Highway

The Highway is a gold, chromium, and copper 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: Highway

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Chromium
Primary: Copper
Secondary: Platinum
Secondary: Palladium

Location

State: Alaska
District: Anchorage

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: Alaskan Cr-Pt (PGE)
Model Name: Podiform chromite (minor)

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Slight serpentinization of olivine

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Copper
Ore: Chromite
Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Commodity): Ore Material = Copper (native)

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Bjorklund and Wright (1948) and Rose (1966) report chromite deposits in Lower to Middle Jurassic dunite found near base of the Eklutna ultramafic body. Near the highway the chromite bands are oriented N 17 E, 85 NW . The chromite-bearing zone is 8 ft wide and contains discontinuous stringers and lenses of chromite from 1/4 to 1 inches wide. The bands are composed of euhedral chromite grains 1-2 mm in diameter in a matrix of olivine and minor clinopyroxene. The chromite bands are displaced as much as 5 ft by minor faults (Bjorklund and Wright, 1948). The dominant rock types are peridotite-dunite and hornblendite-pyroxenite (Clark and Greenwood, 1972). A banded chromite sample (Rose, 1966) was found to contain free gold and native copper.? the weighted average of samples collected in 10 trenches at the prospect had a grade of 5.7 percent chromite. The grade of the rock generally decreases going uphill. Rose (1966) reports that an 8 ft wide road-cut sample averaged 11.5 percent chromite; one 8 inch wide chromite band contained 25.8 percent chromite. Of 16 samples collected by Clark and Greenwood (1972), 12 contained an average value of 0.042 ppm Pt and 0.060 ppm Pd.

Comment (Geology): Age = Early to Middle Jurassic

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Deposit too small and too low grade to be minable under conditions prevailing in 1940's (Bjorklund and Wright, 1948).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Podiform chromite or Alaskan PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; models 8a or 9)

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Rose, 1966

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Exploration is limited to 10 trenches and 1 diamond-drill hole completed by U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1942 (Bjorklund and Wright, 1948). The weighted, average grade of samples collected in 10 trenches at the prospect was 5.7 percent chromite. The grade generally decreased uphill. Rose (1966) reported that an 8-foot-wide, road-cut sample averaged 11.5 percent chromite; one 8-inch chromite band contained 25.8 percent chromite. Of 16 samples collected by Clark and Greenwood (1972), twelve contained an average value of 0.042 ppm Pt and 0.060 ppm Pd.

References

Reference (Deposit): Winkler, G.R., 1992, Geologic map and summary geochronology of the Anchorage (1 degree x 3 degree) quadrangle, southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-2283, 1:250,000.

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): Clark, S.H.B., 1972, The Wolverine complex, a newly discovered layered ultramafic body in the western Chugach Mountains, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 522, 10 p.

Reference (Deposit): Rose, A.W., 1966, Geology and chromite-bearing ultramafic rocks near Eklutna, Anchorage quadrangle, Alaska: Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals Geologic Report 18, 25 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:42,000.

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): Clark, A.L., and Greenwood, W.R., 1972, Geochemistry and distribution of platinum-group metals in mafic to ultramafic complexes of southern and southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 800-C, p. C157-C160.

Reference (Deposit): Bjorklund, Stuart and Wright, W.S., 1948, Investigation of Knik Valley chromite deposits, Palmer, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigation 4356, 5 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.

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