Windy Bay

The Windy Bay is a copper and molybdenum 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: Windy Bay

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: Molybdenum
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Gold
Secondary: Zinc

Location

State: Alaska
District: Alaska Peninsula

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

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

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Porphyry Cu-Mo
Model Name: Porphyry Cu-Au
Model Name: Porphyry Cu

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Alteration in the intrusive consists of local zones containing chlorite, epidote, and secondary biotite. The sediments near the intrusive contact have been hornfelsed, silicified, and contain chlorite and secondary biotite.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Gold
Ore: Molybdenite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Sphalerite
Gangue: Chlorite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Age = Tertiary.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Porphyry copper; porphyry copper-gold; porphyry copper-molybdenum (Cox and Singer, 1986; models 17, 20c, 21a)

Comment (Deposit): Model Number = 17, 20c, 21a

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Bear Creek Mining Company briefly explored this site during the period 1975-1976. The few samples collected contained up to 424 ppm copper, 0.13 ppm gold, 32 ppm lead, 25 ppm molybdenite, and 9 ppm zinc (Fields, 1977).? Resource Associates of Alaska briefly sampled this occurrence in 1979 (Anderson and others, 1979).

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = This site is partially on land selected by the Bristol Bay Native Corporation. The remainder is within the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Fields, 1977

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The geologic setting at this site consists of a quartz diorite stock which has intruded sedimentary units of the Jurassic Naknek Formation (Fields, 1977). These units include grits, graywacke, siliceous siltstone, and black shale.? A discontinuous color anomaly is present along the inferred contact zone (Fields, 1977). The sediments near the contact have been hornfelsed and contain pyrrhotite, pyrite, rare chalcopyrite, and magnetite as disseminations and as veinlet and fracture fillings. Total sulfide content is 1-5 percent. Sulfides occur up to 1000 feet from the contact.? the sulfide content of the intrusive is 1 percent or less. Chalcopyrite is present on fracture surfaces and in quartz-chlorite and pyrite veinlets. These strike approximately N 25 W and cover an area of 1000 by 4000 feet.? Samples of the mineralized intrusive contained up to 424 ppm copper, 0.13 ppm gold, 32 ppm lead, 25 ppm molybdenum, and 9 ppm zinc (Fields, 1977).? the intrusive exhibits local chloritization along with scattered patches of epidote and secondary biotite. The hornfelsed sediments have been silicified and contain secondary biotite and minor chlorite.

References

Reference (Deposit): Fields, E.D., 1977, 1976 Annual report: Alaska search, Chignik area-Bristol Bay region: Bear Creek Mining Company, 44 p., 22 map sheets. (Report held by the Aleut Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska.)

Reference (Deposit): Cox, D.P., Detra, D.E., and Detterman, R.L., 1981, Mineral resource maps of the Chignik and Sutwik Island quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF- 1053-K, 2 map sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Anderson, G.D., Fitch, G.M., Lappie, D.W., Lindberg, P.A., and Fankhauser, R.E., 1979, Exploration and evaluation of Bristol Bay Native Corporation Lands, Vol. II, Book 1: prepared for Houston Oil and Minerals Company by Resource Associates of Alaska, 78 p. (Report held by Alaska Earth Science, Anchorage, Alaska.)

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