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

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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.

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