Wheeler

The Wheeler is a lead, silver, gold, and zinc 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: Wheeler

Commodity

Primary: Lead
Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Primary: Zinc

Location

State: Alaska
District: Kougarok

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

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Oxidation with abundant limonite, and possible silicification.

Rocks

Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Early Devonian
Age Old: Neoproterozoic

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Boulangerite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Gangue: Ankerite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active?

Comment (Geology): Age = Not known; deposits seem to be deformed or at least partly localized along shears; host rocks are lower Paleozoic in age.

Comment (Geology): Age = Host rock is Silurian - Cambrian.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Lenses of galena, pyrite, some sphalerite, and possibly boulangerite in marble near contacts with schist.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = A few tons of ore were apparently mined and shipped.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Wimmler, 1926 (in Asher, 1969, DGGS R18)

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = On the northwest side of the Pilgrim River, an adit, prospect trenches, and a short 2- foot-deep shaft were dug. On the southeast side of the river, a 25-foot-long adit and numerous prospect pits explored the deposits. Some diamond drilling appears to have occurred in 1971 or 1972 (Sainsbury and others, 1972, OFR 512).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = This locality has two parts, one on each side of the Pilgrim (Kruzgamepa) River, just downstream from the mouth of Iron Creek (SO127). They are separated by 1,000 feet of the Pilgrim River floodplain. The deposits on the northwest side of the river contain lenses of massive galena in marble near a contact with schist (Smith, 1908). One lense exposed over a distance of 3 feet in a prospect trench contained pyrite, finely crystalline galena, and minor sphalerite. A 2-foot sample across the highest grade part contained 0.30 ounces Au per ton, 2.3 ounces Ag per ton, and 2.95 percent Pb (Wimmler, 1926, in Asher, 1969, DGGS R18). Two assays reported by the owner ran 22.87 percent Pb and 20.0 ounces Ag per ton and 14.2 percent Pb and 14.5 ounces Ag per ton. The deposits on the southeast side of the river also include discontinuous lenses of massive galena. A 8- to 10-foot long, 6-foot wide,and 1.5-foot thick lense of pyrite, fine galena, and heavy limonite with siliceous marble, calcite,and quartz gangue was removed from a short, 25-foot-long adit. Some boulangerite may also be present (Sainsbury and others, 1972). Pb-isotope analysis of one galena sample from this locality gave results identical to samples from the Red Dog and Drench Water Creek deposits of the western Brooks Range (Church and others, 1985). The mineralization is preferentially developed in the marble but nearby quartz mica schist contains pyrite. The schist/marble contacts appear sheared (Cathcart, 1922) but the massive galena is described as a replacement of the host marble (Smith, 1908). The host rocks are part of a lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage (Till and others, 1986).

References

Reference (Deposit): Wimmler, N.L., 1926, Lode deposits in Seward Peninsula: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 192-01, 10 p.

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): Church, S.E., Briskey, J.A., Delevaux, M.H., and LeHuray, A.P., 1985, Preliminary results of Pb-isotope analyses of deposits from the Seward Peninsula, in Susan Barsch Winkler, ed., The United States Geological Survey in Alaska; Accomplishments during 1984: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 967, p. 24-27.

Reference (Deposit): Cathcart, S.H., 1922, Metalliferous lodes in southern Seward Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 722, p. 163-261.

Reference (Deposit): Asher, R.R., 1969, Geology and geochemistry of part of the Iron Creek area, Solomon D-6 quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Alaska Division of Mines and Geology Geochemistry Report 18, 19 p.

Reference (Deposit): Sainsbury, C.L., Hudson, T.L., Ewing, R., and Richards, T., 1972, Reconnaissance geologic map of the Solomon D-6 quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 512, 17 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.

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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