Minook Creek Placer

The Minook Creek Placer 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

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: Minook Creek Placer

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver

Location

State: Alaska

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Type: Surface

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Discovery Year: 1893
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Silver
Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Development): PROBABLY PROSPECTED AS EARLY AS 1882; COARSE GOLD FOUND IN 1893. INTERMITTANT MINING FROM 1902-40 REPORTED. LARGE HYDRAULIC PLANT OPERATED, 1905. MINED ALSO BY OPEN-CUT. NO DREDGING.

Comment (Deposit): TERRACE GRAVELS AURIFEROUS; GOLD RECONCENTRATED INTO RICH PLACERS ON SOME OF TRIBUTARIES, BUT PLACERS ON MAIN STREAM ARE TOO LOW GRADE TO SUPPORT SMALL SCALE MINING. MUCH OF MINING WAS BAR SNIPPING AND SMALL OPERATIONS IN RICHER SPOTS. GRAVEL GENERALLY 10-20 FT. THICK OVERLAIN BY A FEW FEET OF CARBONACEOUS SILT. NUGGETS OF NATIVE SILVER ACCOMPANY GOLD.

Comment (Deposit): THIS SITE NAME WAS CREATED BY THE REPORTER OR OTHER USGS EMPLOYEE BASED ON PROXIMITY TO SOME MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE.

Comment (Deposit): THE GRADIENT OF MINOOK CREEK FROM SLATE CR. TO THE YUKON RIVER IS ABOUT 40 FT TO THE MILE. DESCRIPTION FOR ENTIRE LENGTH OF MINOOK CR. FROM SLATE CR. TO THE YUKON RIVER. MOST OF REPORTED MINING PROBABLY WAS ON TRIBUTARIES. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Comment (Geology): VALLEY NARROW AND DEEPLY INCISED. VALLEY HAS SEVERAL TERRACES ON EAST SIDE AT ELEVATIONS 10, 90, 155, 190, 255, 480, AND 960 FT. ABOVE CREEK LEVEL, BETWEEN THE MOUTHS OF HUNTER AND LITTLE MINOOK CREEKS. SOME TERRACES EXTEND UP TRIBUTARY VALLEYS. TOP TERRACE CAPPED BY 100 FT. OF PLIOCENE (?) GRAVEL. ; MAJOR.UNITS: BEDROCK IS CLOSELY FOLDED MIDDLE PALEOZOIC SLATE, LIMESTONE, QUARTZITE, AND SCHIST; AND PERMIAN TO TRIASSIC DIABASE, SHALE, AND TUFF; TERTIARY CONTINENTAL ROCKS NEAR MOUTH. ; REG.COM: MOST OF GOLD CAME ORIGINALLY FROM BEDROCK SOURCES IN THE LOWER RATHER THAN THE UPPER PART OF ITS VALLEY, THEREFORE, IT IS IMPROBABLE THAT MUCH PLACER GOLD EXISTS ABOVE THE MOUTH OF SLATE CREEK. BELOW THE MOUTH OF SLATE CR. MINOOK CR. HAS RECEIVED GOLD BOTH FROM THE EROSION OF OLDER BENCH GRAVEL AND FROM BEDROCK SOURCES, BUT THE VALLEY IS WIDE AND THE PAY SCATTERED.

Comment (Location): USGS MF-371, LOC. 45. COORDINATES GIVEN FOR CENTER OF PLACER GROUND BETWEEN RUBY AND SLATE CREEKS. LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2,500,000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).

References

Reference (Deposit): USGS MF-371 (B-1), LOC. 45

Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL. 844-D, P. 174-77.

Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL. 337, P. 65-72

Reference (Deposit): USGS OF 85-213, P. 37

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.