Big Four Creek

The Big Four Creek 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: Big Four Creek

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

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary; the numerous incised terraces along the Casadepaga River indicate that more than one cycle of erosion and deposition has developed placer deposits in the area. The low elevations between 170 to 270 feet along the first 11 miles of the river, suggest that Quaternary sea level fluctuations could have influenced placer development.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Smith, 1910

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Small-scale surface placer mining by one person in 1907 (Smith, 1910).

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

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Mining on Big Four Creek took place 0.5 mile upstream of the creek's mouth where it crosses a terrace of the Casadepaga River. Bedrock was not encountered during mining and the gold was on the surface and on clay layers in fine creek gravels. Gold values were apparently better near the surface than at depth on clay layers (Smith, 1910).

References

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1910, Geology and mineral resources of the Solomon and Casadepaga quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 433, 234 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): 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.

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