The Cripple River 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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Cripple River MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Cripple River
Commodity
Primary: Gold
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: 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 (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Surface workings; there was some production locally on Cripple River and in tributaries before WW I (Brooks, 1904; Brooks,1905; Collier and others, 1908; Smith, 1912; Chapin, 1914 [B 529-L, p. 385-395]).
Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive
Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.
Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Alluvial placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).
Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Collier and others (1908) reported that Cripple River was auriferous from its head to its mouth on Norton Sound. This was partly confirmed in the upper part of Cripple River during 1989-1990 reconnaisance exploration by Kennecott Exploration Company (written communication, 1992). Pan concentrates containing greater than 10,000 ppb gold were found in gravels of Cripple River above Aurora Creek. Gold was also panned both above and below Gold Run, a north headwater tributary. A pan concentrate at the mouth of Oregon Creek contained greater than 10,000 ppb gold. Both Cleveland Creek (NM150) and Stella Creek (NM151) were mined just above their confluences with Cripple River. A large right-limit (north side) bench of Cripple River was reported to be rich enough to hydraulic placer mine (NM152), but water losses in two ditches apparently precluded the mining of the bench deposit. Cripple River is almost continuously covered by patented mining claims from a point about 1 mile above Stella Creek (NM151) downstream to its mouth. There is little information on the distribution of gold along Cripple River itself.
Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Collier and others, 1908
References
Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1912, Notes on mining in Seward Peninsula, in Brooks, A.H., and others, Mineral resources of Alaska, Report on investigations in 1911: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 520-M, p. 339-344.
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.
Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1904, Placer mining in Alaska in 1903: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 225, p. 43-59.
Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1905, Placer mining in Alaska in 1904: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 259, p. 18-31.
Reference (Deposit): Collier, A. J., Hess, F.L., Smith, P.S., and Brooks, A.H., 1908, The gold placers of parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, including the Nome, Council, Kougarok, Port Clarence, and Goodhope precincts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 328, 343 p.
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): Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Placer mining on Seward Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-L, p. 385-395.
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