Slate Creek (placer)

Site Name

Primary: Slate Creek (placer)

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Commodity

Primary: Gold

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Koyukuk

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Land Status

Not available

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Not available

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

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

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Not available

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Alterations

Not available

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Gold

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Comments

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Many of the references to and descriptions of Slate Creek do not differentiate between the upper creek (in the Chandalar quadrangle) and the lower creek (in the Wiseman quadrangle). Most probably refer to the lower part of the creek, which produced most of the gold. ? See also: Myrtle Creek and Slate Creek in the Wiseman quadrangle (see Cobb, 1981,OFR 81-732B, for a list of references for these occurrences in the Wiseman quadrangle).? Alaska Kardex No. 031-26, 031-109 (Kardex is a card file mining claim information system located at the State of Alaska DNR Public Information Center in Fairbanks).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Much of the descriptive information available for Slate Creek does not distinguish between the lower part of the creek that lies in the Wiseman quadrangle and the upper part of the creek that lies in the Chandalar quadrangle. Reed (1938) reported that no deep channel was found on Slate Creek although placer gold was found on Slate Creek in the present channel and in high benches. On the upper creek (the part in the Chandalar quadrangle) the present channel was worked in the short canyon just below the reference point (about 2 miles east of the Myrtle Creek landing strip), and the old-timers were said to have rockered out $8 per day (gold at $20 per ounce). The present channel and a low left-limit bench were also worked from a short distance above the canyon for a distance of 1 1/2 miles. The bench was said to have bedrock only a few feet above the bedrock in the present channel. Bedrock is described as mica schist and slate or phyllite with small bodies of quartz and cut by several altered diorite dikes (this description may apply principally to the lower two-thirds of the creek). Upper Slate Creek lies along the boundary between Devonian quartz-muscovite schist and a Devonian(?) sequence of graywacke, phyllite, and volcanic rocks and chert (Brosgi and Reiser, 1964).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Most of the production was apparently from below the junction with Myrtle Creek (Wiseman quadrangle), and any production figures probably reflect that production. Production between 1900 and 1909 said to be worth $3,000 (gold at $20 per ounce) (Maddren, 1913).

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

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Maddren, 1913

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Mined mostly by simple hydraulic and hand methods; bulldozer and sluice plate in use in 1974. Stripping reported in preparation for mining in 1993.

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References

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Swainbank, R.C., Clough, A.H., Henning, M.W., and Hansen, E.W., 1994, Alaska's mineral industry, 1993: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 48, 84 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1939, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1937: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 910-A, p. 1-113.

Reference (Deposit): DeYoung, J.H., Jr., 1978, Mineral resources map of the Chandalar quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-878-B, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1978, Mineral appraisal of the proposed Gates of the Arctic Wilderness National Park, Alaska, A preliminary comment: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 109-78, 29 p., 4 sheets.

Reference (Deposit): Mulligan, J.J., 1974, Mineral resources of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline corridor: U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 8626, 24 p.

Reference (Deposit): Grybeck, D.J., 1977, Known mineral deposits of the Brooks Range, Alaska: US Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-166C, 41 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Heiner, L.E., and Wolff, E.N., eds., 1968, Mineral resources of northern Alaska, Final report, submitted to the NORTH Commission: Mineral Industry Research Laboratory, University of Alaska, Report 16, 306 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1977, Placer deposit map of central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-168B, 64 p., 1 map, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Chandalar and Wiseman quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-340, 205 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1941, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1939: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 926-A, p. 1-106.

Reference (Deposit): Maddren, A.G., 1910, The Koyukuk-Chandalar gold region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442-G, p. 284-315.

Reference (Deposit): Reed, I.M., 1938, Upper Koyukuk region, Alaska (Wiseman, Chandalar, and Bettles): Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 194-7, 201 p.

Reference (Deposit): Schrader, F.C., 1900, Preliminary report on a reconnaissance along the Chandalar and Koyukuk Rivers, Alaska, in 1899: U.S. Geological Survey Twenty-first Annual Report, Part 2, p. 441-486.

Reference (Deposit): Maas, K.M., 1987, Maps summarizing land availability for mineral exploration and development in northern Alaska, 1986: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 10-87, 33 quadrangle overlays.

Reference (Deposit): Holdsworth, P.R., 1952, Report of the Commissioner of Mines for the Biennium ended December 31, 1952: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Annual Report 1952, 66 p.

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

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S. 1939, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1937: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 910-A, p. 1-113.

Reference (Deposit): Maddren, A.G., 1913, The Koyukuk-Chandalar region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 532, 119 p.

Reference (Deposit): Schrader, F.C., 1904, A reconnaissance in northern Alaska across the Rocky Mountains, along Koyukuk, John, Anaktuvuk, and Colville rivers and the Arctic coast to Cape Lisburne, in 1901, with notes by W.J. Peters: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 20, 139 p.

Reference (Deposit): Maas, K.M., 1987, Maps summarizing land availability for mineral exploration and development in northern Alaska, 1986: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 10-87, 33 sheets.

Reference (Deposit): Eakins, G.R., Bundtzen, T.K., Lueck, L.L. Green, C.B., Gallagher, J.L., and Robinson, M.S., 1985, Alaska mineral industry, 1984: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 38, 57p.

Reference (Deposit): Brosgi, W.P., and Reiser, H.N., 1964, Geologic map and section of the Chandalar quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map 1-375, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and Cruz, E.L., 1983, Summaries of data and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Chandalar quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 83-278, 91 p.

Reference (Deposit): Holdsworth, P.R., 1955, Report of the Commissioner of Mines for the biennium ended December 31, 1954: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Annual Report 1954, 110 p.

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