Cliff Mine

The Cliff Mine 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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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.

Site Name

Primary: Cliff Mine

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Tertiary: Lead
Tertiary: Zinc

Location

State: Alaska
District: Port Valdez

Land Status

Land ownership: State
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

Type: Underground

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1910
Year Last Production: 1940
Discovery Year: 1906
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: PINCH AND SWELL

Structure

Type: R
Description: Tightly Compressed E-W Trending Folds, Overturned Towarrd The S. Pluge Gently W

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Oxidation Is Evident To 100 Ft, Distinct Over Approximately 50 Ft

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: IN USGS BULL 443, P. 72-74
Analytical Data: ESTIMATED GRADE OF ABOUT 2.4 OZ/TON FROM REPORT OF 50.00 DOLLAR/TONWITH AU AT 20.67/TON, WALL ROCK ASSAYED ABOUT .07 TO 0.29 OZ/TON REPORTED AS 1.5 TO 6.00 DOLLARS/TON

Materials

Ore: Galena
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Albite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Chlorite
Gangue: Pyrite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): AURIFEROUS QUARTZ VEINS CUT ACROSS SCHISTOSITY OF COUNTRY ROCK IN SYSTEM OF INTERLACING FISSURES; GENERALLY A FEW 10'S OF CM BUT UP TO 2MTHICK; QUARTZ SHOWS RIBBON STRUCTURE, PINCH AND SWELL

Comment (Workings): WORKINGS CONSISTED OF SEVERAL INTERCONNECTING LEVELS, FROM 442 FT ABOVE TO 332 FT BELOW SEA LEVEL; EXTENDED ABOUT 1700 FT HORIZONTALLY; ABOUT 8000 FT OF WORKINGS REPORTED IN 1913, PROBABLY EXTENDED IN LATER YEARS; REPORTED INACESSIBLE IN 1982; LOWER LEVELS SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLOODING

Comment (Deposit): ABANDONED INSTALLATION AT THE CLIFF MINE WAS DEMOLISHED BY A SLIDE GENERATED WAVE DURING THE "GOOD FRIDAY" EARTHQUAKE ON MARCH 27, 1964 ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Comment (Development): STAKED 1906; PRODUCED INTERMITTENTLY FROM 1910 TO 1940; MOST PRODUCTION WAS BEFORE FIRST MINE CLOSING ON JULY 6, 1914; MINE WAS ASSESSED BY WGM, INC., P. O. BOX 59, ANCHORAGE, AK IN 1983

Comment (Production): LARGEST LODE-GOLD PRODUCER IN THE DISTRICT HISTORICALLY; TOTAL PRODUCTION UNKNOWN, HOWEVER PRODUCTION FOR ENTIRE PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND REGION WAS ONLY 137.600 OZ; USGS PP 610, P. 32

Comment (Location): LOCATION GIVEN AS PLOTTED ON THE VALDEZ A-7 QUADRANGLE. LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2,500,000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).

Comment (Commodity): SULFIDES PRESENT ARE PYRITE, ARSENOPYRITE, GALENA AND SPHALERITE; SULFIDES MAKE UP 3 TO 5% OF ORE

Comment (Geology): LODE IS TYPICAL OF THE HIGH-GRADE EPIGENETIC GOLD-QUARTZ VEINS FOUND IN ROCKS OF LOW TO MODERATE METAMORPHIC GRADE WITHIN THE VALDEZ GROUPTURBIDITES. SCHISTOSE GRAYWACKE INTERBEDDED WITH CARBONACEOUS SLATE.

References

Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL 443, P. 72-74, 76-77

Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL 622, P. 135, 152-153, 156, 170-172

Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL 989-E, P. 304-306

Reference (Deposit): USGS PP 542-C, P. C30

Reference (Deposit): USGS PP 610, P. 31-32

Reference (Deposit): USGS OFR 80-892A, B, LOC. 15

Reference (Deposit): ADGGS SR 33, P. 12

Reference (Deposit): PICKTHORN, WILLIAM JOSEPH, 1982, STABLE ISOTOPE AND FLUID INCLUSION STUDY OF THE PORT VALDEZ GOLD DISTRICT, SOUTHERN ALASKA: LOS ANGELES, CA, UCLA, M. S. THESIS, 66 P.

Reference (Other Database): BAG-OFR-80-892B-15

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