Saddle

The Saddle 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: Saddle
Secondary: New Era
Secondary: Big Four

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Antimony

Location

State: Alaska
District: Nome

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Prospect
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Albitization, silicification, and sulfidization of schist.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Arsenopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Gold
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Scheelite
Ore: Stibnite
Gangue: Albite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = This report

Comment (Geology): Age = Mid-Cretaceous; veins cross cut regionally metamorphosed schist; see NM207.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active?

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Low-sulfide Au-quartz veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Lode prospects were located in this area as early as 1899; there was considerable lode prospecting activity until World War I. In the mid-1980's, R.V. Bailey discovered the Saddle deposit and began a trenching program that identified a sheeted vein complex. This exploration was followed by an extensive trenching program and some drilling by Placer Dome in 1987 and 1988, by soil geochemistry and some drilling by BHP in 1990, by detailed mapping and some drilling by Newmont Mining Company in 1992, and by additional drilling by Kennecott Exploration Company in 1994-5.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Saddle deposit is of sheeted vein type; it trends northeasterly from near the west portal of the Miocene Ditch tunnel nearly to the top of hill elevation 691. Other gold-bearing veins were developed in the south fork of upper Snow Gulch. One prospect in this group appears to lie on the Bernice No. 1 lode of John Leedy (U.S. Mineral Survey No. 775); the New Era tunnel is also in this vicinity. Another related vein zone possibly exists on the divide between Snow Gulch and Anvil Creek, nearly in line with the trend of Snow Gulch.? Prospecting dating back to at least 1899 has identified several gold lodes near the head of Snow Gulch. The older prospects, such as New Era and Big Four, are difficult to identify, but they can be approximately located. These vein and stratabound mineral occurrences are abundant in upper Snow Gulch and appear to be the main source of placer gold in Snow Gulch.? A prospector named John Leedy located claims on the east side of Snow Gulch and on Bonanza Hill from July 1899 until 1908; his claims were patented in 1908 (U.S. Mineral Survey No. 775). A stamp mill was moved into this area and various tunnels and workings were driven, including the New Era tunnel, reported to be more than 300 feet long. The tunnel was driven on a lode that strikes northeast and dips 40 northwest (Chapin, 1914, p. 400-401). The gold is in pyrite and arsenopyrite. The sulfides are disseminated in schist that is cut by quartz, minor albite, and locally calcite veinlets.? the New Era tunnel, caved when visited by Chapin, appears to be near Placer Dome trenches ST-88-06, -08 and -010. These trenches expose zones containing more than 0.1 ounce of gold per ton. Mertie (1918, p. 433-434) examined this area in 1916. He repeated Chapin's description of the New Era tunnel, but was able to examine the Big Four shaft. He reported that this shaft was on the east side of Snow Gulch at an elevation of about 500 feet. Quartz stringers in a 60-foot-wide zone in marble strike about N 65 E and contain crystalline gold in vugs in quartz. This area was also described by Cathcart (1922, p. 243-244).? the Saddle deposit, mainly explored between 1986 and 1995, appears to start west of the portal of the Miocene Ditch tunnel and to continue northeasterly for about 1,300 feet. This deposit has been explored by shallow trenches and drill holes. It is irregular but is as much as 200 feet wide. The Saddle deposit is less consistently mineralized than the Rock Creek sheeted zone (NM207), but a small body of material averaging about 0.05 ounce of gold per ton has been identified, and probably more could be developed. Other trenching and shallow drilling suggest that gold-bearing veins are also present in a west-southwest-trending zone west of the portal of Miocene tunnel. The apparent strike length of the zone is about 1,200 feet. This zone probably includes the New Era deposit.? An isolated deposit, about 1,200 feet northeast of Saddle, was found by Newmont in 1992, and a deposit at the ridge between Snow Gulch and Anvil Creek was intersected in three Placer Dome trenches (ST-88-3, -4, and -5). The deposit in these trenches can be projected about 300 feet on strike.? Bedrock in the area is schist and some marble, probably of early Paleozoic protolith age (Hummel, 1962 [MF 247]; Sainsbury, Hummel, and Hudson, 1972 [OFR 72-326]; Till and Dumoulin, 1994; Bundtzen and others, 1994). Strata exposed in upper Snow Gulch and continuing southward on Bonanza Hill are chloritic mica-schist, marble, with occasional graphitic units. In general they belong to the chlorite-rich metaturbidite schist and marble unit of Bundtzen and others (1994).

References

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Reger, R.D., Laird, G.M., Pinney, D.S., Clautice, K.H., Liss, S.A., and Cruse, G.R., 1994, Progress report on the geology and mineral resources of the Nome mining district: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Public Data-File 94-39, 21 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Hummel, C.L., 1962, Preliminary geologic map of the Nome C-1 quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-247, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Sainsbury, C.L., Hummel, C.L., and Hudson, Travis, 1972, Reconnaissance geologic map of the Nome quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 72-326, 28 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-463, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

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

Reference (Deposit): Till, A.B., and Dumoulin, J.A, 1994, Geology of Seward Peninsula and St. Lawrence Island, in Plafker, G., and Berg, H.C., eds., The Geology of Alaska: Geological Society of America, The Geology of North America, DNAG, v. G-1, p. 141-152.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File report 78-93, 213 p.

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