Homestake Creek

The Homestake Creek 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: Homestake Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Tungsten

Location

State: Alaska

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: Placer Au-PGE

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Scheelite

Comments

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary; placer deposits on the active floodplains of the area are probably the result of at least two cycles of erosion and placer developement.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Cobb, 1975 (OFR 75-429)

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Sainsbury and others (1969) show the lower 5,000 feet of the channel of Homestake Creek to have been placer mined.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Placer mining for gold took place here as early as 1903 (Brooks, 1904). Sainsbury and others (1969) show the lower 5,000 feet of Homestake Creek to have been placer mined. One-fourth mile upstream from the mouth, mining encountered 4 to 5 feet of muck over fine sand on bedrock (Collier and others, 1908). Some of the gold is coarse with a nugget worth $14.40 (0.8 ounces) being recovered by early operations (Collier and others, 1908). Scheelite is reported to be present in the placer deposits (Anderson, 1947; Moxham and West, 1953). Bedrock is extensively mantled by tundra in the area but where exposed in nearby uplands it is part of a low grade, lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage (Sainsbury and others, 1969; Till and others, 1986). Some bedrock , graphitic and calcareous mica schist, was apparently exposed by early mining operations (Collier and others, 1908). Placer deposits on the active floodplains of the area are probably the result of at least two cycles of erosion and placer developement.

References

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Bendeleben quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-417, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Collier, A. J., Hess, F.L., Smith, P.S., and Brooks, A.H., 1908, The gold placers of parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, including the Nome, Council, Kougarok, Port Clarence, and Goodhope precincts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 328, 343 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1904, Placer mining in Alaska in 1903: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 225, p. 43-59.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1975, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bendeleben quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 75-429, 123 p.

Reference (Deposit): Till, A.B., Dumoulin, J.A., Gamble, B. ., Kaufman, D.S., and Carroll, P.I., 1986, Preliminary geologic map and fossil data, Soloman, Bendeleben, and southern Kotzebue quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 86-276, 10 p., 3 plates, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Moxham, R.M., and West, W.S., 1953, Radioactivity investigations in the Serpentine-Kougarok area, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 265, 11 p.

Reference (Deposit): Sainsbury, C.L., Kachadoorian, Reuban, Hudson, Travis, Smith, T.E., Richards, T.R., and Todd, W.E., 1969, Reconnaissance geologic maps and sample data, Teller A-1, A-2, A-3, B-1, B-2, B-3, C-1, and Bendeleben A-6, B-6, C-6, D-5, and D-6 quadrangles. Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 377, 49 p., 12 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Anderson, Eskil, 1947, Mineral occurrences other than gold deposits in northwestern Alaska: Alaska Territorial Division of Mines Pamphlet 5-R, 48 p.

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