The Golden Top 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
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.
Golden Top MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Golden Top
Secondary: Gold Top
Secondary: Gold Top Mining Co
Secondary: Kempf
Commodity
Primary: Gold
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: Prospect
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:
Physiography
Not available
Mineral Deposit Model
Model Name: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
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).
Rocks
Not available
Analytical Data
Not available
Materials
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Quartz
Comments
Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = In the early 1930's, under the management of William G. Smith (Gold Top Syndicate), a steep aerial tramway was strung from Craigie Creek to the prospect - an elevation difference of 1,300 ft. Smith drove an adit (Smith tunnel) 285 ft to reach the Gold Top vein. Drifts both east and west followed the vein for a total of 850 ft. Amount of work done on prospect might indicate the presence of some gold, however it was never reported and apparently was not economical (Smith, 1934). Forty assays that had been made from samples taken along the east and west drifts in 1940 showed mostly marginal gold values, a few had 0.75 oz/ton Au (Stoll, 1997).
Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Smith, 1934
Comment (Production): Production Notes = No recorded production.
Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Gold-bearing quartz veins cut early Paleocene to Late Cretaceous tonalite. Lithologies of this unit includes: biotite-hornblende tonalite and lesser biotite-hornblende quartz diorite. 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). Assays from samples taken along drifts showed mostly marginal gold values, a few had 0.75 oz/ton Au (Stoll, 1997).
Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Besides being one of the longest traceable vein outcrops in the district, the Gold Top lode had the distinction of attracting more prospectors and promoters than any other lode on the gold belt, all without becoming a producing mine (Stoll, 1997).
Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Low-sulfide Au-quartz veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a)
Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive
Comment (Geology): Age = Late Cretaceous or younger; veins cut early Paleocene to Late Cretaceous tonalites.
References
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): Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1933: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-A, p. 1-94.
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): 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): Cobb, E.H., 1979, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials in the Anchorage quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 79-1095, 184 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): Brooks, A.H., 1912, The Alaska mining industry in 1911, in Brooks, A.H., and others, Mineral resources of Alaska, 1911: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 520, p. 17-44.
Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1932: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 857-A, p. 1-91.
Reference (Deposit): Stoll, W.M., 1997, Hunting for gold in Alaska's Talkeetna Mountains 1897-1951: Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Henry Printing, 301 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., 1936, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1934: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 868-A, p. 1-91.
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.
