Spruce Creek

The Spruce 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: Spruce Creek  

State:  Alaska

County:  na

Elevation:

Commodity: Gold

Lat, Long: 64.87889, -164.21111

Map: View on Google Maps

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.


Satelite image of the Spruce Creek

Spruce Creek MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Spruce Creek


Commodity

Primary: Gold


Location

State: Alaska
District: Council


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; the numerous incised terraces along the Casadepaga River indicate that more than one cycle of erosion and deposition has developed placer deposits in the area. The low elevations between 170 and 270 feet along the first 11 miles of the river, suggest that Quaternary sea level fluctuations could have influenced placer development.

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

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Spruce Creek cuts completely through the terrace of the Casadepaga River and flows on bedrock at its mouth. Sainsbury and others (1972) show placer tailings along the lower 0.7 miles of the creek. By 1907, an estimated $10,000 or about 400 ounces of gold had been recovered (Smith, 1910); 40 to 50 ounces were recovered in the first year of mining, 1899 (Brooks and others, 1901). The gold was bright and coarse, and primarlily recovered over marble bedrock. Bedrock in Spruce Creek is primarily part of a lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage (Till and others, 1986).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Smith, 1910

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Small-scale placer mining took place along the lower 0.7 miles of the creek prior to WW I.


References

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic resources map of the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-445, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Till, A.B., Dumoulin, J.A., Gamble, B. ., Kaufman, D.S., and Carroll, P.I., 1986, Preliminary geologic map and fossil data, Soloman, Bendeleben, and southern Kotzebue quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 86-276, 10 p., 3 plates, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., Richardson, G. B., and Collier, A. J., 1901, Reconnaissance in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900: U.S. Geological Survey Special Publication, p. 1-180.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1910, Geology and mineral resources of the Solomon and Casadepaga quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 433, 234 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-181, 185 p.

Reference (Deposit): Sainsbury, C.L., Hudson, T.L., Ewing, R., and Marsh, W.R., 1972, Reconnaissance geologic maps of the Solomon D-5 and C-5 quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 511, 12 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360.


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