Venus

Site Name

Primary: Venus

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Copper
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Molybdenum

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Koyukuk

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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: Porphyry Cu, skarn-related
Model Name: Porphyry Cu

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Not available

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Extensive propylitic alteration, along with restricted areas of sericitic to potassic alteration in meta-intrusives, and hornfels and skarn in adjacent calcareous rocks.

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Bornite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Magnetite
Ore: Molybdenite
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Epidote

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Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Initial claim block was staked from 1967 to 1970 by Bear Creek Mining (Kennecott). Their exploration programs from 1970 to 1974, directed toward evaluating the porphyry copper potential, included 2,465 feet of diamond drilling in five diamond drill holes (all in meta-intrusives) in 1973-1974. Information posted on the Ventures Resource Corporation website (URL http://www.venturesresource.com/) in 1998 describes a 2,000-foot x 7,000-foot geochemical soil survey grid on the property with Cu values greater than 100 ppm and maximum values greater than 2,000 ppm, extending over several thousand feet (Ventures Resource Corporation, 1998). Reconnaissance exploration was reported in 1983, 1990-1991, and 1996.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Ventures Resource Corporation, 1998

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Reserve estimates made on very limited data for the porphyry mineralization range from 300,000 tons of 0.3 percent Cu (Nicholson, 1990) to a potential resource of 495 million pounds of Cu (Ventures Resource Corporation, 1998). In general, the Cu deposits discovered to date in the Chandalar quadrangle have been characterized by relatively small tonnages in high-grade deposits and low grades in disseminated deposits.

Comment (Geology): Age = Devonian based on reported Early Devonian Pb/Pb zircon ages from the associated Baby Creek batholith and Horace Mountain plutons (Dillon and others, 1996).

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = See also: Victor (CH064), Evelyn Lee (CH059), Eva (CH063), and Geroe Creek (CH053). Most of the publications describing this area provide a combined description of the Venus-Victor-Eva prospects. The land (and presumably the original claims) have been acquired by Doyon, Limited via its Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act selections. Alaska Kardex No. 031-53D (Kardex is a card file mining claim information system located at the State of Alaska DNR Public Information Center in Fairbanks).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Venus prospect is generally described as a porphyry copper deposit associated with Cu-Au-Ag skarns (Cobb and Cruz, 1983, Nokleberg and others, 1987). The skarn occurrences at Venus, along with a number of other skarn prospects in the Chandalar district, were described in general by Newberry and others (1986), who noted that many of them exhibit both prograde and retrograde mineral assemblages and that their mineralogy, mineralization, and alteration classify them as continental-margin, porphyry-related copper skarns. Nicholson (1990) noted that some workers have suggested that some of the prospects in the area may have volcanogenic affinities. The local geology at Venus is described by Ventures Resource Corporation (1998) as an elongated, altered and foliated granodiorite pluton bounded on the east by overthrust Skajit Limestone and on the west by Skajit Limestone and gray phyllite, felsic calc-schist, and chloritic schist.? the porphyry mineralization at Venus consists of disseminations and fracture fillings of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and minor molybdenite in schistose Devonian meta-granodiorite porphyry. The meta-granodiorite porphyry is extensively propylitically altered and pyritized (2 percent to 3 percent pyrite), along with restricted zones of sericitic to potassic alteration. The intrusive hosted mineralization grades approximately 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent Cu and generally less than 0.01 ounce of gold per ton (Ventures Resource Corporation, 1998). A hand specimen described by Newberry and others (1986) as porphyry contains quartz, sericite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, chlorite, and molybdenite. An analysis of the hand specimen returned 0.38 percent Cu, 1 ppm Ag, less than 0.1 ppm Au, 0.002 percent Zn, and 0.001 percent Pb.? the skarn mineralization is massive pyrite-chalcopyrite. The skarns are in Devonian Skajit Limestone and calc-schists adjacent to, and as xenoliths within, the meta-intrusives. The skarns are principally garnet-magnetite-diopside bodies displaying retrograde vein and replacement epidote-amphibole-chlorite-calcite-quartz. Mineralization in the skarns is variable but generally runs 1.5 percent to 6 percent Cu, less than 0.01 ounce of gold per ton, and as much as about 1 ounce of silver per ton (Newberry and others, 1986; Nicholson, 1990; Ventures Resource Corporation, 1998). The mineralogy of a skarn hand specimen described by Newberry and others (1986) includes garnet, magnetite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, epidote, actinolite, serpentine and talc. An analysis of this hand specimen returned 2.0 percent Cu, 14.5 ppm Ag, 0.14 ppm Au, 0.014 percent Zn, and 0.002 percent Pb.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Porphyry Cu and Cu porphyry skarn-related deposits (Cox and Singer, 1986; models 17 and 18a)

