Cottonwood Creek

The Cottonwood 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

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: Cottonwood Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Tungsten

Location

State: Alaska
District: Juneau (Skagway subdistrict)

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Prospect
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

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

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary placer.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Hoekzema and others, 1986

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Hoekzema and others (1986) report that placer gold was discovered on Cottonwood Creek in 1899 but gold was never produced in significant amounts. The alluvial fan extending along the northern edge of the Tsirku River from Cottonwood Creek to below Nugget Creek was prospected with encouraging results prior to 1912 and a company was formed to dredge the alluvial gravels. Fifty claims were staked to cover the fan but the ground was abandoned in 1916. Portions of the Cottonwood-Nugget Creek fan were patented in 1934.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer in alluvial fans and paleo-channels (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Placer gold was discovered on Cottonwood Creek in 1899. Although encouraging amounts of gold have been found, none has been produced in significant amounts. Gravel resources in the creek channel are limited due to the steep gradient and narrow bedrock canyon. The average gradient is 750 feet per mile. A significant but untested identified resource exists in the alluvial fan at the mouth of the creek which coalesces with the fan at the mouth of Nugget Creek to the east. Abandoned channels, which may host placer gold have been identified in the fan between Cottonwood and Nugget Creeks. Reconnaissance samples contained up to 0.0005 ounces of gold per cubic yard and pan concentrates contained 10-20% magnetite, up to 10% pyrite, and minor amounts of garnet, zircon, and scheelite. (Hoekzema and others, 1986).? the Cottonwood Creek placer lies within a northwest-trending zone of quartz-sulfide veining in sediments and slates in the Skagway B-4 quadrangle described by Wright (1904 [B 225 and B 236]), Eakin (1918 and 1919), and MacKevett and others (1974) and considered to be the source of placer gold in this area.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = No significant amount of gold produced.

References

Reference (Deposit): Berg, H.C., 1984, Regional geologic summary, metallogenesis, and mineral resources of southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report 84-572, 298 p., 1 plate, scale approx. 1:600,000.

Reference (Deposit): Hoekzema, R.B., Fechner, S.A., and Bundtzen, T.K., 1986, Distribution, analysis, and recovery of placer gold from the Porcupine mining area, southeast Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 89-86, 49 p., 4 sheets.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., Robertson, E.C., and Winkler, G.R., 1974, Geology of the Skagway B-3 and B-4 quadrangles, southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 832, 33 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Skagway quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-424, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

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): Eakin, H.M., 1919, The Porcupine gold placer district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 699, 29 p.

Reference (Deposit): Wright, C.W., 1904, The Porcupine placer mining district, Alaska in Emmons, S.F., and Hayes, C.W., eds., Contributions to economic geology 1903: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 225, p.60-63.

Reference (Deposit): Still, J.C., Hoekzema, R.B., Bundtzen, T.K., Gilbert, W.G., Wier, K.R., Burns, L.E., and Fechner, S.A., 1991, Economic geology of Haines-Klukwan-Porcupine area, southeastern Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Report of Investigations 91-4, 156 p., 5 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Still, J.C., 1991, Bureau of Mines mineral investigations in the Juneau mining district, Alaska, 1984 - 1988, v. 2, Detailed mine, prospect, and mineral occurrence descriptions, section A, Haines-Klukwan-Porcupine subarea: U.S. Bureau of Mines of Mines Special Publication, 214 p.

Reference (Deposit): Wright, C.W., 1904, The Porcupine district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 236, 35 p.

Reference (Deposit): Eakin, H.M., 1918, Gold placer mining in the Porcupine district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 662-B, p. 93-100.

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.