Valley of Tears

The Valley of Tears 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: Valley of Tears
Secondary: Dundas River

Commodity

Primary: Gold

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: Producer
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

Name: Unconsolidated Deposit
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Holocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Not available

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Surface prospects were found near a cabin; there were visible claim lines. All samples collected by Kimball and others (1978) of alluvial material contained gold that could be concentrated by panning. The placer may be the same deposit reported by MacKevett and others (1971, p. 67) as the Dundas River placer. The placer deposit was covered with nine claims owned by the Jimmie Martin estate. Tentatively the Valley of Tears placer is regarded as the same deposit that was given an uncertain location on the 'Dundas River' in Mt. Fairweather B-2 quadrangle by MacKevett and others (1971) and by Cobb (1972).

Comment (Commodity): Ore Material = Native gold

Comment (Geology): Age = Holocene.

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

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Very low-grade resource; mineable in local concentrations.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = River bar-type placer formed by reworking of slightly auriferous Holocene outwash and alluvium.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Small, but some production probable.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Valley of Tears placer is about 2 miles south of the contact between a large granitic body of Cretaceous age and carbonate-rich strata of Paleozoic age (Brew and others, 1978). The deposit appears to be a river bar placer that was formed by reworking of slightly auriferous outwash and alluvium derived from the granitic contact region exposed at Lake Seclusion.? the Bureau of Mines collected nine 3- to 7.5-pound samples at the site (Kimball and others, 1978, p. C363-4). The samples were panned at Juneau; all panned concentrates contained gold visible under a binocular microscope. Fire assays of the samples indicated a very small total gold content (about 1 cent per cubic yard, with gold valued at about $300 per ounce). Mining equipment was found at the site. Probably miners found and mined small, rich concentrations of lag-concentrated sand and gravel in river bar deposits.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = the site is in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

References

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1981, Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral occurrences in the Mt. Fairweather quadrangle, Alaska; Supplement to Open-file Report 78-316; Part A, Summaries of data to January 1, 1980: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-249-A, 20 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E. H., 1981, Summaries of data and lists of references to metallic and selected non-metallic mineral occurrences in the Mt. Fairweather quadrangle, Alaska, Supplement to Open-file Report 78-316: U. S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-249B, 15 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): 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): 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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