Khantaak Beach

The Khantaak 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: Khantaak Beach

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Titanium
Secondary: Iron

Location

State: Alaska
District: Yakutat

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

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

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

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Ilmenite
Ore: Magnetite
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Garnet

Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Tarr and Butler (1909, p. 165, 167) reported $3000 in gold produced in 1891, and a probable total of a few hundred ounces of gold from this historic beach placer in 1892, and as late as 1905. Thomas and Berryhill (1962) collected some samples from Khantaak beach in a Bureau of Mines beach sand investigation.

Comment (Commodity): Ore Material = Gold (native)

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Total maximum is a few hundred ounces of native gold.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Tarr and Butler, 1909.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Beach placer: concentration by winnowing of low-grade glacial gravels.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Glacial gravels derived from metamorphic rocks in the Chugach terrane (Hudson, Plafker, and Turner, 1977).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Khantaak Island placer is cut into and largely derived from glacial gravel that forms the island. Winnowing from wave action on very low grade glacial gravel has resulted in transient ruby-black sand layers 0.1 to 0.2 feet thick dispersed along the beach. These layers contain trace amounts of gold and subeconomic amounts of magnetite and ilmenite. Locally the heavy sand layers were rich enough to mine (Tarr, 1906; Tarr, 1909, Tarr and Butler, 1909).? Brooks (1918) reported the existence of gold, but absence of platinum in placer material from the north part of the island.? In addition to the placer gold occurrences on the west facing part of island, Reimnitz and Plafker (1976) reported one sample from the Yakutat side of the island with 0.006 ppm gold.

Comment (Geology): Age = Holocene

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

References

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Yakutat quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-408, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Thomas, B.I., and Berryhill, R. V., 1962, Reconnaissance studies of Alaskan beach sands, eastern Gulf of Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 5986, 40 p.

Reference (Deposit): Tarr, R.S., and Butler, B.S., 1909, Area geology, in Tarr, R. S. and Butler, B. S, The Yakutat Bay region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 64, p. 145-178.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1918, Mineral resources of Alaska, 1916: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 662, 469 p.

Reference (Deposit): Tarr, R.S., 1906, The Yakutat Bay region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 284, p. 61-64.

Reference (Deposit): Tarr, R.S., 1909, Physiography and glacial geology, in Tarr, R. S. and Butler, B. S, The Yakutat Bay region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 64, p. 11-144.

Reference (Deposit): Hudson, T.L., Plafker, George, and Turner, D. L., 1977, Metamorphic rocks of the Yakutat-St. Elias Area, South-central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Journal of Research, v. 5, no. 2, p. 173-184.

Reference (Deposit): Reimnitz, Erk, and Plafker, George, 1976, Marine gold placers along the Gulf of Alaska margin: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1415, 16 p.

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