Homebuilder

The Homebuilder 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: Homebuilder
Secondary: McCoy
Secondary: Babcock-McCoy
Secondary: Idamar

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
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Age = At least Late Cretaceous or younger - possibly Paleocene or younger; vein cuts rocks near the contact of the Late Cretaceous Willow Creek Pluton and an early Paleocene to Late Cretaceous tonalite.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Quartz vein 5 to 9 ft wide cuts intrusive rocks near the contact of the Willow Creek Pluton and early Paleocene to Late Cretaceous tonalite. Vein orientation given as striking NW and dipping SW (Capps, 1915) and N 70 E/35 NW (Brooks, 1925). The quartz vein contains gold (which can be panned) and considerable pyrite (Brooks, 1925). ? the Late Cretaceous Willow Creek Pluton is a zoned pluton: the outer part consists of hornblende quartz diorite and lesser hornblende tonalite; the core consists of hornblende-biotite granodiorite, and lesser hornblende-biotite quartz monzodiorite and biotite quartz monzonite. The younger intrusive body 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).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Staked by Fred McCoy in 1913 (Stoll, 1997). By 1915, veins were prospected by numerous open cuts, only some of which reached undisturbed bedrock (Capps, 1915). Capps (1919) reported a crosscut being driven in 1917 to undercut the gold-bearing quartz vein. In 1919, J.B. Larsen staked the Idamar claims, and began minor surface stripping (Chapin, 1921). By 1925, the crosscut was being driven to intersect the vein 300 ft below the surface workings.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Capps (1917) refers to this prospect as McCoy or Babcock-McCoy claim, Chapin (1921) refers to it as Idamar, and Brooks (1925) calls it Homebuilder. Possibly these are three separate prospects, but all are in close proximity.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Low-sulfide Au-quartz veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a)

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Brooks, 1925

References

Reference (Deposit): Stoll, W.M., 1997, Hunting for gold in Alaska's Talkeetna Mountains 1897-1951: Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Henry Printing, 301 p.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1915, The Willow Creek District, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 607, 86 p.

Reference (Deposit): Chapin, Theodore, 1921, Lode developments in the Willow Creek district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 714-E, p. 201-206.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1919, Gold lode mining in the Willow Creek district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 692-D, p. 177-186.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1916, Gold mining in the Willow Creek district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 642-G, p. 147-194, 195-200.

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): 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): Capps, S.R., 1916, Gold mining in the Willow Creek district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 642-E, p. 147-200.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1914, Gold lodes and placers of the Willow Creek district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592, p. 245-272.

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): Brooks, A.H., 1925, Alaska's mineral resources and production, 1923: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 773, p. 3-52.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H. and Capps, S.R., 1924, Mineral industry in Alaska, 1922: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 755, p. 1-56.

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