Cape Alitak Beach

The Cape Alitak Beach 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: Cape Alitak Beach

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Kodiak

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Sand and Gravel
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Holocene

Name: Sand and Gravel
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Holocene

Name: Sand and Gravel
Role: Host
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Pliocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = As reported by Capps (1937), in 1935 a mill was under construction to treat the wind-blown dune sand for its gold content. No further efforts were reported and the endeavor was apparently not sucessful. At this same time some mining of the beach deposits was being carried out with sluice boxes and amalgamation plates.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Capps, 1937

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Gold placer (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = This site is located within the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = At this site placer gold has been found in beach deposits as well as in sand dunes derived from the beach sands. Magnetite is fairly abundant in the dunes as well as on the beach. Gassaway (1935, p. 4) reports black sand layers on the beach to be up to 2 feet in thickness with a gold content of less than commercial grade. The gold was reported to be extremely fine and difficult to amalgamate.The immediate source of the placer gold is thought to be the nearby bluffs of glacial gravels and tills.

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary

References

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1979, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Afognak, Karluk, Kodiak, and Trinity Islands quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 79-860, 49 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): Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 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 map sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resource map of the Trinity Islands quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Map MF- 468, 1 map sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Gassaway, L.D., 1935, Black sand deposits of Kodiak Island: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Miscellaneous Report 135-3, 6 p.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1937, Kodiak and adjacent islands, Alaska, in Smith, P.S. and others, Mineral resources of Alaska, 1934: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 880, p. 111-184, 1 map sheet, scale 1:250,000.

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