Livengood Creek Placer

The Livengood Creek Placer 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: Livengood Creek Placer

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Tertiary: Antimony
Tertiary: Chromium
Tertiary: REE
Tertiary: Tin
Tertiary: Tungsten

Location

State: Alaska
District: Tolovana

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

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Livengood Placers Inc.
Home Office: C/O Callahan Mining Corp. 227 Park Ave., N.Y., N.Y. 14607
Years: 1975 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1914
Discovery Year: 1914
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Analytical Data: MEAN FINENESS .915 AU AND .076 AG. SEE REF 2, P. 264

Materials

Ore: Stibnite
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Zircon
Gangue: Picotite
Gangue: Barite
Gangue: Pyrite
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Ilmenite
Gangue: Magnetite
Unknown: Cassiterite
Unknown: Monazite
Unknown: Chromite
Unknown: Scheelite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): MOST OF GOLD IN BASAL GRAVEL, ON BEDROCK, AND IN CRACKS OF WEATHERED BEDROCK IN AN OLD CHANNEL UNDER BENCH PARALLEL TO AND ONE HALF MILE NW OF CREEK. THE BENCH CHANNEL HAS A LINEAR EXTENT OF AT LEAST 4 MILES, AN AVERAGE WIDTH OF ABOUT 125 FT., AND AN AVERAGE DEPTH TO BEDROCK OF ABOUT 80 FT. GRAVEL AVERAGES 14 FT. IN THICKNESS; OVERLAIN BY MUCK, SILT, AND SAND. ABRUPT CHANGE IN GRADIENT OF CHANNEL; BELOW BREAK PAY STREAK IS 75-180 FT. WIDE; ABOVE IT IS 100-364 FT. WIDE. UP TO 5 FT. OF GRAVEL AND 2.5 FT. OF BEDROCK MINED. GOLD IN PRESENT STREAM GRAVELS, BUT PLACERS LESS RICH THAN IN OLD CHANNEL.

Comment (Workings): MINED MAINLY BY DRIFTING. SHAFTS SUNK TO BEDROCK AND TUNNELS ARE DRIVEN IN TWO DIRECTIONS FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE SHAFT, ALONG THE LINE OF THE PAY STREAK. FROM THE ENDS OF THE TWO TUNNELS CROSSCUTS ARE MADE TO THE LATERAL LIMITS OF THE AURIFEROUS GRAVEL, BLOCKING OUT WORKABLE GROUND. GRAVEL IS REMOVED BY A RETREATING LONG-WALL SYSTEM, WORKING TOWARD THE SHAFT. EXCELLENT CONDITIONS FOR DRIFTING.

Comment (Development): PLACER MINED BY DRIFT AND OPEN-CUT METHODS BETWEEN 1914 AND 1977, WITH PROBABLY A FEW INACTIVE YEARS. TWENTY-ONE PLANTS AT WORK DURING THE SUMMER OF 1916. LOWER PART OF CREEK DREDGED 1940-41 AND 1946 TO ABOUT 1950. LARGE-SCALE MINING UNDERWAY IN 1976-1977. ESTIMATED RESERVES FROM 640 DRILL HOLES INDICATES ABOUT 17 MILLION CUBIC YARDS OF PLACER GRAVEL THAT WOULD YEILD ABOUT .02 OZ/YD3 GOLD.

Comment (Deposit): STREAM GRADIENT ABOUT 50 FT. PER MILE. LIVENGOOD CREEK HAS BEEN THE LARGEST PLACER GOLD PRODUCER IN THE TOLOVANA DISTRICT; PROBABLY ACCOUNTED FOR AT LEAST HALF OF THE 330,000 FINE OZ. ATTRIBUTED TO THE ENTIRE DISTRICT. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT

Comment (Deposit): THIS SITE NAME WAS CREATED BY THE REPORTER OR OTHER USGS EMPLOYEE BASED ON PROXIMITY TO SOME MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE.

Comment (Location): USGS MF-413, LOC. 64. TAILINGS MARKED ON LIVENGOOD (C-3); PLACER GROUND FROM CONFLUENCE WITH MYRTLE CR. UPSTREAM TO AMY CREEK. COORDINATES GIVEN FOR TOWN OF LIVENGOOD. LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2,500,000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).

Comment (Geology): VALLEY ASSYMMETRIC; STEEP SOUTH SIDE ALONG WHICH STREAM FLOWS AND GENTLY SLOPING NORTH SIDE; BENCHES ON BOTH SIDES. BURRIED CHANNEL MINED ON BENCH ON NORTH SIDE. THIS CHANNEL IS SEPERATED FROM THE PRESENT CHANNEL OF LIVENGOOD CR. BY A BEDROCK REEF, TRACABLE FROM LIVENGOOD TO THE MOUTH OF AMY CREEK. SOME OF HEADWATER TRIBUTARIES WERE PIRATED FROM THE SO. FORK OF HESS CREEK. GRADIENT OF OLD BURRIED CHANNEL MUCH STEEPER DOWN VALLEY THAN NEAR HEAD; ABRUPT CHANGE IN GRADIENT. DIVIDE BETWEEN LIVENGOOD AND HESS CREEKS SHIFTED BACK AND FORTH AS A RESULT OF SUCCESSIVE STREAM PIRACIES. ; MAJOR.UNITS: BEDROCK IS MAINLY CHERT, SILICIFIED LIMESTONE/DOLOMITE, AND GREENSTONE. BEDROCK DEEPLY WEATHERED, LOCALLY MUCH BRECCIATED DARK-GRAY TO BLACK FLINT OR CHERT WITH PYRITE.

References

Reference (Deposit): USGS MF-413 (C-3, 4), LOC. 64.

Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL. 662, P. 260-268

Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL. 712, P. 178-181, 183-184

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