Portage Creek

The Portage 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

Name: Portage Creek

State: Alaska

County: na

Elevation:

Commodity: Gold

Lat, Long: 60.36306, -154.03889

Map: View on Google Maps

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Satelite image of the Portage Creek

Portage Creek MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Portage Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Barium-Barite

Location

State: Alaska
District: Bristol Bay

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: 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

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Not applicable

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = No reserves

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Early mining work was by primitive pick and shovel methods. Hydraulic methods were used between 1939 and 1958 utilizing an earthen dam, flume, hydraulic pipe, and hydraulically operated winch.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Lode source of gold has not been found, but believed to be close. Site is in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Bundtzen and Kline (1979) described the Portage Creek placer deposits. The stream gravels in the canyon (upper claims) are undergoing rapid transport by periodic floods which move large amounts of gravel and boulders. The stream gradient in the canyon drops about 500 ft/mile (100 m/km). Downstream from the canyon (lower claims) is a large alluvial fan delta. Former bedrock channels may be 120 ft (40 meters) or more in depth. The stream gradient in fan-delta complex drops about 200 ft/mile (40 m/km). Portage Creek is crossed by the NE-trending Lake Clark fault zone. Bundtzen and Kline (1979) indicate that the placer deposits formed in response to relatively short-term hydraulic events, contrasting with older, more developed heavy mineral placers of interior Alaska. Most or all gravel in the Portage Creek area are thawed.? Bedrock in the vicinity includes Tertiary volcanics (rhyolitic breccia, ash-flow tuff, flows and intrusive rocks - and subordinate mafic to intermediate flows) and late Paleozoic-early Mesozoic metamorphic rocks (Nelson and others, 1983; units Tv and MzPzm).? ?

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

Comment (Production): Production Notes = A total production figure for Portage Creek is not available. Probably no more than 1,000 oz of gold was produced since discovery in about 1900 (Bundtzen and Kline, 1979).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Bundtzen and Kline, 1979

References

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and Reed, B.L., 1981, Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral occurrences in the Iliamna, Lake Clark, Lime Hills, and McGrath quadrangles, Alaska - Supplement to Open-File Report 76-485: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-1343-A, 25 p.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., and Kline, J.T., 1979, Portage Creek gold placers, Lake Clark quadrangle, Iliamna District, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Open-File Report 120, 13 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Iliamna, Lake Clark, Lime Hills, and McGrath quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-485.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1935, The southern Alaska Range: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 862, 101 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral map of the Lake Clark quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-378, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., and Holloway, C.D., 1977, Map showing metalliferous mineral deposits in the western part of southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-169-F, 38 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Martin, G.C., 1919, Alaska Mining Industry in 1917: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 692, p. 11-42

Reference (Deposit): Martin, G.C., 1920, The Alaska mining industry in 1918: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 712-A, p. 1-52.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1932, The Lake Clark-Mulchatna region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 824, 181 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1914, Mineral resources of Alaska in 1913: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592, p. 340-341.

Reference (Deposit): Martin, G.C., and Katz, F.J., 1910, Outline of geology and mineral resources of the Iliamna and Clark lakes region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442, 426 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1913, Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1912: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 542, 308 p.

Reference (Deposit): Martin, G.C., and Katz, F.J., 1912, A geologic reconnaissance of the Iliamna region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 485, 138 p.

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