Breen West (Bison)

The Breen West (Bison) is a antimony and 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: Breen West (Bison)

Commodity

Primary: Antimony
Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Nome

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

Model Name: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
Model Name: Simple Sb (veins, pods, etc)

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Disseminated arsenopyrite in sheared metasedimentary schist.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Arsenopyrite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Stibnite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Model Number = 27d?, 36a?

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Most of the area is controlled by Bering Straits Regional Native Corporation.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = A lode was found at the nearby Sliscovich claim by 1905. Discoveries were subsequently made on the nearby Bison and Haymaker claims that were patented to Henry P. Breen in 1924. The area was probably actively prospected in World War II for strategic minerals. Some work on the Breen claims was done by GCO Minerals in 1968 and 1969. Extensive work was begun by Mapco in 1981; in 1982 and 1983 Mapco drilled 32 open-hole rotary drill holes on a stratabound target in metasedimentary schist. Bear Creek Mining Company optioned the property in 1984 and conducted geologic mapping, geochemical sampling, and a 4-hole core drill program.?They concluded that there was weak pseudo-stratabound mineralization, but that high-grade stibnite-gold veins were steeply dipping and cross-cut the metamorphic structure. BHP Minerals conducted geologic, geochemical, and geophysical studies, including a DIGHEM airborne survey, between 1988 and 1990 in the area. They found a very large gold and antimony anomaly in soils and also confirmed a possible high-grade vein trend in the Breen and Sliscovich areas. BHP pulled out in 1991. Kennecott Exploration Company conducted regional studies in 1995, including re-examination of the Breen and Sliscovich lodes (NM084, NM085, NM086).

Comment (Geology): Age = Mid-Cretaceous; controlled by structures that post-date regional metamorphism; may be same age as some lode gold deposits of Seward Peninsula.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Disseminated, gold-bearing sulfide mineralization in calcareous metasedimentary schist; simple Sb deposits; low sulfide, Au-quartz vein? (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 27d and 36a).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Stevens, 1991; this report

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = have proposed that it is an intermediate volcanic unit (D. Simpson, Bear Creek Mining Company, written communication, 1984).? the metamorphic rocks are part of the Nome Group, which was derived from Proterozoic to early Paleozoic protoliths (Till and Dumoulin, 1994). The Nome Group underwent regional blueschist facies metamorphism in the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous (Sainsbury, Coleman, and Kachadoorian, 1970; Forbes and others, 1984; Thurston, 1985; Armstrong and others, 1986; Hannula and McWilliams, 1995). The blueschist facies rocks were recrystallized to greenschist facies or higher metamorphic grades in conjunction with regional extension, crustal melting, and magmatism in the mid-Cretaceous (Hudson and Arth, 1983; Miller and Hudson, 1991; Miller and others, 1992; Dumitru and others, 1995; Hannula and others, 1995; Hudson, 1994; Amato and others, 1994; Amato and Wright, 1997, 1998). Lode gold-antimony mineralization on Seward Peninsula is mostly related to the higher temperature metamorphism in the mid-Cretaceous (Apodoca, 1994; Ford, 1993 [thesis]; Ford and Snee, 1996; Goldfarb and others, 1997).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = The surface workings on the Breen West mine are the probable source of 14 tons of ore that were produced in about 1920. Reportedly only gold was paid for, although the ore contained about 10 percent antimony (Anderson, 1947).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Breen West deposit, as exposed on the Bison Lode claim, includes quartz-stibnite veins with some calcite in metasedimentary schist. The quartz-stibnite veins are like those at the adjacent Sliscovich mine (NM086). The metasedimentary schist host rock to the quartz-stibnite veins is also mineralized. A thin zone of metasedimentary schist (calc-schist, quartz-mica schist, and schistose marble) separates feldspathic schist or orthogneiss from underlying massive marble (D. Simpson, Bear Creek Mining Company, written communication, 1984). The lower 5 to 30 feet of the metasedimentary schist zone is sheared and brecciated. Geologic studies and open-hole rotary drilling carried out by Mapco in 1982 and 1983 suggested that mineralization could be stratabound in the metasedimentary schist. Mapco drilled a total of 32 open-hole rotary holes and defined an area of about 200 feet by 600 feet that contained stibnite and about 0.2 ounce of gold per ton (Stevens, 1991). Bear Creek Mining Company took over the property in 1984 and drilled four core holes that totaled 1,423 feet in length. The drilling appeared to confirm low-grade mineralization, about 0.01-0.03 ounce of gold per ton, in the metasedimentary schist. This drilling did not confirm Mapco's best intercept of 0.125 ounces of gold per ton between 155 and 173 feet in drill hole MD-DH-3. A Bear Creek Mining core hole twinned MD-DH-3 but found only 0.024 ounce of gold per ton gold over 25 feet in the same interval. D. Simpson (Bear Creek Mining Company, written communication, 1984) concluded that high grade gold-stibnite mineralization was localized along east-west-trending, high-angle structures, but that there was also epigenetic psuedo-stratabound mineralization in the metasedimentary schist. Arsenopyrite appeared to be characteristic constituent of the sheared, gold-bearing schist.? In a detailed soil geochemistry program, Bear Creek Mining found as much as 3,300 ppb gold, 7,300 ppm antimony and greater than 1,000 ppm arsenic in soils over the Breen West mine. High-grade samples from semi-massive stibnite veins contained as much as 2.85 ounces of gold per ton. The vein targets, although of very high grade and as much as 4 feet thick, were not of interest to Bear Creek Mining, who returned the property to its owners. The surface workings on the Breen West mine are the probable source of 14 tons of ore that were produced in about 1920. Reportedly, only gold was paid for, although the ore contained about 10 percent antimony (Anderson, 1947).? the Breen West mine is in metasedimentary schist between a marble-rich section and an overlying feldspathic unit mapped as a granodioritic sill or orthogneiss by Hummel (1962 [MF248]). It appears to be within the massive marble unit as mapped by Bundtzen and others (1994); in this area, Hummel's mapping seems to more correctly represent the geology. Subsequent workers have mapped the feldspathic unit as chlorite-feldspar schist and

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

References

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-463, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Sainsbury, C.L., Coleman, R.G., and Kachadoorian, Reuben, 1970, Blueschist and related greenschist faces rocks of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, in Geological Survey research 1970: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 700-B, p. B33-B42.

