Penelope Creek

The Penelope 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: Penelope 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 (Reference): Primary Reference = Smith, 1910

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Penelope Creek was primarily placer mined along its lower part where it crosses terraces of the Casadepaga River. However, about a mile above its mouth, an exploration shaft went through 97 feet of unconsolidated materials before reaching bedrock (Smith, 1910). This shaft encountered 40 feet of well-rounded creek gravels with some gold colors, 24 feet of yellowish clay, and 29 feet of washed gravel, some colluvium, and bottomed on clay on bedrock. Bedrock is exposed along the creek about 1/4 mile further upstream. A shaft along the Casadepaga River at the mouth of Penelope Creek encountered 57 feet of unconsolidated materials over bedrock; from the surface down these consisted of fine quartz sand, fine gravel, 20 feet of blue clay, 20 feet of sand and gravel, and clay on decomposed mica schist. The mining on Penelope Creek, along the active channel where it crosses the Casadepaga River terraces, did not reach bedrock. Pans along this part of the creek were reported to carry 5 cents in gold (Brooks and others, 1901). Bedrock in the area is part of a lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage (Till and others, 1986).

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 and 270 feet along the first 11 miles of the river, suggest that Quaternary sea level fluctuations could have influenced placer development.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = At least three exploration shafts were dug in the area, including one along the Casadepaga River at the mouth of Penelope Creek. Small-scale placer mining took place locally along the lower part of the creek.

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

References

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., Richardson, G. B., and Collier, A. J., 1901, Reconnaissance in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900: U.S. Geological Survey Special Publication, p. 1-180.

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): Till, A.B., Dumoulin, J.A., Gamble, B. ., Kaufman, D.S., and Carroll, P.I., 1986, Preliminary geologic map and fossil data, Soloman, Bendeleben, and southern Kotzebue quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 86-276, 10 p., 3 plates, scale 1:250,000.

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., 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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