Fred Creek (or Fred Gulch--placer)

The Fred Creek (or Fred Gulch--placer) 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: Fred Creek (or Fred Gulch--placer)

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Tin

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: Cassiterite
Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Fred Creek appears to have been worked in at least two periods. It was mined by 1906 because stream tin was reported by Hess (1906). Moffit (1913) also noted mining below the marble contact. Some of the creek was been worked in more recent years by small-scale mechanical methods; there are a few buildings that have been constructed at least from the 1930's, and some of the tailings appear to be less than 30 years old. The area was explored by Kennecott Exploration Company in 1995; also by Cominco American. Some exploration, mainly for lode gold deposits, took place in 1998 and 1999.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Moffit, 1913

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

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Gold in part derived from basal contact zone of massive marble.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Small-scale placer gold mining took place by 1906 in Fred Creek downstream from the basal massive marble (Bundtzen and others, 1994) contact with schist (Moffit, 1913). Hess (1906, p. 157) reported minor cassiterite in Fred Creek,which he thought could have been derived from granitic rocks (orthogneiss) in the Mount Distin region. The physical character of the mine tailings also indicates that the placer deposit has been worked mechanically since 1930. Fred Creek drains across the basal contact of massive marble with metasedimentary schist. The contact is poorly exposed in the creek, but about 600 feet to the southwest, gold-bearing hematitic schist occurs immediately below the massive marble (NM063). This lode prospect seems to be stratabound but also is very close to the projection of a main branch of the Penny River fault, which could also be auriferous.

Comment (Geology): Age = Holocene.

References

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): 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): 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): Hess, F.L., 1906, The York tin region, in Brooks, A.H., and others, Report on progress of investigations of mineral resources in Alaska, 1905: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 284, p. 145-157.

Reference (Deposit): Moffit, F.H., 1913, Geology of the Nome and Grand Central quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 533, 140 p.

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