Shovel Creek

The Shovel 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

Name: Shovel Creek

State:  Alaska

County:  na

Elevation:

Commodity: Gold

Lat, Long: 64.64806, -164.41389

Map: View on Google Maps

Satelite View

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.


Satelite image of the Shovel Creek

Shovel Creek MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Shovel Creek


Commodity

Primary: Gold


Location

State: Alaska
District: Nome


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 (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive

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

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = At least three of the lower three and a half miles of Shovel Creek has been extensively placer mined, mostly by dredges and mostly in the 1920s. Early mining (Smith, 1910) encountered thin, 1 to 3 feet thick gravels over bedrock in a pay streak up to 1,000 feet wide (based on the distribution of tailings shown on the recent topographic map of the area). The elevation of the workings is between 50 and 150 feet. Recorded production as compiled by Lu and others (1968) is about 20,000 ounces. Bedrock is part of a lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage (Sainsbury and others, 1972, OFR 511; Till and others, 1986).

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary; the location and elevation (50 to 150 feet) of this area indicate that it was affected by Quaternary sea level fluctuations.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Recorded production as compiled by Lu and others (1968) is about 20,000 ounces.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Smith, 1910

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Mined by dredging, hydraulic and small-scale operations over at least three of the lower three and a half miles of the creek.


References

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-181, 185 p.

Reference (Deposit): Lu, F.C.J., Heiner, L.E., and Harris, D.P., 1968, Known and potential ore reserves, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: University of Alaska, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Report 11, 107 p.

Reference (Deposit): Till, A.B., Dumoulin, J.A., Gamble, B. ., Kaufman, D.S., and Carroll, P.I., 1986, Preliminary geologic map and fossil data, Soloman, Bendeleben, and southern Kotzebue quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 86-276, 10 p., 3 plates, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Sainsbury, C.L., Hudson, T.L., Ewing, R., and Marsh, W.R., 1972, Reconnaissance geologic maps of the Solomon D-5 and C-5 quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 511, 12 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic resources map of the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-445, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1910, Geology and mineral resources of the Solomon and Casadepaga quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 433, 234 p.


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