Porcupine Creek Placer

The Porcupine Creek 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

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.

Site Name

Primary: Porcupine Creek Placer

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Tertiary: Copper
Tertiary: Zinc
Tertiary: Lead

Location

State: Alaska
District: Juneau/Porcupine

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
Year First Production: 1898
Year Last Production: 1985
Discovery Year: 1898
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Diorite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Holocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Garnet
Gangue: Scheelite

Comments

Comment (Commodity): PLACER GOLD FINENESS: 841-909, 866 AVG.; USBM OF 89-86, P. 15

Comment (Deposit): ABANDONED CHANNEL AND BENCH DEPOSITS ARE HIGHEST GRADE-152,000 CY GRADING 0.0106 OZ/CY AU OR MORE. STREAM CHANNEL GRAVELS-500,000 CY, MEDIUM GRADE. ALLUVIAL FAN-6,000,000 CY.

Comment (Location): USGS MF-424, LOCATION 26; PLACER DEPOSIT EXTENDS FROM MOUTH OF PORCUPINE CREEK IN KLEHINI RIVER TO APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES UPSTREAM JUST ABOVE JUNCTION WITH MCKINLEY CREEK LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2,500,000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).

Comment (Production): TOTAL PRODUCTION 1898-1985 FOR PORCUPINE, CAHOON, AND MCKINELY CREEKS: 79,000 TROY OZ. PLACER GOLD

Comment (Development): DISCOVERED IN 1898, MINED EXTENSIVELY FROM 1898-1917, INTERMITTENTLY SINCE THEN.

Comment (Deposit): THIS SITE NAME WAS CREATED BY THE REPORTER OR OTHER USGS EMPLOYEE BASED ON PROXIMITY TO SOME MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE.

Comment (Deposit): STREAM GRADIENT 350 FT/MI. TOTAL OF 652,000 CY MEDIUM TO HIGH POTENTIAL STREAM, ABANDONED CHANNEL AND BENCH GRAVELS. ALSO 6,000,000 CY OF UNKNOWN (PROBABLY LOW GRADE) ALLUVIAL FAN GRAVELS. LARGEST PLACER DEPOSIT IN SE ALASKA. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Comment (Workings): SEVERAL FLUMES AND TUNNELS BUILT IN EARLY 1900'S TO DIVERT CREEK, SUPPLY WATER FOR HYDRAULIC METHODS. HAND METHODS, SLUICES, ROCKERS, TROLLEY LIFT USED IN EARLY 1900'S. RESURGENCE OF ACTIVITY IN 1970'S AND 1980'S SAW USE OF MECHANIZED PLACER METHODS, PAN METHODS.

Comment (Geology): LARGE DIORITE BOULDERS PRESENT, MODERATE TO WELL SORTED SAND AND GRAVEL BENCH ALLUVIUM; UNCONSOLIDATED SILT, SAND, AND GRAVEL STREAM ALLUVIUM; UNSORTED GLACIAL DRIFT. ; MAJOR.UNITS: M-L PAL PORCUPINE LIMESTONE OR MARBLE; MISS-PENN PORCUPINE SLATE; TERT VOLCANIC INTRUSIONS. ; REG.COM: SOURCE OF PORCUPINE CREEK PLACER GOLD IS BELIEVED TO BE MCKINLEY CREEK, AS LITTLE GOLD IS FOUND ABOVE JUNCTION OF PORCUPINE AND MCKINLEY CREEKS. PYRITIFEROUS ZONES IN PORCUPINE SLATE CONTAIN 1-2 PPM GOLD (USBM OF 89-86, P. 15). SAMPLES TAKEN NEAR THE HEAD OF PORCUPINE CREEK YIELD 0.148 PPM GOLD IN SLATE HOSTED QUARTZ VEINS, AND 49 PPM GOLD IN ISOLATED SAMPLE OF CHALCOPYRITE-BEARING QUARTZ FLOAT (USBM OF 173-84, P. 3, SAMPLES 132-141)

References

Reference (Deposit): USGS MF-424, LOCATION 26 (1972)

Reference (Deposit): USBM OF 89-86 (1986)

Reference (Deposit): USGS OF 78-316, P. 102, 103 (1978)

Reference (Deposit): USBM OF 173-84, P. 3, SAMPLES 132-141 (1984)

Reference (Deposit): USGS P 832, P. 20, 21 (1974)

Reference (Deposit): USGS OF 406, P. 6 (1970)

Reference (Deposit): USGS P. 610, P. 22 (1968)

Reference (Other Database): BAG-MF-424-26

Reference (Production): USBM OF 89-86, P. 6, TABLE 1

The Top Ten Gold Producing States

These ten states contributed the most to the gold production that built the West from 1848 through the 1930s. The Top Ten Gold Producing States.