Bonnifield Creek

The Bonnifield 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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Site Name

Primary: Bonnifield Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Bonnifield

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 = Apparently there was only small-scale placer mining prior to WW II. In 1924, two men had a groundsluicing operation on the creek (Wimmler, 1925 [ATDM MR 195-8, p. 43]). In 1994, D'Log Industries (Ferrel Woods) mined ground on Bonnifield Creek. A test run indicated average values of about $4.00 in gold per cubic yard of gravel, and the cost of mining ran about $1.75 per cubic yard (Swainbank and others, 1995, p. 29).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Smith, 1932

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Not more than a few hundred dollars worth of gold was produced on this stream in 1929 and 1935 (Smith, 1932, p. 40; Smith, 1937, p. 46). There are no production figures available for more recent mining.

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

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Small-scale placer mining that produced no more than a few hundred dollars worth of gold was reported on Bonnifield Creek in 1929 and 1935 (Smith, 1932, p. 40; Smith, 1937, p. 46). The gold was 818 to 832 fine (Glover, 1950). Production from placer mines on the creek was reported in the 1980's and 1990's (Bundtzen and others, 1990; Swainbank and others, 1995). Only the extreme headwaters of Bonnifield Creek lie within the California Creek Member of the Totatlanika Schist; it is composed of gray quartz-orthoclase-sericite schist and augen gneiss (Wahrhaftig, 1970 [GQ-808]). The lower 8 miles of the creek cuts through the Nenana Gravel (Wahrhaftig, 1970 [GQ-808]).

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary placer.

References

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., 1937, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1935: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 880-A, p. 1-95.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Swainbank, R.C., Deagen, J.R. and Moore, J.L., 1990, Alaska's mineral industry 1989: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 44, 100 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): 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): Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p.

Reference (Deposit): Swainbank, R.C., Bundtzen, T.K., Clough, A.H., Henning, M.W., and Hansen E.W., 1995, Alaska's mineral industry 1994: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 49, 77 p.

Reference (Deposit): Wahrhaftig, Clyde, 1970, Geologic map of the Fairbanks A-2 quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Quadrangle Map GQ-808, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Glover, A.E., 1950, Placer gold fineness: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-1, 38 p.

Reference (Deposit): Wimmler, N.L., 1925, Placer mining in Alaska in 1925: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-8, 118 p.

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