Excelsior

Site Name

Primary: Excelsior
Secondary: Cross Vein

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Silver
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: Prospect
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

Not available

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Limonite
Ore: Silver
Ore: Stibnite
Ore: Arsenopyrite
Ore: Galena

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Comments

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

Comment (Production): Production Notes = An unspecified amount of ore from the Excelsior prospect was custom milled in Fairbanks by 1911; however, production figures are not available (Brooks, 1911).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Smith, 1913 (B 525)

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = By 1912, a southern adit 70 feet long and a northern adit 60 feet long had been driven. Both adits are located on the right limit wall of Too Much Gold Creek. In the 70 foot adit, a drift was driven to the south on a crosscutting shear zone (Smith, 1913; B 525).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = By 1911, several prospect pits were reported along a 7-foot-wide mineralized zone containing $10 to $20 gold per ton (0.5 to 0.9 ounces of gold per ton) and $15 to $30 silver per ton (30 to 60 ounces of silver per ton, Brooks, 1911). A second shear contained chiefly galena with about $5 gold per ton (0.25 ounces of gold per ton). An unspecified amount of ore from the Excelsior prospect was custom milled in Fairbanks by 1911; however, production figures are not available. ? By 1912, a southern adit 70 feet long and a northern adit 60 feet long had been driven. Both adits are located on the right-limit wall of Too Much Gold Creek. The shear averages 12 feet wide in the adits, and trends east-west with a steep south dip (Times Publishing Company, 1912; Smith, 1913; B 525). The ore in the adit contained 22 ounces of silver per ton. In the 70 foot adit, a drift had been turned off to the south on a crosscutting shear zone. The country rock in both adits consists of hard quartzite with lesser black carbonaceous schist (Smith, 1913; B 525). High silver grades in the northern adit are in carbonaceous schist that contains minor galena, arsenopyrite and stibnite. Above the Excelsior adits, exposures of fine grained quartz porphyry granite appear to be related to the mineralization in the Excelsior adits. This rock contains small cavities surrounded by limonite after sulfides. Although iron staining is pervasive in this rock, no metallic minerals were noted (Smith, 1913; B 525). ? the Excelsior prospect was examined in 1916 to determine if commercial quantities of antimony existed; however, insufficient quantities were found to warrant exploration and development (Brooks, 1916; B 649). The Excelsior prospect was again examined in 1942 to determine if commercial quantities of antimony existed, however insufficient quantities were found to warrant exploration and development (Killeen and Mertie, 1951).

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References

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

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

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): Brooks, A.H., 1911, The mining industry in 1910, in Brooks, A.K., and others, Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1910: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480-B p. 21-43.

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

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.

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