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References

Reference (Deposit): Newberry, R.J., Allegro, G.L., Cutler, S.E., Hagen-Levelle, D.D., Adams, D.D., Nicholson, L.C., Weglarz, T.B., Bakke, A.A., Clautice, K.H., Coulter, G.A., Ford, M.J., Myers, G.L., and Szumigala, D.J., 1997, Skarn deposits of Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Mineral Deposits of Alaska: Economic Geology Monograph 9, p. 355-395.

Reference (Deposit): Nokleberg, W.J., Bundtzen, T.K., Berg, H.C., Brew, D.A., Grybeck, Donald, Robinson, M.S., Smith, T.E., and Yeend, Warren, 1988, Metallogeny and major mineral deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 88-73, 97 p., 2 plates, scale 1:5,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Maas, K.M., 1987, Maps summarizing land availability for mineral exploration and development in northern Alaska, 1986: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 10-87, 33 quadrangle overlays.

Reference (Deposit): Grybeck, D.J., 1977, Known mineral deposits of the Brooks Range, Alaska: US Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-166C, 41 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Nokleberg, W.J., Bundtzen, T.K., Dawson, K.M., Eremin, R.A., Goryachev, N.A., Koch, R.D., Ratkin, V.V, Rozenblum, I.S., Shpikerman, V.I., Frolov, Y.F., Gorodinsky, M.E., Melnikov, V.D., Diggles, M.F., Ognyanov, N.V., Petrachenko, E.D., Petrochenko, R.I., Pozdeev, A.I., Ross, K.V., Wood, D.H., Grybeck, D., Khanchuck, A.I., Kovbas, L.I., Nekrasov, I.Y., and Sidorov, A.A., 1996, Significant metalliferous and selected non-metalliferous lode mineral deposits and placer districts, and for metallogenesis of the Russian Far East, Alaska, and the Canadian Cordillera: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 96-513-B, 385 p.; U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 96-513-B, 385 p. (CD-ROM format).

Reference (Deposit): Newberry, R.J., Dillon, J.T., and Adams, D.D., 1986, Regionally metamorphosed calc-silicate-hosted deposits of the Brooks Range, northern Alaska: Economic Geology, v. 81, p. 1728-1752

Reference (Deposit): Nokleberg, W.J., Bundtzen, T.K., Berg, H.C., Brew, D.A., Grybeck, D.J., Robinson, M.S., Smith, T.E., and Yeend, W., 1987, Significant metalliferous lode deposits and placer districts of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1786, 104 p.

Reference (Deposit): Adams, D.D., and Dillon, J.T., 1985, Geochemical investigations in the Chandalar C-5 and C-6 quadrangles, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Public-Data File 85-26, 37 p., 3 sheets, scale 1:63,360. (Superseded by RI 88-15.)

Reference (Deposit): Arctic Environmental Information and Data Center, 1982, Mineral terranes of Alaska: University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Arctic Environmental Information and Data Center, 7 sheets, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and Cruz, E.L., 1983, Summaries of data and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Chandalar quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 83-278, 91 p.

Reference (Deposit): Adams, D.D., and Dillon, J.T., 1985, Geochemical investigations in the Chandalar C-5 and C-6 quadrangles, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Public-Data File 85-26, 37 p., 3 sheets, scale 1:63,360. (Superseded by RI 88-15.)

Reference (Deposit): DeYoung, J.H., Jr., 1978, Mineral resources map of the Chandalar quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-878-B, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Nicholson, L.M., 1990, Porphyry copper, copper skarn, and volcanogenic massive sulfide occurrences in the Chandalar copper district, Alaska: University of Alaska, Fairbanks, M.Sc. thesis, 164 p.

Reference (Deposit): Ventures Resource Corporation, 1998, 1997 Annual Report and Website (Worldwide Web URL http://www.venturesresource.com/).
URL: http://www.venturesresource.com/

Reference (Deposit): Nokleberg, W.J., Bundtzen, T.K., Grybeck, D.J., Koch, R.D., Eremin, R.A., Rozenblum, I. S., Sidorov, A.A., Byalobzhesky, S.G., Sosunov, G.M., Shpikerman, V.I., Gorodinsky, M.E., 1993, Metallogenesis of mainland Alaska and the Russian Northeast: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 93-0339, 3 sheets, 230 p.

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