Galena

Site Name

Primary: Galena

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Commodity

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

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Juneau

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Land Status

Not available

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Not available

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Not available

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Alterations

Not available

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Galena
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Quartz

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Comments

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Thirty tons of ore--reported by Twenhofel and others (1949) who visited prospect in 1940.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

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

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Surface workings only. The vein was discovered and located in 1937 by Joe Ibach. Reed (1938) collected a one-foot sample that assayed 0.16 ounce per ton gold, 0.30 ounce per ton silver and 0.79 percent zinc. About 30 tons of ore reportedly was mined by Ibach and Tom Smith in 1939 (Twenhofel and others, 1949, p. 31). The ore had a value of about $60 per ton (about 1.7 ounces of gold per ton).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Twenhofel and others, 1949

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Unknown.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Typical Reid Inlet-type vein, pods of high grade ore in a quartz vein. Deposit is in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Galena mine is largely covered by surficial deposits, inferred to be mainly lateral moraine from a more extensive Reid Glacier (Rossman, 1959, B 1058-B, pl. 4). It is within the part of the Reid Inlet gold area or district that is underlain by granodiorite of Cretaceous age. The prospect was completely sloughed when MacKevett and others (1971) searched for it. Twenhofel and others (1949) described the Galena deposit as a banded and vuggy quartz vein between 4-18 inches in width that was exposed on strike for 60 feet. The vein contained pyrite, sphalerite, and galena, and locally native gold.

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

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

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References

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

Reference (Deposit): Twenhofel, W.S., Reed, J. C., and Gates, G.O., 1949, Some mineral investigations in southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 963-A, p. 1-45.

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.

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