Kowkow Creek

The Kowkow 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: Kowkow Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Nickel
Secondary: Platinum

Location

State: Alaska
District: Bethel

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
Ore: Magnetite

Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Open-cut placer mine workings are present along a significant part of Kowkow Creek.

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Kowkow Creek was mined intermittently from 1913 to 1940. A large part of the 1,500 ounces of gold estimated to have been produced from operations in the Arolik River basin by 1919 came from this creek (Harrington, 1921, p. 221). Total production to date (2001) probably is subtantially more than this amount.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Hoare and Cobb, 1977

Comment (Commodity): Ore Material = PGE

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

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Kowkow Creek is in the non-glaciated part of the Faro Creek drainage. Placer gold mining started there in 1913 and continued through most years to 1940 (Harrington, 1921; Hoare and Cobb, 1977). The pay is 8 to 15 inches of compacted fine gravel on a clay (with some gravel) false bedrock that is overlain by 3 to 4 feet of dark gravel and 1 to 3 feet of muck (Harrington, 1921, p. 227). The depth to bedrock is not known. Kowkow Creek is one of the principal producers in the Arolik River basin. It was estimated to have contributed a large part of the 1,500 ounces of gold recovered from operations in this basin up to 1919 (Harrington, 1921). Some platinum was recovered along with the gold (Hoare and Cobb, 1977). Nearby uplands are underlain by Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks intruded by Jurassic mafic and ultramafic plutons (Hoare and Coonrad, 1978). Stream sediments from drainages in these uplands commonly contain anomalous amounts of nickel (Hessin and others, 1978 (OF 78-9-L).

References

Reference (Deposit): Harrington, G.L., 1921, Mineral resources of the Goodnews Bay region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 714-E, p. 207-228.

Reference (Deposit): Hoare, J.M., and Cobb, E.H., 1977, Mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bethel, Goodnews, and Russian Mission quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-156, 98 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and Condon, W.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Goodnews quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-447, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Hoare, J.M., and Coonrad, W.L., 1978, Geologic map of the Goodnews and Hagemeister Island quadrangles region, southwestern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-9-B, two sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Hessin, T.D., Taufen, P.M., Seward, J.C., Quintana, S.J., Clark, A.L., Grybeck, Donald, Hoare, J.M., and Coonrad, W.L., 1978, Geochemical and generalized geological map showing distribution and abundance of nickel in the Goodnews and Hagemeister quadrangles region, southwestern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-9-L, scale 1:250,000.

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