Lucky Day

The Lucky Day is a mercury and antimony 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.

Site Name

Primary: Lucky Day

Commodity

Primary: Mercury
Primary: 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: Hot-spring Hg

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Variable quartz-carbonate-clay alteration of graywacke,siltstone, and mafic intrusive country rock.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Stibnite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Mercury
Ore: Cinnabar
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Limonite
Gangue: Dickite

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 = The Lucky Day mine area includes cinnabar- and stibnite-bearing deposits along the west side of upper Canary Gulch and at the divide between Canary Gulch and Cinnabar Creek (Rutledge, 1050). During WWII, 3,600 pounds of cinnabar-rich materials recovered from residual colluvial deposits at the head of Canary Gulch yielded 26 flasks of mercury (Rutledge, 1950, p. 4; Cady and others, 1955, p. 114). The lode deposits are in sedimentary and igneous rocks inferred to be part of a Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic sequence; several Triassic fossil localities are in the Cinnabar Creek area about 3 miles north of the Lucky Day mine (Sainsbury and MacKevett, 1965).? the Lucky Day mine area has been explored by many surface pits, dozer trenches, and shallow shafts (Rutledge, 1950; Cady, 1955). In the 50-foot wide and 350-foot long mineralized zone along the west side of upper Canary Gulch, cinnabar, quartz, and stibnite form thin and sparse films along bedding plane faults, fractures, and joints, and occur as fillings between graywacke and shale fragments in breccia; some native mercury is also present (Rutledge, 1950). Three samples of the highest grade material in this zone respectively contained 0.31, 0.18 and 0.07 percent Hg and 0.16, 0.19, and 0.15 percent Sb (Rutledge, 1950, p. 6). Seven samples collected from this zone by the owners contained a trace to 0.10 percent Hg (Rutledge, 1950, p. 6).? Mineralization on the divide between Canary Gulch and Cinnabar Creek is localized along and near the faulted contact of an altered, approximately 10-foot wide mafic dike or sill. The mafic intrusive body is almost parallel to bedding in the enclosing graywacke and siltstone, which strikes N 5-10 W and dips moderately west (Sainsbury and MacKevett, 1965). The mineralized zone is along the west contact of the mafic intrusive; it is about 900 feet long, 50 feet wide, and exposed over a vertical distance of about 130 feet (Rutledge, 1950; Cady and others, 1955; Sainsbury and MacKevett, 1965). High-grade mineralization within this zone consists of discontinuous, massive, cinnabar veins and lenses, averaging about 1 inch thick, along the intrusive contact and in narrow offshoots along bedding plane faults in structurally overlying graywacke. Cinnabar is accompanied by quartz, stibnite, dickite, limonite, and some native mercury. Eight samples from this zone contained 0.14 to 15.7 percent Hg and 0.32 to 3.0 percent Sb (Rutledge, 1950, fig. 5). Hawley and others (1969) reported that two ore samples respectively contained 70.10 and 35.87 percent Hg, 0.008 and 0.05 ppm Au, 1,500 and 700 ppm Zn, and greater than 10,000 and 300 ppm Sb. The graywacke, siltstone, and mafic intrusive country rocks are variably altered and replaced by quartz, carbonate, and clay minerals; some pyrite is present in the altered mafic intrusive rocks but it has not been observed in association with cinnabar.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Rutledge, 1950

Comment (Commodity): Gangue = Carbonate

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The Lucky Day mine area has been explored by many surface pits, dozer trenches, and shallow shafts (Rutledge, 1950; Cady, 1955).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = During WWII, 3,600 pounds of cinnabar-rich materials recovered from residual colluvial deposits at the head of Canary Gulch yielded 26 flasks of mercury (Rutledge, 1950, p. 4; Cady and others, 1955, p. 114). The recovered ore was transported to Sleetmute by backpacking and boat. It was retorted at the Red Devil mine in 1942-43.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Cinnabar- and stibnite-bearing veins (Hot-spring Hg? Cox and Singer, 1986; model 27a)

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): Hawley, C.C., Martinez, E.E., and Marinenko, John, 1969, Geochemical data on the South ore zone, White Mountain mine, and on the gold content of other mercury ores, southwestern Alaska, in Some shorter mineral resources investigations in Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 615, p. 16-20.

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): Rutledge, F.A., 1950, Investigation of mercury deposits, Cinnabar Creek area, Georgetown and Akiak districts, Kuskokwim region, southwestern Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 4719, 9 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): Sainsbury, C.L. and MacKevett, E.M., Jr., 1965, Quicksilver deposits of southwestern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1187, 89 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cady, W.M., Wallace, R.E., Hoare, J.M., and Webber, E.J., 1955, The central Kuskokwim region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 268, 132 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.