The Mule 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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Mule Creek MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Mule Creek
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Copper
Location
State: Alaska
District: Koyukuk
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: Placer Au-PGE
Orebody
Not available
Structure
Not available
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Not available
Analytical Data
Not available
Materials
Ore: Gold
Comments
Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Mule Creek was mined sporadically in the early 1900s and was being worked in 1937 by booming and shoveling in (Reed, 1938). Several shafts 75 to 80 feet deep near the alluvial fan at the mouth of the creek were flooded before reaching bedrock.
Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.
Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive
Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Reed (1938) pointed out that Maddren (1913) incorrectly identified Spruce Creek as Mule Creek and that Mule Creek was unnamed.
Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Mule Creek is one of several tributaries to the Bettles River in this area that are reported either to have produced gold or to have good prospects. Maddren (1913) described good prospects 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 miles upstream from the mouth of Mule Creek. At 2 1/2 miles, there is a low bench in 8 feet of gravel; at 1 1/2 miles, gold was found in 2 feet of gravel which yielded $1 per man-hour. Maddren also noted small nuggets of native silver and native copper nuggets as heavy as 7 pounds on Mule Creek. Reed (1938) reported that the gravel was coarse and waterworn, with many large boulders, and that depth to bedrock was 3 to 8 feet. The gold is on bedrock and in the lowest foot of gravel; it is well worn and has a fineness of 908. Values of approximately 10 cents per square foot of bedrock were reported in 1938. Mule Creek heads in limestone. Dillon and others (1996) map this limestone as Devonian Skajit Limestone, which is in contact with Ordovician to Cambrian(?) calc-schist and Ordovician phyllite and marble.
Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Maddren, 1913
Comment (Production): Production Notes = Maddren (1913) estimated $1,000 of Au produced from 1900 to 1909.
Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)
References
Reference (Deposit): Brosgi, W.P., and Reiser, H.N., 1972, Geochemical reconnaissance in the Wiseman and Chandalar districts and adjacent region, southern Brooks Range, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 709, 21 p.
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): Maddren, A.G., 1913, The Koyukuk-Chandalar region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 532, 119 p.
Reference (Deposit): Heiner, L.E., and Wolff, E.N., eds., 1968, Mineral resources of northern Alaska, Final report, submitted to the NORTH Commission: Mineral Industry Research Laboratory, University of Alaska, Report 16, 306 p.
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): Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p.
Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Chandalar and Wiseman quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-340, 205 p.
Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Chandalar quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-457, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.
Reference (Deposit): Dillon, J.T., 1982, Source of lode and placer gold deposits of the Chandalar and upper Koyukuk Districts: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Open-File Report 158, 25 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.
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