Unnamed (upper Wachusett Inlet)

The Unnamed (upper Wachusett Inlet) is a copper and molybdenum 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 (upper Wachusett Inlet)

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: Molybdenum
Secondary: Silver

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

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Molybdenite
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Geology): Age = Cretaceous or younger.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Area has been very recently deglaciated by recession of Plateau Glacier. The area contains other copper-molybdenum deposits and occurrences and is favorable for prospecting. ? the site is within Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

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

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The area has been explored by surface pits and trenches cut for samples. As sampled by the Bureau of Mines (Kimball and others, 1978, p. C307-C310), a chalcopyrite rich vein 0.7 foot thick contained 7.4 percent copper and 0.02 percent molybdenum. Other select samples ranged from 0.2 to 4.7 percent copper and contained from 0.03 to 0.15 percent molybdenum. Silver ranged from 5 to 30 ppm.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = A copper-molybdenum-bearing vein cuts quartz diorite of Cretaceous age. The area is only recently free of glacial ice, and mapping is of reconnaissance type. Brew and others (1978, pl. 1A) show most of the area as granitic rock of Cretaceous age. The quartz diorite is cut by andesite and pegmatite dikes and by quartz veins.? At the prospect, which is at the shore line, a narrow quartz -sulfide vein can be traced for about 50 feet, and projected as a brecciated iron-stained vein for another 75 feet. The vein is up to 0.7 foot thick and contains about 25 percent chalcopyrite by volume. Molybdendite and pyrite are also present. Selected vein samples contain as much as 7.4 percent copper and 1500 ppm molybdenum. The vein strikes north-northeast, subparallel to the shore line, and dips steeply to the northwest.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Based on the surface samples, and calculated over a 4-foot width, the occurrence is an 800-ton resource containing 0.44 percent copper, 0.05 percent molybdenum, and 0.034 ounce per ton silver (Kimball and others, 1978).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

References

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): 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): 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.

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