Livengood Creek

The Livengood 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: Livengood Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Tin

Location

State: Alaska
District: Tolovana

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
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: Cassiterite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Scheelite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer gold deposit (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Placer mining has taken place from 1914 to the present. Much of the development and production had been confined to relatively shallow pay in tributaries of Livengood Creek. By 1939, a large auriferous bench that occupied the northwest limit of Livengood Creek valley was defined (Bundtzen and others, 1982). This bench was covered by 80 to 110 feet of muck but because the pay streaks were thawed, extensive drift mining was not possible. A larger company, Livengood Placers, was formed to develop these bench deposits, which vary from 100 to 1,000 feet in width and extend for at least 6 miles (Bundtzen and others, 1982). Gold reserves of over 1 million ounces were defined by drilling prior to 1940. A dredge operated near the town of Livengood in 1940, 1946 and probably other years (Cobb, 1976; OFR 76-633, p. 115). In the winter of 1981, Livengood Joint Ventures (LJV), a consortium of Asamera Minerals, Canadian Natural Resources, and Stanford Mines of Canada and the United States, contracted Doyon, Ltd., to strip overburden from the bench and construct a large settling pond; both projects were completed in June, 1981 (Bundtzen and others, 1982). Annual production from 1978 t0 1981 varied from 800 to about 3,000 ounces of gold (Bundtzen and others, 1982). The washing plant for this operation consisted of two sluice boxes fed by a dozer or front-end loader. By 1981, a large washing plant was acquired. Alaska Placer Development reported mining activity on the Livengood bench in 1988, 1994, 1996 and 1997. In 1994, a crew of 8 to 10 processed approximately 156,000 cubic yards of auriferous pay using opencut-hydraulic mine technology (Swainbank and others, 1995, p. 28). In 1996, Alaska Placer Development conducted a vigorous exploration program to ascertain the full extent of the pay zone (Swainbank and others, 1997).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Placer mining has taken place from 1914 to the present; however, exact production figures are not available. Annual production from 1978 to 1981 varied from 800 to about 3,000 ounces of gold (Bundtzen and others, 1982). In 1994, a crew of 8 to 10 processed approximately 156,000 cubic yards of auriferous pay using open cut-hydraulic mine technology (Swainbank and others, 1995, p. 28).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Bundtzen and others, 1982

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Gold reserves of over 1 million ounces were defined by drilling prior to 1940 (Bundtzen and others, 1982). One reserve estimate based on data from 640 drill holes indicates about 17 million cubic yards of placer gravel that would average about $2.10 per cubic yard in gold at its 1976 price (Eberlein and others, 1977, p. 67).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Mertie (1918, p. 256), reported that most of the mining occurred along the old channel from bench claims northwest of Livengood Creek. The old channel has an average width of 127 feet, an average depth to bedrock of 80 feet, and at the time of Mertie's report, had been traced for approximately 4 miles. The bedrock is mainly chert, with some greenstone and limestone. Gold is found in basal gravel and weathered bedrock. Concentrates contain gold, magnetite, ilmenite, limonite, picotite, hematite, barite, and pyrite.? By 1939, a large auriferous bench that occupied the northwest limit of Livengood Creek valley was defined (Bundtzen and others, 1982).

References

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Eakins, G.R., and Conwell, C.N., 1982, Review of Alaska mineral resources 1981: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Annual Report 1981, 48 p.

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., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p.

Reference (Deposit): Swainbank, R.C., Bundtzen, T. K., Clough A.H., and Henning, M.W., 1997, Alaska's mineral industry 1996: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 51, 68 p.

Reference (Deposit): Overbeck, R M., 1920, Placer mining in the Tolovana district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 712, p. 177-184.

Reference (Deposit): Eberlein, G.D., Chapman, R.M., Foster, H.L., and Gassaway, J.S., 1977, Map and table describing known metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits in central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-168-D, 132 p., 1 map, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Eakins, G.R., Bundtzen, T.K., Robinson, M.S., Clough, J.G., Green, C.B., Clautice, K.H., and Albanese M.A., 1983, Alaska's mineral industry, 1982, Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 31, 63 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): Swainbank, R.C., Bundtzen, T.K., Clough, A.H., Henning, M.W., and Hansen E.W., 1995, Alaska's mineral industry 1994: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 49, 77 p.

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