Sanford

The Sanford 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

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Site Name

Primary: Sanford
Secondary: Lone Tree

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Fairbanks

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

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Hill, 1933

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Production): Production Notes = By 1931, about 150 tons of ore that yielded $6,700 in gold (about 324 ounces) was milled from the property (Hill, 1933, p. 149).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Schist-hosted gold-quartz vein

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Sanford mine is on a ridge near the contact of biotite schist of the Muskox sequence with bleached feldspathic, quartzose schist and quartz-muscovite schist, quartzite, and chlorite-quartz schist of the Fairbanks Schist (Newberry and others, 1996). Gold was mined from a quartz vein that strikes N. 40 E. and dips 45 SE. By 1931, about 150 tons of ore that yielded $6,700 in gold (about 324 ounces of gold) was milled from the property (Hill, 1933, p. 149). Part of this ore was said to have had an average grade of $52 in gold per ton (2.42 ounces of gold per ton) (Hill, 1933, p. 149). The shaft on the vein was 150 feet deep in 1931. About 30 feet east of the main shaft, some high-grade ore in a vertical vein was explored by several suface pits.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = James Hill (1933, p. 149) made a visit to the property in 1931, and the following is a summary of his observations. A 105-foot shaft was sunk on the dip of a vein oriented N. 40 E., 45 SE. From the surface to a depth of 20 feet, the vein had been stoped both north and south of the shaft. There was a 65-foot drift to the south at the 20-foot level of the shaft and a 60-foot drift to the south on the 65-foot level. All the ore above the 65-foot level had been stoped. Some high-grade ore in a vertical vein striking N. 20 E. was explored by several suface pits about 30 feet east of the main shaft.

References

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-410, 1 sheet, 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 Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-662, 174 p.

Reference (Deposit): Newberry, R.J., Bundtzen, T.K., Clautice, K.C., Combellick, R.A., Douglas, T., Laird, G.M., Liss, S.A., Pinney, D.S., Reifenstuhl, R.R., and Solie, D.N., 1996, Preliminary geologic map of the Fairbanks mining district, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Public Data File 96-16, 17 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Hill, J.M., 1933, Lode deposits of the Fairbanks District, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 849-B, p. 29-163.

Reference (Deposit): Chapman, R.M., and Foster, R.L., 1969, Lode mines and prospects in the Fairbanks district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 625-D, 25 p., 1 plate.

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