Sheep Creek

The Sheep 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

Name: Sheep Creek

State: Alaska

County: na

Elevation:

Commodity: Gold

Lat, Long: 67.5, -149.81000

Map: View on Google Maps

Satelite View

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Satelite image of the Sheep Creek

Sheep Creek MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Sheep Creek
Secondary: Sheep Gulch

Commodity

Primary: Gold

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 (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Reed, 1938

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Reed (1938, p. 28-29) reported that the Sheep Creek placers are in both the present channel and a deep channel. The bench placers were discovered along the right limit of the present stream in about 1910 and were mined for a distance of approximately 7,000 feet upstream from the point where Sheep Creek valley opens into the Middle Fork valley. Above this point the channel grades into the present stream channel. At the lower end the depth to the deep channel was approximately 90 feet. There was little evidence of large boulders in the tailings from the mining of the deep channel. Values from the deep channel ran about $1 per square foot of bedrock (1937), but some small areas had much higher values. One of those areas returned $800 (1908) from 200 square feet. The deep channel probably extends some distance into Middle Fork valley but may have been cut off, as was the deep channel of Gold Creek just to the north (CH080).? Reed (1938) implied that mining had only just begun in the present channel about 1,000 feet above where Sheep Creek valley entered the valley of the Middle Fork. The depth to the schist bedrock there was about 6 ft, and the gravel was very coarse with many large schist boulders. The gold was said to be very coarse and water worn. Preliminary estimates of the values in the present channel in 1937 were about $0.50 per square foot of bedrock. Reed (1938) described the bedrock of Sheep Creek as schist. More recent mapping shows the area to be underlain by Devonian black slate, phyllite and phyllitic siltstone, chloritic siltstone and grit, and quartz-muscovite schist (Brosgi and Reiser, 1964).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Production reported sporadically from the early 1900s through the early 1960s. Total value of production is unknown, but from 1900 to 1909, $2,000 worth of gold reportedly was produced (Maddren, 1913).

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

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Alaska Kardex No. 031-029 (Kardex is a card file mining claim information system located at the State of Alaska DNR Public Information Center in Fairbanks).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Placer was worked by surface mining of the present channel and underground drift mining of the deep channel.

References

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1911, The mining industry in 1910, in Brooks, A.K., and others, Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1910: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480-B p. 21-43.

Reference (Deposit): Reed, I.M., 1938, Upper Koyukuk region, Alaska (Wiseman, Chandalar, and Bettles): Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 194-7, 201 p.

Reference (Deposit): Maddren, A.G., 1910, The Koyukuk-Chandalar gold region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442-G, p. 284-315.

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): 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): Brosgi, W.P., and Reiser, H.N., 1964, Geologic map and section of the Chandalar quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map 1-375, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Mulligan, J.J., 1974, Mineral resources of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline corridor: U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 8626, 24 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1912, The Alaska mining industry in 1911, in Brooks, A.H., and others, Mineral resources of Alaska, 1911: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 520, p. 17-44.

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): Smith, P.S., 1936, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1934: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 868-A, p. 1-91.

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 sheets.

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): 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): Roehm, J.C., 1949, Report of investigations and itinerary of J.C. Roehm in the Koyukuk precinct, Alaska: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Itinerary Report 31-1, 9 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): Maddren, A.G., 1913, The Koyukuk-Chandalar region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 532, 119 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1938, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1936: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-A, p. 1-107.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1937, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1935: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 880-A, p. 1-95.

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