Unnamed (Russell Island)

The Unnamed (Russell Island) 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: Unnamed (Russell Island)

State:  Alaska

County:  na

Elevation:

Commodity: Gold

Lat, Long: 58.94139, -136.81306

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 Unnamed (Russell Island)

Unnamed (Russell Island) MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Unnamed (Russell Island)


Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Silver
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: Occurrence
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

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Granodiorite has been altered; alteration products include chlorite, sericite, introduced quartz, and probably ankerite or dolomite.


Rocks

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous


Analytical Data

Not available


Materials

Ore: Galena
Ore: Gold
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Scheelite
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Dolomite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Sericite
Gangue: Ankerite


Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Surface exposures only. Channel samples of selected quartz veins contain as much as 5.81 ounces per ton gold, 2.64 ounces per ton silver, 890 ppm lead, 550 ppm zinc, and less than 50 ppm tungsten. (Five of fifteen samples from the veins show a trace of tungsten as does one of two samples from the vein occurrence 1000 feet to the west-northwest.) Weighted values for 4-foot mining widths range from 0.02 to 0.35 ounce per ton gold and from 0.02 to 0.17 ounce per ton silver (Kimball and others, 1978, p. C238-241). ? the occurrence may have been discovered by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1966; MacKevett and others (1966) reported a narrow quartz vein at the site contained 0.844 ounces of gold per ton.

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

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

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

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

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Kimball and others, 1978

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Area warrants further exploration; it is within Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Russell Island is underlain mainly by granodiorite of Cretaceous age (Brew and others, 1978). On the northeastern part of the island, quartz veins as much as about 0.5 feet wide occur in ankeritic (iron-stained) zones as much as 4 feet thick that cut the granodiorite. The main vein occurrence has an estimated length of 280 feet on the island. It strikes N. 15 degrees E. and is nearly vertical. It extends across the small peninsula between shorelines of Glacier Bay at the northeast tip of Russell Island (Kimball and others, 1978, fig. C55). The quartz veins within the ankerite shear zone contain ankerite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, sericite, dolomite, calcite, and traces of scheelite. The pyrite contains native gold particles visible microscopically. Two additional, narrow iron-stained vein zones are 1,000 feet west-northwest of the main vein zone. The Russell Island occurrences appear to represent the approximate northeast limit of the Reid Inlet gold area.? Channel samples of selected veins contained more than 5 ounces per ton gold, and a weighted sample reduced to a 4-foot mining width contained 0.35 ounce per ton gold.


References

Reference (Deposit): Brew, D.A., Johnson, B.R., Grybeck, D., Griscom, A., Barnes, D.F., Kimball, A.L., Still, J.C., and Rataj, J.L., 1978, Mineral resources of the Glacier Bay National Monument Wilderness Study Area, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-494, 670 p.

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.


The Top Ten Gold Producing States

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.