Candle Creek

The Candle 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: Candle Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Fairhaven

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: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Sphene
Gangue: Rutile
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Ilmenite
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Garnet
Gangue: Arsenopyrite
Gangue: Zircon

Comments

Comment (Commodity): Gangue = unidentified uranium-thorium mineral

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

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Over 8 miles of the channel and floodplain of Candle Creek, as well as many low level benches, have been placer mined for gold. Mining by hand started in 1901 (Mendenhall, 1902) but hydraulic, dozer, and dredge operations were subsequently employed (Cobb, 1975). The majority of the 578,000 ounces of gold and 32,000 ounces of silver recorded as produced from the Fairhaven district came from Candle Creek (Hudson and De Young, 1978). Mining was primarily at elevations less than 250 feet and included much was at lower elevations near the mouth of the creek. At least locally, gravels in the creek were 12 ro 18 feet-thick and covered by 10 to 20 feet of tundra and muck (Gault and others, 1953). Bench gravels were thinner, 4 to 10 feet thick, and covered by 5 to 10 feet of overburden. At the mouth of Willow Creek, a west tributary at the upper end of mining, 5 to 9 feet of gravel was present. Bench gravels at claim no. 19 were 4 to 5 feet of fine schist gravel covered by 10 to 12 ft of ice and 2 ft of muck. At claim no. 17 gravels were 8 to 18 feet thick with Au primarily present in the lower 6 in to 3 feet. A placer concentrate contained chalcopyrite, galena, gold, arsenopyrite, garnet, hematite, ilmenite, limonite, magnetite, pyrite, rutile, sphene, zircon, and an unidentified uranium-thorium mineral (Gault and others, 1953). Bedrock is extensively covered by tundra but what is exposed in the area is part of a Lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage (Till and others, 1986). Intermediate to felsic dikes and sills locally crosscut the metasedimentary rocks along the drainage and one small granitic stock has been mapped on the ridge south of the creek valley (Till and others, 1986). Sandvik (1956) notes that granitic rocks have been identified in the headwaters of Jump Creek and Minehaha Creek. The low elevation of the creek and its proximity to the coast along its lower reaches indicate that Quaternary sea level fluctuations could have influenced the nature of the placer deposits here.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = The majority of the 578,000 ounces of gold and 32,000 ounces of silver recorded as produced from the Fairhaven district came from Candle Creek (Hudson and De Young, 1978).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The long history of placer mining, including some in recent years, has employed many mining methods. Dredging has been extensive but hydraulic, dozer, and drift mining has also occurred. Much of the placer ground is frozen.

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary; two or more cycles of placer deposit development are indicated. The low elevation of Candle Creek and proximity to the coast indicates that Quaternary sea level fluctuations may have influenced the character of the placer deposits.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Cobb, 1975 (OFR 75-429)

References

Reference (Deposit): Gault, H.R., Killeen, P.L., West, W.S., and others, 1953, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in the northeastern part of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 1945-47 and 1951: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 250, 31 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Bendeleben quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-417, 1 sheet, 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): Cobb, E.H., 1975, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bendeleben quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 75-429, 123 p.

Reference (Deposit): Mendenhall, W.C., 1902, Reconnaissance from Fort Hamlin to Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, by way of Dall, Kanuti, Allen, and Kowak Rivers: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 10, 68 p.

Reference (Deposit): Sandvik, P.O., 1956, Report of diamond drilling for radioactive material near Candle, northeast Seward Peninsula: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines, 5 p.

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