Chatham

Site Name

Primary: Chatham

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Antimony

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Fairbanks

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Land Status

Not available

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Not available

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

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

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Not available

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Scorodite and stibiconite in carbonaceous quartzite.

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Stibnite

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Comments

Comment (Production): Production Notes = On August 12, 1912, a 12-ton-per-day two-stamp Joshua Hendy mill began treating the Chatham mine gold ore (Times Publishing Company, 1912). Approximately 100 tons of stibnite was mined from a four-foot-thick pod in the east drift (Stewart, 1915). Total amount of gold and antimony ore production is not known.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = By mid-1916, the main Chatham adit had been driven 1,300 feet (Brooks, 1918). Approximately 400 feet of the shear zone had been stoped from the drift level to the surface; the workings extended from a point 175 feet northwest of the main adit to a point 225 feet southeast of it (Brooks, 1914). A second adit was collared 120 feet below the Chatham adit.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Cobb, 1976 (OFR 76-633)

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

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

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The prospect was located in 1908 when Fred Fey discovered a large quartz boulder with visible gold (Times Publishing Company, 1912). About 150 feet below this discovery, an adit revealed a shear zone striking N 60 W and dipping 65 to 80 S. The shear exhibits prominent slickensides showing nearly horizontal strike-slip motion (Smith, 1913; B 525). Average ore width in the stopes was 14 inches (Times Publishing Company, 1912).? A stibnite-bearing shear zone striking east and dipping south cuts the Chatham shear in the southeast drift about 150 feet from the main adit (Brooks, 1914). The stibnite occurs in massive, lenticular pods oriented diagonally to the strike of the shear zone. The shear zone is 10 to 15 feet wide and was traced on the surface for over 500 feet. Individual pods range from a few inches to several feet in width and are 10 to 12 feet in length. In a raise 825 feet from the portal, the stibnite is along a N 70 E, vertically-dipping shear zone with about 18 inches of pure stibnite in a clay-rich gouge zone (Brooks, 1918).? This mine produced both gold and anitmony ore. Ore from the Chatham mine was estimated to contain $30 to $40 per ton in gold (1.45 to 1.93 ounces of gold per ton) (Times Publishing Company, 1912). Workings consisted of the main 1300 foot Chatham adit and a Lower adit which was collared 120 feet below the Chatham adit.? the Chatham mine area was examined by Fairbanks Exploration Inc. in 1986 and preliminary sampling conducted (Fairbanks Exploration Inc., unpublished report, 1986). A sample taken from a small pit near the head of Chatham Creek contained 1800 ppb gold, with anomalous silver, arsenic and antimony. The sample consisted of scorodite and stibiconite in stained carbonaceous quartzite with no visible sufides. Visible gold was found in the pit from which this sample was extracted.

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References

Reference (Deposit): Smith, S.S., 1917, The mining industry in the territory of Alaska during the calendar year 1915: U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 142, 66 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, S.S., 1917, The mining industry in the territory of Alaska during the calendar year 1916: U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 153, 89 p.

Reference (Deposit): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1918, Lode mining in the Fairbanks district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 662-H, p. 403-424.

Reference (Deposit): Joesting, H.R., 1943, Strategic mineral occurrences in interior Alaska, supplement to pamphlet no. 1: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Pamphlet 2, 26 p.

Reference (Deposit): Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Lode mining near Fairbanks, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-J, p. 321-355.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Livengood quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-413, 2 sheets, 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 Livengood quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-819, 241 p.

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): Smith, P.S., 1936, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1934: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 868-A, p. 1-91.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1938, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1936: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-A, p. 1-107.

Reference (Deposit): Joesting, H.R., 1942, Strategic mineral occurences in interior Alaska: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Pamphlet 1, 46 p.

Reference (Deposit): Ebbley, N., and Wright, W.S., 1948, Antimony deposits in Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 4173, 41 p.

Reference (Deposit): Freeman, C.J., 1992, 1991 Golden Summit project final report, volume 2: Historical summary of lode mines and prospects in the Golden Summit project area, Alaska: Avalon Development Corp., 159 p. (Report held by Freegold Recovery Inc. USA, Vancouver, British Columbia.)

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1914, Mineral resources of Alaska in 1913: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592, p. 340-341.

Reference (Deposit): Times Publishing Company, 1912, Tanana Magazine, Quartz Edition: Fairbanks, Alaska 76 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1918, Mineral resources of Alaska, 1916: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 662, 469 p.

Reference (Deposit): Chapin, Theodore, 1919, Mining in the Fairbanks district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 692-F, p. 321-327.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1917, The mining industry in the territory of Alaska during the calendar year 1916: U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 153, 89 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1917, The mining industry in the territory of Alaska during the calendar year 1915: U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 142, 66 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1916, Antimony deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 649, 67 p.

Reference (Deposit): Eakin, H.M., 1915, Placer mining in Seward Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 622-I, p. 366-373.

Reference (Deposit): Maloney, W., 1915, Annual report of the Mine Inspector to the Governor of Alaska for 1915: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Annual Report 1915, 35 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1914, Mineral resources of Alaska in 1913: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592, p. 340-341.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1913, Lode mining near Fairbanks: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 542-F, p. 137-202.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1913, Lode mining near Fairbanks, in Prindle, L.M., A geologic reconnaissance of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 525, p. 153-216.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1912, The Alaska mining industry in 1911, in Brooks, A.H., and others, Mineral resources of Alaska, 1911: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 520, p. 17-44.

Reference (Deposit): Killeen, P.L., and Mertie, J.B., 1951, Antimony ore in the Fairbanks District, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 51-46, 43 p.

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.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-633, 72 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1916, Antimony deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 649, 67 p.

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