Unnamed (east shore of Port Moller)

The Unnamed (east shore of Port Moller) is a lead, copper, and 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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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.

Site Name

Primary: Unnamed (east shore of Port Moller)

Commodity

Primary: Lead
Primary: Copper
Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Alaska Peninsula

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

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: The brillant yellow color described by Atwood (1911) is probably due to the weathering of pyrite, producing iron oxides and clay.

Rocks

Name: Basalt
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Pliocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Pyrite

Comments

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Wilson and others, 1988

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Some staking was carried out here in the early 1900's, but no development work was ever reported. Atwood took some samples in 1911. Resource Associates of Alaska sampled here in 1982, and the U.S. Geological Survey mapped and sampled the area in the mid-1980's.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = This site is located near the boundary between land selected by the Aleut Corporation and State-selected wildlife, park, forest, or other multiple-use areas.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Rocks at this site consist of undivided Tertiary volcanic strata (Wilson and others, 1995). Atwood (1911) first described this occurrence as a series of basaltic lava flows that are altered to a brillant yellow color. His samples contained no gold. Trujillo and others (1982) mention intrusive plugs or stocks. They describe the rocks as heavily pyritized and they found gold in pan concentrates in six drainages. The rock samples they collected contained no gold. Mapping in the 1980s by the U.S. Geological Survey indicated a series of andesite flows and lahars whose basal units are hydrothermally altered (Wilson and others, 1988). Their rock geochemical samples locally contained anomalous amounts of lead and copper.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Age = Tertiary.

References

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resource map of the Port Moller quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-443, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Atwood, W.W., 1911, Geology and mineral resources of parts of the Alaska Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 467, 137 p.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., and Holloway, C.D., 1977, Map showing metalliferous mineral deposits in the western part of southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-169-F, 38 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Berg, H.C., and Cobb, E.H., 1967, Metalliferous Lode Deposits of Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1246, 254 p.

Reference (Deposit): Wilson, F.H., Harris, E.E., and Bailey, E.A., 1987, Preliminary analytical results and sample locality map for rock samples collected in 1985 and 1986, Port Moller and Stepovak Bay quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 87-497, 44 p., 1 plate, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Wilson, F.H., White, W.H., and DuBois, G.D., 1988, Brief descriptions of mines, prospects, and mineral occurrences in the Port Moller and Stepovak Bay quadrangles, Alaska Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 88-666, 128 p., scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Trujillo, R.S., Tapper, C.J., Alvarez, T.J., Porterfield, Ben, and Toupe, W.M., 1982, Exploration and evaluation of precious metal potential of portions of Aleut Corporation lands, southwest Alaska 1982: Unpublished Resource Associates of Alaska report, 91 p, 33 mpas, various scales. (Report held by the Aleut Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska.)

Reference (Deposit): Wilson, F.H., Detterman, R.L., Miller, J. W., and Case, J.E., 1995, Geologic map of the Port Moller, Stepovak Bay, and Simeonof Island quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigation Series Map I-2272, 1 map sheet, scale 1:250,000.

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