Reference (Deposit): Forbes, R.B., Evans, B.W., and Thurston, S.P., 1984, Regional progressive high-pressure metamorphism, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Journal of Metamorphic Geology, v. 2, p. 43-54.

Reference (Deposit): Amato, J.M., and Wright, J.E., 1998, Geochronologic investigations of magmatism and metamorphism within the Kigluaik Mountains gneiss dome, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, in Clough, J.G., and Larson, Frank, eds., Short Notes on Alaskan Geology 1997: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Professional Report 118a, p. 1-21.

Reference (Deposit): Hudson, T.L., and Arth, J. G., 1983, Tin-granites of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 94, p. 768-790.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File report 78-93, 213 p.

Reference (Deposit): Apodoca, L. E., 1994, Genesis of lode gold deposits of the Rock Creek area, Nome mining district, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Boulder, Colorado, University of Colorado, Ph.D. dissertation, 208 p.

Reference (Deposit): Ford, R.C., 1993, Geology, geochemistry, and age of gold lodes at Bluff and Mt. Distin, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Golden, Colorado School of Mines, Ph.D. dissertation, 302 p.

Reference (Deposit): Till, A.B., and Dumoulin, J.A, 1994, Geology of Seward Peninsula and St. Lawrence Island, in Plafker, G., and Berg, H.C., eds., The Geology of Alaska: Geological Society of America, The Geology of North America, DNAG, v. G-1, p. 141-152.

Reference (Deposit): Hudson, T.L. 1994, Crustal melting events in Alaska, in Plafker, G., and Berg, H. C., eds., The Geology of Alaska: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America, The Geology of North America, v. G-1, p. 657-670.

Reference (Deposit): Dumitru, T.A., Miller, E.L., O'Sullivan, P.B., Amato, J.M., Hannula, K.A., Calvert, A.T., and Gans, P.B., 1995, Cretaceous to Recent extension in the Bering Strait region, Alaska: Tectonics, v. 14, p. 549-563.

Reference (Deposit): Hannula, K.A., Miller, E.L., Dumitru, T.A., Lee, Jeffrey, and Rubin, C.M., 1995, Structural and metamorphic relations in the southwest Seward Peninsula, Alaska; Crustal extension and the unroofing of blueschists: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 107, p. 536-553.

Reference (Deposit): Miller, E.L., Calvert, A.T., and Little, T.A., 1992, Strain-collapsed metamorphic isograds in a sillimanite gneiss dome, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Geology, v. 20, p. 487-490.

Reference (Deposit): Amato, J.M., Wright, J.E., Gans, P.B., and Miller, E.L., 1994, Magmatically induced metamorphism and deformation in the Kigluaik gneiss dome, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Tectonics, v. 13, p. 515-527.

Reference (Deposit): Stevens, D.L., 1991, Mt. Distin prospect, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Unpublished report for Bering Straits Native Corporation, Nome, Alaska, 22 p.

Reference (Deposit): Armstrong, R.L., Harakal, J.E., Forbes, R.B., Evans, B.W., and Thurston, S.P., 1986, Rb-Sr and K-Ar study of metamorphic rocks of the Seward Peninsula and southern Brooks Range, Alaska, in Evans, B.W., and Brown, E.H., eds., Blueschists and eclogites: Geological Society of America Memoir 164, p. 184-203.

Reference (Deposit): Thurston, S.P., 1985, Structure, petrology, and metamorphic history of the Nome Group blueschist terrane, Salmon Lake area, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 96, p. 600-617.

Reference (Deposit): Ford, R.C., and Snee, L.W., 1996, 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology of white mica from the Nome district, Alaska: The first ages of lode sources to placer gold deposits in the Seward Peninsula: Economic Geology, v. 91, p. 213-220.

Reference (Deposit): Miller, E.L., and Hudson, T.L., 1991, Mid-Cretaceous extensional fragmentation of a Jurassic-Early Cretaceous compressional orogen, Alaska: Tectonics, v. 10, p. 781-796.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Reger, R.D., Laird, G.M., Pinney, D.S., Clautice, K.H., Liss, S.A., and Cruse, G.R., 1994, Progress report on the geology and mineral resources of the Nome mining district: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Public Data-File 94-39, 21 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Hannula, K.A., and McWilliams, M.O., 1995, Reconsideration of the age of blueschist facies metamorphism on the Seward Peninusla, Alaska, based on phengite 40Ar/39Ar results: Journal of Metamorphic Geology, v. 13, p. 125-139.

Reference (Deposit): Hummel, C.L., 1962, Preliminary geologic map of the Nome D-1 quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-248, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Goldfarb, R.J., Miller, L.D., Leach, D.L., and Snee, L.W, 1997, Gold deposits in metamorphic rocks in Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Mineral deposits of Alaska: Economic Geology Monograph 9, 482 p.

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

Reference (Deposit): Amato, J.M., and Wright, J.E., 1997, Potassic mafic magmatism in the Kigluaik gneiss dome, northern Alaska -- A geochemical study of arc magmatism in an extensional tectonic setting: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. B102, no. 4, p. 8065-8084.

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