Rhyolite

The Rhyolite is a mercury 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: Rhyolite

Commodity

Primary: Mercury
Secondary: Antimony

Location

State: Alaska
District: Aniak

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: Almaden Hg

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Andesitic, rhyolite porphyry dikes and sills altered to silica-carbonate rock.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Stibnite
Ore: Cinnabar
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Clay

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Trenched in 1957 one year after discovery. USBM trenched and sampled in 1958-59.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Sainsbury and MacKevett, 1965, p. 46-49

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Small veinlets, pods, lenses, and disseminations of cinnabar occur in faults and shear zones in silica-carbonate altered dikes and shattered graywacke. Veinlets up to 0.5 in thick, pods up to 4 in thick occur at intersection of veinlets. Stibnite float was found near the airstrip at summit of Juninggulra Mountain.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Apparently, a few flasks of mercury were produced.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Trenching difficult because of permafrost.

Comment (Commodity): Gangue = carbonate

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Epithermal vein, disseminated, shear zone; mercury-antimony

References

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Dillingham, Sleetmute, and Taylor Mountains quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-606, 92 p.

Reference (Deposit): Sainsbury, C.L. and MacKevett, E.M., Jr., 1965, Quicksilver deposits of southwestern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1187, 89 p.

Reference (Deposit): Miller, M.L., Belkin, H.E., Blodgett, R.B., Bundtzen, T.K., Cady, J.W., Goldfarb, R.J., Gray, J.E., McGimsey, R.G., and Simpson, S.L., 1989, Pre-field study and mineral resource assessment of the Sleetmute quadrangle, southwestern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 89-363, 115 p., 3 plates, scale 1:250,000.

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): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Sleetmute quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-368, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Dillingham, Sleetmute, and Taylor Mountain quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-606, 92 p.

Reference (Deposit): Rytuba, J.J., 1986, Descriptive model of Almaden Hg, in Cox, D.P., and Singer, D.A., eds. Mineral Deposit Models: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1693, p. 180.

Reference (Deposit): Maloney , R.P., 1962, Trenching and sampling of the Rhyolite mercury prospect, Kuskokwim River basin, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 6141, 43 p.

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