Niukluk River

The Niukluk River 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: Niukluk River

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Council

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

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

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Garnet
Gangue: Magnetite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary; the elevation and location of these placers suggest that they are the result of more than one cycle of erosion and deposition and that sea level fluctuations influenced their development.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Collier and others, 1908

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Gold was originally discovered on the bars of the Niukluk River in 1865 when a survey crew for a telegraph line passed through the area (Collier and others, 1908). This area was dredged over a length of 1.1 miles and over widths up to 500 feet. Heavy mineral concentrates from the river contain garnet, pyrite, and magnetite (Collier and others, 1908). The surface elevation is about 75 feet and the depth to bedrock is not known. Gold was present throughout the gravel but concentrated on bedrock. Some gravels were reported to be thick and bedrock to be at elevations below sea level in what were interpreted to be old river channels (Smith, 1908). This part of the Niukluk River is located proximally to the coastal lowlands of Golovin Bay and at low enough elevations to have been influenced by Quaternary sea level fluctuations.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = An area of the active floodplain, 1.1 miles long and up to 500 feet wide, has been dredged.

References

Reference (Deposit): Collier, A. J., Hess, F.L., Smith, P.S., and Brooks, A.H., 1908, The gold placers of parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, including the Nome, Council, Kougarok, Port Clarence, and Goodhope precincts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 328, 343 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-181, 185 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic resources map of the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-445, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1908, Investigations of mineral deposits of Seward Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 345, p. 206-250.

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