Cripple River

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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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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