West Fork-Post River

The West Fork-Post River is a copper and silver 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: West Fork-Post River

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Zinc

Location

State: Alaska
District: McGrath

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Mafic Intrusive Rock
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Pliocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Sphalerite

Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The West Fork-Post River was discovered by the late Bruce Reed during mineral investigations for the U.S. Geological Survey in the 1960s (Reed and Elliott, 1968, C 596). Values from selected grab samples collected by Reed and Elliott (1968, C 596) contain up to 45.7 grams/tonne silver, 1.50 percent copper, and 0.07 percent zinc.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Polymetallic vein (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Similar to Veleska-South prospect (MG050) in McGrath B-2 quadrangle.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Reed and Elliott, 1968 (C 596)

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The West Fork-Post River occurrence consists of small lenses and disseminations of pyrrhotite associated with a swarm of northwest-trending mafic dikes that cut argillite of the Early to Late Silurian Terra Cotta Mountains Sandstone, a unit of the Dillinger subterrane (Bundtzen and others, 1988; Bundtzen, Harris, and Gilbert, 1997). Samples collected by Reed and Elliott (1968, C 596) contained semi-massive pyrrhotite and minor chalcopyrite and sphalerite. Values from selected grab samples on the surface run up to 45.7 grams/tonne silver, 1.50 percent copper, and 0.07 percent zinc.

References

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., and Holloway, C.D., 1977, Map showing metalliferous mineral deposits in the western part of southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-169-F, 38 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Reed, B.L. and Elliott, R.L., 1968, Geochemical anomalies and metalliferous deposits between Windy Fork and Post River, southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 596, 22 pages.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Harris, E.E., and Gilbert, W.G., 1997, Geologic Map of the eastern McGrath quadrangle, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Report of Investigations 97-14, 34 pages, one sheet, scale 1:125,000.

Reference (Deposit): Reed, B.L., and Elliott, R.L., 1968, Results of stream sediment sampling in parts of the southern Alaska Range: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report, 9 pages, one sheet, 1:500,000 scale.

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