The Spruce Creek Placer is a gold mine located in Alaska at an elevation of 98 feet.
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
Elevation: 98 Feet (30 Meters)
Commodity: Gold
Lat, Long: 57.59556, -133.33194
Map: View on Google Maps
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Spruce Creek Placer MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Spruce Creek Placer
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Location
State: Alaska
District: Petersburg
Land Status
Land ownership: National Forest
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.
Holdings
Not available
Workings
Not available
Ownership
Not available
Production
Not available
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1869
Year Last Production: 1911
Discovery Year: 1869
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S
Physiography
Not available
Mineral Deposit Model
Not available
Orebody
Not available
Structure
Not available
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Name: Clay, Mud
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Holocene
Analytical Data
Analytical Data: PANNED CONCENTRATE SAMPLES ASSAYED UP TO 0.017 OZ/CY AU, SAMPLE 4K143, USGS B 1525, P. 154-56.
Materials
Not available
Comments
Comment (Location): USGS B 1525, FIG. 52. LOCATION IS UPPER PORTAL OF DRAIN TUNNEL AT LOWER END OF FIRST BASIN OF SPRUCE CREEK 750 FT. E OF MOUTH OF CREEK. PLACER EXTENDS 2.3 MI. UPSTREAM TO HEAD OF SPRUCE CREEK. LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2,500,000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).
Comment (Workings): BEDROCK DIVERSION TUNNEL SEVERAL HUNDRED FT. LONG THROUGH GREENSTONE BARRIER; SECOND TUNNEL, 10 FT. BELOW ORIGINAL CHANNEL, NOW OBSCURED. ABOUT 10 ACRES OF GRAVEL SLUICED IN FIRST BASIN. NO EVIDENCE OF MINING FOUND IN SECOND BASIN. PLACER PIPE, OLD CUTS, CABIN RUINS, DRY-WALL DIVERSION FOUND ABOVE TWO BASINS.
Comment (Geology): SLOPING, POORLY SORTED GRAVEL, COBBLE, AND BOULDER BEDS AND BLUE CLAY AND SILT BEDS WITH MARINE FOSSILS REPRESENT MARINE DELTA FORESET BEDS. ; MAJOR.UNITS: BEDROCK CONSISTS OF CRETACEOUS GREENSTONE, PHYLLITE, AND SCHIST. ; REG.COM: SOURCE OF PLACER GOLD IS PROBABLY LODE DEPOSITS ALONG SPRUCE CREEK.
Comment (Deposit): SAMPLE RESULTS INDICATE THIS IS NOT AN ECONOMICALLY MINEABLE DEPOSIT. IT IS DOUBTFUL THAT CREEK CONTAINS UNDISCOVERED PLACERS OF ANY IMPORTANCE. STREAM GRADIENT IS OVER 1,000 FT./MI. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Comment (Development): DISCOVERED IN 1869, HYDRAULIC PLANT INSTALLED IN FIRST BASIN IN 1888, MINING ALSO IN SECOND BASIN. TUNNEL DRIVEN THROUGH BARRIER. PLACER CLAIMS PATENTED BEFORE 1900. PRODUCTION ENDED ABOUT 1911. SOME ACTIVITY UNTIL MID-1950'S.
Comment (Deposit): THIS SITE NAME WAS CREATED BY THE REPORTER OR OTHER USGS EMPLOYEE BASED ON PROXIMITY TO SOME MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE.
Comment (Deposit): PLACER DEPOSIT CONSISTS OF TWO BASINS. FIRST BASIN HAS GREENSTONE BARRIER AT LOWER END, ABOUT 750 FT. UPSTREAM FROM TIDEWATER. BASIN IS GLACIAL IN ORIGIN. CREEK NOW FLOWS THROUGH BEDROCK TUNNEL SEVERAL HUNDRED FT. LONG THROUGH BARRIER. BASIN FLOOR NEAR TUNNEL ENTRANCE IS AT LEAST 80 FT. BELOW ORIGINAL BEDROCK STREAM CHANNEL OVER BARRIER. BENCH GRAVELS ARE 15 FT. ABOVE BARRIER LEVEL. DEPOSITS CONSIST OF ABOUT 8 FT. OF FLAT-LYING BENCH GRAVEL, UNDERLAIN BY 70 FT. OF VERY COARSE GRAVEL AND BOULDERS AT 15 DEGREES DIP DOWNSTREAM, UNDERLAIN BY 20 FT. OF BLUE CLAY AND SILT WITH MARINE, FOSSILS, ALSO DIPPING DOWNSTREAM, WITH GRAVEL AND BOULDERS OF PRESENT STREAM BED EXPOSED BELOW. GOLD READILY PANNED FROM FLAT-LYING BENCH GRAVEL LAYER; A FEW COLORS COULD BE PANNED FROM JUST ABOVE BLUE CLAY LAYERS; LITTLE COULD BE PANNED FROM SLOPING GRAVEL LAYERS OR STREAM BOULDERS AND BARS. SECOND BASIN IS 1 MI. UPSTREAM FROM FIRST, AT 750 FT. ELEVATION. UPPER PART OF CREEK FROM 1,600-2,500 FT.
Comment (Deposit): ELEVATION CONSISTS OF SHALLOW GRAVEL BEDS AND POT HOLES IN OR CLOSE TO BEDROCK, WELL SUITED FOR SMALL-SCALE HAND MINING METHODS.
References
Reference (Deposit): USGS B 1525, P. 153-156, 192, FIG. 52, PLATES 1, 3 (1984)
Reference (Deposit): USBM OFR 91-86, P. 4, 8, 9, 36 (1986)
Reference (Other Database): BAG-B-1525-FIG-52
The Top Ten Gold Producing States
These ten states contributed the most to the gold production that built the West from 1848 through the 1930s. The Top Ten Gold Producing States.
