Highland Chief

The Highland Chief 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: Highland Chief
Secondary: Joe's Dream

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Zinc

Location

State: Alaska
District: Juneau

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: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Arsenopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Prospects are visible, if at all, only late in season in low snow years. The area probably could be drilled from east side of the vein area, with holes directed west-southwest. The area is in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and appears to be inactive.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Kimball and others, 1978; Rossman, 1959 (B 1058-B)

Comment (Geology): Age = Late Cretaceous or younger.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = No reserves, but probably one of the best prospects in the district.

Comment (Commodity): Ore Material = Gold (native)

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Highland Chief vein area is near the west contact of the same cataclastic-pendant zone that is the host of the LeRoy mine (MF022). Some veins are in the granodiorite of Cretaceous age; others are in amphibolite, graphitic schist, marble, and strongly sheared schistose granodiorite of the pendant (Rossman, 1959, B 1058-B, pl. 4; Kimball and others, 1978, fig. C52) . The vein system is adjacent to and may be part of a north-northwest fault zone that projects under a local glacier and extensive snow field to the main (east) fork of Ptarmigan Creek.? the area contains a complex series of quartz veins of north to north-northwest strike. Maximum thickness of veins is reported to be 6 feet. Rossman (1959, p. 54) thought the veins were thicker and more continuous than those closer to Reid Inlet. He also found widespread visible free gold in the veins of the area. ? Studies of the area have been handicapped by extensive snow cover. In August 1976, the Bureau of Mines found better than usual exposures and were able to map and sample a large part of the area. The Bureau found a maximum gold content of 3. 49 ounces of gold per ton, along with 1.25 ounces of silver per ton, 2700 ppm lead, 980 ppm zinc, and greater than 1 percent arsenic. Of a total of 40 samples (Kimball and others, 1978, fig. C52, table C43), thirteen contained more than 0.1 ounce per ton gold.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Low-sulfide gold-quartz vein (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The area was discovered by Joe Ibach, probably in 1936. In 1937, the claims were leased by Newmont Mining Co. and explored for several months. 'The company gave up its lease after it was decided that the veins were too inaccessible to permit possible mining'--Rossman ( 1959, p. 38).?In August of 1976 and October of 1977 the area was nearly snow free, and was mapped and sampled by the Bureau of Mines (Kimball and others, 1978, fig. C52, table C43, and p. C222-230). Although the original and largest vein may not have been recovered, forty samples contained from nil to as much as 3.49 ounces per ton gold. The higher grade samples were of selected narrow veins. The veins also contained arsenic to greater than 1 percent; lead and zinc were commonly anomalous. ? In 1976, the area had been restaked as Joe's Dream claims.

References

Reference (Deposit): Reed, J.C., 1938, Some mineral deposits of Glacier Bay and vicinity, Alaska: Economic Geology, v. 33, p. 52-80.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Mount Fairweather quadrangle, AK: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Study Map MF-436, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., Brew, D.A., Hawley, C.C., Huff, L.C., and Smith, J.G., 1971, Mineral resources of Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 632, 90 p., 12 plates, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Kimball, A.L., Still, J.C., and Rataj, J.L., 1978, Mineral resources, in Brew, D. A., and others, Mineral resources of the Glacier Bay National Monument wilderness study area, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-494, p. C1-C375.

Reference (Deposit): Rossman, Darwin, 1959, Geology and ore deposits in the Reid Inlet area, Glacier Bay, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1058-B, p. 33-58.

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