Anvil Creek

The Anvil 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: Anvil Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Mercury

Location

State: Alaska
District: Innoko

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: Cinnabar
Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Between 1917 and 1950, an estimated 3,394 ounces of gold and 12 ounces of silver were produced from Anvil Creek. Anvil Creek was also mined from the 1970's until at least 1986 (Bundtzen and others, 1987).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Mertie, 1936

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

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The rocks in the vicinity of Anvil Creek are sandstone, shale, and siltstone (Chapman and others, 1985). The creek probably also drains a small, Cretaceous or Tertiary intrusive body.? the gold in Anvil Creek occurs in a narrow paystreak in stream gravels and in less-rich bench deposits. The gold was found on bedrock surfaces and in crevices within the upper 6 inches of bedrock. The largest nugget reported from Anvil Creek was 6 ounces. The nuggets have a fineness of 878 parts gold and 117 parts silver (Mertie, 1936). Mertie (1936) also reports considerable cinnabar in concentrates.? Gold was discovered along Anvil Creek in 1917. Production occurred intermittently in Anvil Creek until 1950, and intermittently from the 1970's until at least 1986 (Brooks and Capps, 1924; Smith, 1932; Smith, 1936; Smith, 1938; Mertie, 1936; Roehm, 1937; Fowler, 1950).? An unnamed 'pup' tributary of Anvil Creek runs parallel to Anvil Creek and then enters an old oxbow on the south side of the Innoko River. This tributary was staked in 1980 and reportedly contains about 4 feet of gravel under 6 feet of mud. Although no coarse gold has been found, many grains of fine gold were recovered (Dick Forsgren, written commun., 2001).? Bundtzen and Miller (1997) used radioactive-isotope dating techniques to demonstrate that the age of hydrothermal sericite from the Ophir-Little Creek prospect area is 70 Ma, contemporaneous with primary igneous white mica in dikes near Ophir. Lode gold mineralization in this area probably is related to magmatic fluids from these Upper Cretaceous or Tertiary dikes (or other, coeval plutons), which probably are the source of at least some of the placer gold in Anvil Creek (Bundtzen and Miller, 1997).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = A narrow paystreak beneath the channel of Anvil Creek was worked by drift mining; less-rich bench deposits were worked by open cuts (Mertie, 1936). Mining occurred along Anvil Creek from 1917 to 1950 and also from the 1970's until at least 1986 (Bundtzen and others, 1987).

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary. Bundtzen and Miller (1997) used radioactive-isotope dating techniques to demonstrate that the age of hydrothermal sericite from the Ophir-Little Creek prospect area is 70 Ma, contemporaneous with primary igneous white mica in dikes near Ophir. Lode gold mineralization in this area probably is related to magmatic fluids from these Upper Cretaceous or Tertiary dikes (or other, coeval plutons), which probably are the source of at least some of the placer gold in Anvil Creek (Bundtzen and Miller, 1997).

References

Reference (Deposit): Roehm, J.C., 1937, Summary report of mining investigations in the Innoko, Mt. McKinley, Knik, and Talkeetna precincts: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Itinerary Report 195-17, 16 p.

Reference (Deposit): Fowler, H.M., 1950, Report of investigations in the Innoko, Nulato, Bethel, Goodnews Bay, Wasilla, Chisana, and Ketchikan mining districts: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Itinerary Report 195-7, 13 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Ophir quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-367, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

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): 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., 1936, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1934: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 868-A, p. 1-91.

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

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H. and Capps, S.R., 1924, Mineral industry in Alaska, 1922: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 755, p. 1-56.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Green, C.B., Deagen, J., and Daniels, C.L., 1987, Alaska's mineral industry, 1986: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Special Report 40, 68 p.

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., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction material) in the Iditarod and Ophir quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-576, 101 p.

Reference (Deposit): Chapman, R.M., Patton, W.W., and Moll, E.J., 1985, Reconnaissance geologic map of the Ophir quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 85-203, 1 sheet, 1:250,000 scale.

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