Birdseye

The Birdseye 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: Birdseye

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Zinc
Secondary: Lead

Location

State: Alaska
District: Ketchikan

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: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: The wallrock adjacent to the veins is impregnated with sulfides.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Galena
Ore: Gold
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The country rocks in this part of Revillagigedo Island are mainly marine, andesitic or basaltic metavolcanic rocks and interbedded pelitic sedimentary rocks that are intruded by Cretaceous stocks, sills, and dikes of feldspar-porphyritic granodiorite, and by a stock and probably related plugs of Tertiary gabbro (Berg and others, 1988). The strata and some of the granodiorite were regionally metamorphosed to greenschist grade in Late Cretaceous time. These rocks subsequently were contact metamorphosed to hornblende hornfels: locally, near some of the Cretaceous granodiorite contacts, and, more widely, peripheral to the Tertiary gabbro. The premetamorphic age of the strata is uncertain. Berg and others (1988) note that they closely resemble Upper Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous flysch and volcanic rocks nearby on Gravina Island. The country rocks are cut by a high-angle fault along Tongass Narrows that displays about 4 miles of right-lateral offset.? the deposit consists of pyrite-bearing quartz fissure veins or lenses, 3-5 feet wide, in a porphyry dike/sill intruded parallel to the composition layering of slate and schist, which strike NW and dip 45 NE (Brooks, 1902, p. 62; Wright and Wright, 1908, p. 152. The dike/sill is 10-20 feet thick, contains many inclusions of black slate, and adjacent to the veins is impregnated with sulfide minerals. The ore minerals in the vein are pyrite, galena, sphalerite, and free gold. Pyrite-bearing quartz veins also occur in the slate and schist country rocks. These veins predate the porphyry dike and do not carry gold.? the prospect, one of the first discovered in the Ketchikan area, was explored in the early 1900s by surface stripping and a 32-foot-deep shaft. A small amount of gold probably was recovered, but there is no public record of any production.

Comment (Geology): Age = Cretaceous or younger.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = A small amount of gold probably was recovered in the early 1900s, but there is no public record of any production.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Wright and Wright, 1908

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The Birdseye deposit, one of the first discovered in the Ketchikan area, was explored in the early 1900s by surface stripping and a 32-foot-deep shaft.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Polymetallic veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c)

References

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1902, Preliminary report on the Ketchikan mining district, Alaska, with an introductory sketch of the geology of southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1, 120 p.

Reference (Deposit): Wright, F.E., and Wright, C.W., 1908, The Ketchikan and Wrangell mining districts, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 347, 210 p.

Reference (Deposit): Elliott, R.L., Berg, H.C., and Karl, Susan, 1978, map and table describing metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits, Ketchikan and Prince Rupert quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report, 78-73-B,17 p., scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Berg, H.C., Elliott, R.L., and Koch, R.D., 1988, Geologic map of the Ketchikan and Prince Rupert quadrangles, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Investigations Series Map MF-1807,27 p., scale 1:250,000.

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