Bottom Dollar Creek

Site Name

Primary: Bottom Dollar Creek
Secondary: Nugget Gulch
Secondary: Greenhorn Creek

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Commodity

Primary: Gold

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Circle

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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 (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Mining has been reported (see workings/exploration); however, amount of production is unknown.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Eberlein and others, 1977; Yeend, 1991.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Small-scale mining on Bottom Dollar Creek was reported in 1909 to 1910, 1912, 1936, and 1938 to 1939, and sluicing occurred in 1975 (Eberlein and others, 1977, p. 18). Some small operations occurred in the 1980's and 1990. Most of the gravels have been processed for gold at least once (Menzie and others, 1983). Colledge Enterprises reported drilling on Bottom Dollar Creek in 1996 (Bundtzen and others, 1996).

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

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Bottom Dollar Creek is about 7 to 8 km long and flows southward into Harrison Creek. The upper 3 km of Bottom Dollar Creek is underlain by Cretaceous chloritized porphyritic biotite monzogranite. Primary trace minerals include zircon, topaz, apatite and ilmenite. In the granite, anomalous gold concentrations are spatially associated with sericite-quartz occurrences (Wiltse and others, 1995). The coarse gravel along the lower part of the creek has been thoroughly mined. A pebble count of creek gravel near the mouth of the creek shows 77 percent quartzite, 13 percent quartz, and 10 percent mica schist (Yeend, 1991). Greenhorn Creek and Nugget Gulch are tributaries of Bottom Dollar Creek.? Small-scale mining on Bottom Dollar Creek was reported in 1909 to 1910, 1912, 1936, and 1938 to 1939, and sluicing occurred in 1975 (Eberlein and others, 1977, p. 18). Some small operations occurred in the 1980's and 1990. Most of the gravels have been processed for gold at least once (Menzie and others, 1983). Colledge Enterprises reported drilling on Bottom Dollar Creek in 1996 (Bundtzen and others, 1996).

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Greenhorn Creek is a tributary of Bottom Dollar Creek, while Greenhorn Gulch is a tributary of Boulder Creek. Greenhorn Gulch is sometimes referred to as Greenhorn Creek in the literature and may lead to some confusion. Most information reported for Greenhorn Creek probably refers to Greenhorn Gulch, since Greenhorn Gulch was mined more extensively than Greenhorn Creek.

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References

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

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Misc. Field Studies Map MF-391, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1938, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1936: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-A, p. 1-107.

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

Reference (Deposit): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1938, Gold placers of the Fortymile, Eagle, and Circle districts, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-C, p. 133-261.

Reference (Deposit): Spurr, J.E., 1898, Geology of the Yukon gold district, Alaska, with an introductory chapter on the history and conditions of the district to 1897 by H.B. Goodrich: U.S. Geological Survey 18th Annual Report, Part 3, p. 87-392.

Reference (Deposit): Menzie, W.D., Foster, H.L., Tripp, R.B., and Yeend, W.E., 1983, Mineral resource assessment of the Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 83-170-B, 61 p., 1 sheet, 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., and Henning, M.W., 1978, Barite in Alaska: Mines and Geology Bulletin, v. 27, no. 4, p. 1-4.

Reference (Deposit): Ellsworth, C.E., and Davenport, R.W., 1913, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 542, 303 p.

Reference (Deposit): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1932, Mining in the Circle district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 824, p. 155-172.

Reference (Deposit): Yeend, W.E., 1991, Gold placers of the Circle district, Alaska - past, present, and future: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1943, 42 p.

Reference (Deposit): Wiltse, M.A., Reger, R.D., Newberry, R.J, Pessel, G.H., Pinney, D.S., Robinson, M.S., and Solie, D.N., 1995, Bedrock geologic map of the Circle mining district, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Report of Investigations 95-02b, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-633, 72 p.

Reference (Deposit): Ellsworth, C.E., and Parker, G.L., 1911, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480, 325 p.

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