Elmes

Site Name

Primary: Elmes
Secondary: Ethel
Secondary: Nickaloff

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Commodity

Primary: Gold

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Fairbanks

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Land Status

Not available

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Not available

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Not available

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: All of the lode material was highly oxidized (Wimmler, 1926 [ATDM PE 58-2]).

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Gold

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Comments

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Schist-hosted gold-quartz vein

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Silverado Gold Mines, Ltd., reported a possible resource of 18,000 ounces of gold at the Ethel-Elmes property (Silverado Gold Mines, Ltd., Ester Dome project web site, www.silverado.com, February 17, 2000).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Wimmler, 1926 (ATDM PE 58-2)

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Exploratory work began in 1926 on the Elmes gold-quartz veins which strike N. 25-30 E. (Wimmler, 1926 [ATDM PE 58-2]; Smith, 1929; Hill, 1933, p. 150). Wimmler described the lode as having a width of 5 to 7 feet; it consists of quartz, mica schist and clay, and has fairly well defined schist walls. The quartz, which contains arsenopyrite, pyrite, and stibnite, generally holds to the footwall portion of the lode and ranges from a few inches to 2.5 feet in width. The higher grade ore is confined to the quartz and gold is occasionally visible in some specimens (Wimmler, 1926 [ATDM PE 58-2]). The clay and schist also carry some gold. The highest assay obtained from quartz ore from these early workings was $142.00 of gold per ton (about 6.89 ounces of gold per ton) (Wimmler, 1926 [ATDM PE 58-2]). It was estimated that main ore shoot that was mined between the two shafts on the property averaged $30 to $40 in gold per ton (1.46 to 1.94 ounces of gold per ton). Production began in 1928, was also reported from 1937 to 1939, and possibly took place in 1940 (Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-662, p. 37]).? the Elmes vein is the lateral equivalent of the Ethel shear zone, discovered by TriCon Mining, Inc., during exploration and development work of the Grant mine (FB058) in 1987 (Bundtzen and others, 1988, p. 30-31). One rotary drill hole intersected a 100-foot zone that assayed 0.12 ounce of gold per ton, and another cut a 35-foot section that averaged 0.18 ounce of gold per ton. Drilling indicated a strike length of 250 feet, an average width of 30 feet, and an average grade of 0.16 ounce of gold per ton. The Ethel shear zone consists of gray schist with disseminated sulfides, including lead-antimony sulfosalts and free gold (Bundtzen and others, 1988, p. 31).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = In 1926, the Elmes lode had been traced by a series of open cuts for a distance of about 2000 feet (Wimmler, 1926 [ATDMPE 58-2]). The main underground workings were done on the Principal claim where two shafts 350 feet apart were sunk on the lode (Wimmler, 1926 [ADTM PE 58-2]). Shaft No. 1 was 110 feet deep, and two 10-foot drifts were driven at the bottom. Shaft No. 2 was 66 feet deep; at the 41-foot level, one drift was driven 21 feet to the south, and another drift was driven 23 feet to the north. The Elmes vein is the lateral equivalent of the Ethel shear zone, discovered by TriCon Mining, Inc., during exploration and development work of the Grant mine (FB058) in 1987 (Bundtzen and others, 1988, p. 30-31). In 1990, American Copper and Nickel Company drilled 17,434 feet of core in the O'Dea vein system and on the Ethel vein system (Swainbank and others, 1991).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Production at the Elmes mill began in 1928, was also reported from 1937 to 1939, and possibly took place in 1940 (Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-662, p. 37]). In the late 1980's, with the development of the Grant gold mine (FB058), the ore from the Elmes vein and Ethel shear zone was sent to the Grant mill (Green and others, 1989, p. 38).

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References

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P. S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1927: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 810, p. 1-64.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Green, C.B., Peterson, R.J., and Seward, A.F., 1988, Alaska's mineral industry, 1987: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 41, 69 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P. S., 1930, Mineral resources of Alaska in 1928: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 813-A, p. 1-72.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1939, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1937: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 910-A, p. 1-113.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1941, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1939: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 926-A, p. 1-106.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1942, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1940: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 933-A, p. 1-102.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1930: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 836-A, p. 1-83.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-410, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Chapman, R.M., and Foster, R.L., 1969, Lode mines and prospects in the Fairbanks district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 625-D, 25 p., 1 plate.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1927: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 810-A, p. 1-64.

Reference (Deposit): Wimmler, N.L., 1926, Elmes Gold Mining Company (Happy Creek): Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Prospect Evaluation 58-2, 5 p.

Reference (Deposit): Green, C.B., Bundtzen, T.K., Peterson, R.J., Seward, A.F., Deagan, J.R., and Burton, J.E., 1989, Alaska's Mineral Industry, 1988, Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 43, 79 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S. 1939, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1937: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 910-A, p. 1-113.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1928: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 813, p. 1-72.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1929, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1926: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 797, p. 1-50.

Reference (Deposit): Swainbank, R.C., Bundtzen, T.K., and Wood, J.E., 1991, Alaska's Mineral Industry 1990: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 45, 78 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-662, 174 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1932, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1929, in Smith, P.S., and others Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1929: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 824-A, p. 1-81.

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

Reference (Deposit): Hill, J.M., 1933, Lode deposits of the Fairbanks District, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 849-B, p. 29-163.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1933: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-A, p. 1-94.

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