Holmes Gulch

The Holmes Gulch is a silver and 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: Holmes Gulch

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Bismuth

Location

State: Alaska
District: McGrath

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: Shoreline placer Ti

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Bismuth
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Magnetite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = See Hidden Creek (MD066).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Holmes Gulch placer deposit is in a steep first order stream that can be traced for about one mile (1.6 km). Gravels in Holmes Gulch were 11 ft (3.3 m) deep, and can be traced upstream 4000 ft (1,219 m) toward the Whalen shaft (MD071). Most of the mining took place at the intersection of Holmes Gulch and Hidden Creek. Boulders up to 4 ft in diameter encountered during mining. Age of mineralization is unknown, but is probably Quaternary, based on correlative geomorphological features with other dated placer deposits nearby (Bundtzen and Miller, 1997).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model no. 39c)

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Production): Production Notes = The first recorded production from Holmes Gulch took place in 1919; mining continued intermittently until 1938. The production total for Holmes Gulch was 1,065 ounces (33 kg) gold and an unknown amount of silver.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Mertie, 1936

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Small-scale, surface-hydraulic sluicing predominated. There is no evidence that heavy machinery was employed in Holmes Gulch (Mertie, 1936). Most mining took place at the intersection of Holmes Gulch and Hidden Creek.

References

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., and Miller, M.L., 1997, Precious metals associated with Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary igneous rocks of southwestern Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Economic Geology Monograph #9, Mineral Deposits of Alaska, p. 242-286.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1974, Synopsis of mineral resources and geology of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1307, 53 pages.

Reference (Deposit): Brown, J.S., 1926, The Nixon Fork country: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 783. p. 97-144.

Reference (Deposit): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1936, Mineral deposits of the Ruby-Kuskokwim region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-C, 115-245.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences in the Beaver, Bettles, and Medfra quadrangles: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 78-94, 54 pages.

Reference (Deposit): Martin, G.C., 1922, Gold lodes in the Upper Kuskokwim region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864D, p. 149-161.

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