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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Niukluk River MRDS details
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: 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 (Exploration): Status = Active?
Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).
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 (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). These two areas, with a combined length of 2.1 miles, were extensively dredged over widths up to 2,000 feet. Heavy mineral concentrates from the river contain garnet, pyrite, and magnetite (Collier and others, 1908). The surface elevation varies from about 85 to 150 feet here 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). The downstream segment included here may be slightly elevated, at the surface, relative to the active floodplain of the river. 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 (Reference): Primary Reference = Collier and others, 1908
Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = An area totalling 2.1 miles long and up to 2,000 feet wide, has been dredged, from before WW I to as recently as the 1980's.
References
Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1908, Investigations of mineral deposits of Seward Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 345, p. 206-250.
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): 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.
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