Bourbon Creek

The Bourbon 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: Bourbon Creek
Secondary: Holyoke Creek

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 (Reference): Primary Reference = Collier and others, 1908

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Shallow alluvial gold depositsin Bourbon Creek and its tributary Holyoke Creek were discovered in 1900 (Brooks and others, 1901, p. 69, 83-84) and mining began soon afterward. Total production in 1900 was about 5,000 dollars (approximately 250 ounces of gold). Total production to 1903 on both Bourbon and Holyoke Creeks was about 100,000 dollars or 5,000 ounces of gold (Collier and others, 1908, p. 167). This production was entirely from shallow deposits derived by reworking gravel of the coastal plain. The trench occupied by Bourbon Creek was about 15 feet deep and about 500 feet wide; pay was shallow; Collier and others cite two sections, one about 6 feet deep, the second about 10 feet. Gradient of the creek was low, and only a few of the deposits were rich enough to work by shovel-in methods; one successful placer mine averaged 4 dollars per cubic yard. Early attempts at dredging the shallow ground failed because of inadequate dredges. Later attempts at dredging were stopped because much of the ground was frozen. By about 1906, drilling and shafts showed that Bourbon and Holyoke Creeks concealed local valuable paystreaks that had formed during marine transgression toward Third Beach. Depths to bedrock ranged from about of 17 to 120 feet.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Shallow alluvial placer gold deposits formed by reworking low-grade gravel deposits of the coastal plain along Bourbon and Holyoke Creeks (Moffit, 1913; Metcalfe and Tuck, 1942) (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The deposits were discovered in 1900. About 5,000 ounces of gold had been mined from shallow alluvial deposits by the end of 1903 (Collier and others, 1908). By 1906, drilling and shafts had been extensive enough to delineate buried marine deposits near the base of the coastal plain section.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

References

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., Richardson, G. B., and Collier, A. J., 1901, Reconnaissance in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900: U.S. Geological Survey Special Publication, p. 1-180.

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

Reference (Deposit): Metcalfe, J.B., and Tuck, Ralph, 1942, Placer gold deposits of the Nome district, Alaska: Report for U.S. Smelting, Refining, and Mining Co., 175 p.

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