Apex Gold-Silver Mine

The Apex Gold-Silver Mine is a gold and silver mine located in Alaska at an elevation of 1,001 feet.

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

Satelite View

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: Apex Gold-Silver Mine

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Tertiary: Copper
Tertiary: Lead
Tertiary: Zinc
Tertiary: Antimony
Tertiary: Tungsten

Location

State: Alaska
District: Chichagof

Land Status

Land ownership: National Forest
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Type: Underground

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1920
Year Last Production: 1939
Discovery Year: 1919
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Structure

Type: L
Description: Faults And Aplite Dikes In Amphibolite Mass.

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Diorite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: APEX LODE ASSAYS IN ADIT AVERAGED 1.9 OZ/TON AU, VEIN SURFACE OUTCROP AVERAGED 4.57 OZ/TON AU.

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Scheelite
Ore: Sphalerite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Sericite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): NO MINING ACTIVITY SINCE 1939. FAULT SEPARATES APEX VEIN FROM EL NIDO VEIN TO THE SOUTH. MOST OF ORE IN APEX MINE BELIEVED MINED OUT. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Comment (Commodity): ASSAY DATA FROM USGS B 773, P. 121.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): ESTIMATED RESERVES OF BOTH APEX AND EL NIDO MINES ARE 25,000 OZ. AU, ACCORDING TO USGS MF-1476-B, P. 1.

Comment (Location): USGS B 1058-E, PLATE 13; USGS MF-467, LOC. 6; USGS MF 1476-B, LOC. 4. LOCATION IS PORTAL OF APEX MINE. 0.45 MI. NW OF EL NIDO MINE. LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2,500,000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).

Comment (Development): 12 UNPATENTED CLAIMS STAKED IN 1919 BY J.H. CANN (APEX-EL NIDO MINING CO.). DRIVING OF TUNNEL STARTED IN 1920, MINING CONTINUED INTERMITTENTLY UNTIL 1939. 55 LODE CLAIMS ACTIVE AS OF 1977, ACCORDING TO USBM OFR 20-73

Comment (Deposit): GOLD-BEARING QUARTZ VEIN IN FAULT IN AMPHIBOLITE MASS. VEIN STRIKES N 42 DEGREES-60 DEGREES E, DIPS 30 DEGREES-80 DEGREES NW, PLUNGES 50 DEGREES-60 DEGREES NE, AND IS TRACEABLE FOR LENGTH OF OVER 2000 FT., VERTICAL DISTANCE OF 600 FT. VEIN PINCHES AND SWELLS FROM SEVERAL INCHES TO 5 FT. WIDE, WITH AVERAGE OF 31 IN.. VEIN CONTAINS QUARTZ, ARSENOPYRITE, PYRITE, CHALCOPYRITE, GALENA, SPHALERITE, TETRAHEDRITE, TRACES OF SCHEELITE, AND FREE GOLD. OFFSHOOT VEINS EXTEND AT LEAST 700 FT. SOUTH. WALLROCK ADJACENT TO VEIN IS ALTERED AND CONTAINS DISSEMINATED SULFIDES AND GOLD. MANY SMALL QUARTZ VEINLETS AND STRINGERS BRANCH OFF OF THE MAIN APEX VEIN. FREE GOLD OCCURS ALONG FRACTURES AND SHEAR ZONES IN THE QUARTZ VEINS, AND AS VERY FINE PARTICLES UP TO PINHEAD SIZE DISSEMINATED IN THE QUARTZ.

Comment (Workings): 2,400 FT. OF TUNNELS AND 1,200 FT. OF RAISES OPENED ON 4 LEVELS. AERIAL TRAMWAY FROM MINE TO MILL. UNDERGROUND WORKINGS IN POOR CONDITION WITH TIMBER ROTTING AS OF 1951, BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT VANDALIZED OR DESTROYED BY WEATHER.

Comment (Geology): MES-PAL AMPHIBOLITE MASS WITH CRET-JUR (?) APLITE DIKES IN CRET-JUR DIORITE

References

Reference (Deposit): USGS B 1058-E, P. 143, 200-202, PLS. 13, 14 (1959)

Reference (Deposit): USGS B 773, P. 114-119 (1923)

Reference (Deposit): USGS B 929, P. 143-145 (1941)

Reference (Deposit): USGS OF 78-450, P. 8-11 (1978)

Reference (Deposit): USGS MF-1476-B, P. 1, LOC. 4 (1982)

Reference (Deposit): USBM OFR 20-73, LOC. 5 (1978)

Reference (Deposit): USGS MF-467, LOC. 6 (1972)

Reference (Other Database): BAG-B-1058-E-PL-13

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These ten states contributed the most to the gold production that built the West from 1848 through the 1930s. The Top Ten Gold Producing States.