Unnamed, near Lime Peak Pluton (Rocky Mountain)

Site Name

Primary: Unnamed, near Lime Peak Pluton (Rocky Mountain)

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Commodity

Primary: Tin
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Zinc
Secondary: Uranium
Secondary: Molybdenum
Secondary: Copper

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Tolovana

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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: Prospect
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Sn greisen

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Not available

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Deuteric: tourmalization; hydrothermal: chloritization, sericitization, silicification.

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Cassiterite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Molybdenite
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Topaz
Gangue: Sericite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Fluorite
Gangue: Chlorite
Gangue: Tourmaline

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Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Age = Mineralization is related to Tertiary and/or Upper Cretaceous granitic plutons.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Sn Greisen (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 15c)

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Surface samples taken.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = the name 'Lime Peak' has been changed to 'Rocky Mountain' on recent topographic maps; however, most literature refers to the peak as 'Lime Peak'.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Lime Peak pluton is one of five lower Tertiary and/or Upper Cretaceous plutons exposed in the White Mountains (Foster and others, 1983). The Lime Peak pluton is a composite intrusion comprising at least three plutonic phases cut by two sets of north-trending dikes (Burton and others, 1985). The most abundant rock type is medium- to coarse-grained, equigranular to porphyritic, biotite granite that contains approximately 35 percent smoky quartz, 40 percent orthoclase, 20 percent albitic plagioclase, 5 percent biotite and trace to minor amounts of fluorite, apatite and zircon. Plagioclase, quartz and biotite occur as subhedral, embayed crystals surrounded by larger anhedral orthoclase phenocrysts. This unit commonly forms tors that line ridgetops in the Lime Peak area. The second most abundant intrusive phase is leucocratic, fine-grained, hypidiomorphic granular, seriate biotite granite that is found along the margins of, and in scattered outcrops within, the Lime Peak pluton. the third unit is a small body of moderately coarse-grained equigranular muscovite granite composed of approximately 40 percent smoky quartz, 30 percent albitic plagioclase, 25 percent orthoclase, 4 percent muscovite, up to 2 percent tourmaline, and minor amounts of fluorite. This third unit outcrops at the southwestern end of the Lime Peak pluton. The Lime Peak pluton intrudes metasedimentary rocks, dominantly quartzite and argillite, of Precambrian and/or Paleozoic age (Burton and others, 1985). Wilson and Shew (1981) obtained a K-Ar age of 56.7 m.a. for the granite, which intrudes sandstone, shale, and slate. The intrusion is exposed over 2500 vertical ft, and forms abundant rubble above 3500 ft elevation.? High tin values are concentrated in intensely altered biotite granite. Numerous occurrences of fault-controlled, tin-bearing greisen have been identified. The greisen is composed of quartz, chlorite, sericite, and minor amounts of fluorite, tourmaline, topaz, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and molybdenite; samples contain between 60 and 1560 ppm tin (Burton and others, 1985). Seven samples from separate occurrences along the ridge in section 3, T. 9 N., R. 5 E. (Warner and others, 1988) contained an average of 610 ppm Sn and 2.36 ppm Ag with values ranging from 220 to 1000 ppm Sn and 0.37 to 4.84 ppm Ag. Warner and others (1988) also collected samples of greisen in the Lime Peak area that contain up to 7100 ppm Sn, as well as locally anomalous concentrations of arsenic, beryllium, boron, columbium, copper, gold, iron, lead, lithium, manganese, silver, strontium, tungsten, uranium and zinc.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Burton and others, 1985.

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References

Reference (Deposit): Menzie, W.D., Hua, Renmin, and Foster, H.L., 1987, Newly located occurrences of lode gold near Table Mountain, Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1682, 13 p.

Reference (Deposit): Burton, P.J., Warner, J.D., and Barker, J.C., 1985, Reconnaissance investigation of tin occurrences at Rocky Mountain (Lime Peak), east-central Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 31-85, 44 p.

Reference (Deposit): Nokleberg, W.J., Bundtzen, T.K., Berg, H.C., Brew, D.A., Grybeck, D.J., Robinson, M.S., Smith, T.E., and Yeend, W., 1987, Significant metalliferous lode deposits and placer districts of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1786, 104 p.

Reference (Deposit): Warner J.D., Dahlin, D.C., and Brown, L.L., 1988, Tin occurrences near Rocky Mountain (Lime Peak), east-central Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 9180, 24 p.

Reference (Deposit): Wilson, F.H., and Shew, N., 1981, Map and tables showing preliminary results of potassium-argon age studies in the Circle Quadrangle, Alaska, with a compilation of earlier dating work: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-889, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, T.E., Pessel, G. H., and Wiltse, M.A., 1987, Mineral assessment of the Lime Peak-Mt. Prindle area, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Miscellaneous Paper 29, 712 p., scale 1:63,360.

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): Foster, H.L., Laird J., Keith T.E.C., Cushing, G.W., and Menzie, W.D., 1983, Preliminary geologic map of the Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 83-170-A, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

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