies of the Yentna district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 68-35, 64 p.

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): Paige, Sidney, and Knopf, Adolph, 1907, Reconnaissance in the Matanuska and Talkeetna basins, Alaska, with notes on the placers of the adjacent regions: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 314-F, p. 104-125.

Reference (Deposit): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1919, Platinum-bearing gold placers of the Kahiltna Valley: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 692-D, p. 233-264.

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): 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): 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.

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