Unnamed (west of the Middle Fork Chandalar River)

The Unnamed (west of the Middle Fork Chandalar River) is a zinc and lead 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: Unnamed (west of the Middle Fork Chandalar River)

Commodity

Primary: Zinc
Primary: Lead
Secondary: Copper
Secondary: Silver

Location

State: Alaska
District: Chandalar

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: Mississippi Valley, S.E. Missouri Pb-Zn

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = See also locations PS006 and PS008. Site is in an area thought to have potential for carbonate-hosted lead-zinc deposits (Menzie and others, 1985). The pH of the stream that cuts the mineralization is less than 4.5.

Comment (Commodity): Ore Material = iron sulfides

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = 57 claims in two claim blocks located by Noranda and RAA in 1977.?Semi-quantitative spectrographic data (Detra, 1977) from rock samples from the area include: sample number 232RA - Ag (150 ppm), Ba (200 ppm), Cu (700 ppm), greater than 20,000 ppm Pb and Zn. Zn by wet chemical analysis - 250,000 ppm; sample number 232RB - Ag (30 ppm), Ba (300 ppm), Cu (150 ppm), Pb (15,000 ppm), greater than 20,000 ppm Zn. Zn by wet chemical analysis - 75,000 ppm (Detra, 1977, table 1).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Detra, 1977

Comment (Commodity): Ore Material = iron sulfides

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Mississippi Valley Zn-Pb (?) (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 32a).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = One of two mineralized areas with small outcrops within which lead-zinc-silver-(copper) mineralization is found (Detra, 1977). The mineralization is described as occurring in quartz veins in a chert breccia cap on limestone. Samples from the veins are reported to contain galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite as well as iron sulfides. Exposures of mineralization are less than 3 meters in length and not much wider than the streams (approximately 1 to 2 meters) in which they are exposed. Two samples taken from the mineralized area returned analyses as high as 25% Zn, [more than] 2% Pb and 150 ppm Ag (Detra, 1977). The chert breccia cap which hosts the mineralization occurs locally at the top of the Skajit Limestone at an unconformity that has been interpreted as a paleokarst surface. The chert cap is overlain by yellow-weathering phyllitic siltstones, shales and sandstones, which in turn are overlain by black shales of the Hunt Fork Shale. The surrounding area is mapped as Devonian shale, sandstone and conglomerate with scattered bodies of mafic rocks of uncertain age (Detra, 1977).

References

Reference (Deposit): Schmidt, J.M., 1997, Shale-hosted Zn-Pb-Ag and barite deposits of Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Mineral Deposits of Alaska, 1997: Economic Geology Monograph 9, p. 35-65.

Reference (Deposit): Menzie, W.D., Reiser, H.N., Brosgi, W.P., and Detterman, R.L., 1985, Map showing distribution of mineral resources (excepting oil and gas) in the Philip Smith Mountains quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Investigations Map MF-879-C, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Dutro, J.T., Jr., 1978, Potential stratabound lead-zinc mineralization, Philip Smith Mountains quadrangle, Alaska, in Johnson, K. M., ed., The United States Geological Survey in Alaska, Accomplishments during 1977: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 772-B, p. B9-B11.

Reference (Deposit): Detra, D.E., 1977, Delineation of an anomalous lead-zinc area in the Philip Smith Mountains A-2 quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-223, 11 p.

Reference (Deposit): Barker, J.C., 1978, Mineral Investigations of certain lands in the eastern Brooks Range: a summary report: US Bureau of Mines Open-File No. 63-78

Reference (Deposit): Cathrall, J.B., Cooley, E.F., Detra, D.E., and O'Leary, R.M., 1977, A listing and statistical summary of spectrographic and chemical analysis of stream-sediment and rock samples from the Philip Smith Mountains quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-244, 79 p.

Reference (Deposit): Maas, K.M., 1987, Availability of land for Mineral exploration and development in northern Alaska, 1986: U.S. Bureau of Mines Special Publication, 34 p., 33 sheets.

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