The Schaeffer 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
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.
Schaeffer MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Schaeffer
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: Prospect
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:
Physiography
Not available
Mineral Deposit Model
Model Name: Hot-spring Hg
Orebody
Not available
Structure
Not available
Alterations
Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification and limonite-staining.
Rocks
Not available
Analytical Data
Not available
Materials
Ore: Cinnabar
Ore: Marcasite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Stibnite
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Quartz
Comments
Comment (Geology): Age = Cretaceous or Tertiary. Inferred to be similar in age to other mercury deposits of southwest Alaska that postdate deposition of mid-Cretaceous clastic sedimentary rocks and intrusion of Upper Cretaceous or Tertiary igneous rocks.
Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = This prospect was discovered by Russell Schaeffer in 1958 and subsequently explored by a few shallow, hand-dug (?) trenches (Sainsbury and MacKevett, 1965, p. 40). The deposit is cinnabar- and stibnite-bearing, quartz-cemented breccia of Triassic chert and siltstone. The breccia is irregular in thickness and trends N 20 W, parallel to bedding in the host rocks. Cinnabar and stibnite are irregularly disseminated in the breccia and locally replace quartz and breccia fragments; the owner reported to Sainsbury that fossils replaced by cinnabar had been found at this prospect. The richest ore contains 1 to 2 percent cinnabar. The breccia is limonite-stained, but pyrite and/or marcasite has only been observed in the altered siltstone.
Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = A few shallow trenches were dug on this prospect.
Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Cinnabar and stibnite disseminated in quartz-cemented breccia (Hot-spring Hg ?; Cox and Singer, 1986; model 27a)
Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Sainsbury and MacKevett, 1965
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 Mountain 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): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Taylor Mountains quadrangle: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-384, 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 Mountains quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-606, 92 p.
The Top Ten Gold Producing States
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.
