Ophir Creek

The Ophir 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: Ophir 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: 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 = Cobb, 1975 (OFR 75-429)

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Dredging of the entire floodplain, in places almost 1,000 feet wide, took place over the 7,500 feet of the drainage downstream from Crooked Creek. Benches have been mined here and there along the drainage and at the mouth of Crooked Creek. Some dredging took place as recently as the 1980's.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Ophir Creek is the most important producer of placer gold in the Council district. The majority of the 707,000 ounces of gold production recorded for the Council district probably came from Ophir Creek (Hudson and DeYoung, 1978). Placer gold was discovered here in 1897 and extensive mining, especially dredging, has taken place over its entire length downstream from the mouth of Crooked Creek (Cobb, 1975). Dredging of the entire floodplain, in places almost 1,000 feet wide, took place along the 7,500 feet of the drainage downstream from Crooked Creek. Benches have been mined here and there along the drainage and at the mouth of Crooked Creek. Terrace gravels at the mouth of Crooked Creek were 5 to 6 feet deep and covered by 2 to 3 feet of overburden. The paystreak at the mouth of Crooked Creek was 250 feet wide, 6 feet thick, and contained 0.22 ounces Au per cubic yard (Smith and Eakin, 1911). Below Crooked Creek , Ophir Creek is at elevations less than 250 feet. This low elevation suggest the possiblity that the character of Ophir Creek placer deposits was influenced by Quaternary sea level fluctuations. The presence of terrace gravels and bench placer deposits indicates that two or more cycles of placer deposit development have occurred. However, there are gold-bearing localities in Lower Paleozoic metasedimentary bedrock (schist and marble; Till and others, 1986) near the mouth of Ophir Creek (Smith and Eakin, 1911), the mouth of Crooked Creek (BN100), and the headwaters of Crooked Creek (BN104). Gold-bearing bedrock is most commonly described as areas with small quartz or quartz-carbonate veins in schist or schistose limestone.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active?

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary; the presence of terrace gravels and bench placer deposits indicates that two or more cycles of placer formation have occurred. Below Crooked Creek, Ophir Creek is at elevations less than 250 feet. This low elevation proximal to the Niukluk River coastal area suggest the possiblity that Quaternary sea level fluctuations influenced the character of Ophir Creek placer deposits.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = The majority of the 707,000 ounces of gold production recorded for the Council district (Hudson and DeYoung, 1978) probably came from Ophir Creek. About 50,000 ounces ($1,000,000) were estimated to have been produced in 1901 alone (Brooks, 1903).

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

References

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): Brooks, A.H., 1903, Placer gold mining in Alaska in 1902: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 213, p. 41-48.

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. and Eakin, H.M., 1911, Mineral resources of Alaska 1910: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480, 333 p..

Reference (Deposit): Hudson, T.L., and DeYoung, J. H., Jr., 1978, Map and tables describing areas of mineral resource potential, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Suvey Open-File Report 78-1-C, 62 p., one sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

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.

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