Buckeye Zone

The Buckeye Zone 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: Buckeye Zone

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Arsenic
Secondary: Bismuth
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Tellurium
Secondary: Antimony

Location

State: Alaska
District: Fairbanks

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Prospect
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Galena
Ore: Bismuth
Ore: Arsenopyrite
Ore: Stibnite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Limonite

Comments

Comment (Production): Production Notes = There has been no gold production from the Banner Dike Zone prospect.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Plutonic-related mesothermal, shear hosted deposit

Comment (Geology): Ore Material = lead-antimony sulfosalts

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Swainbank and others, 1984

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson area in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and expanded to Buckeye Creek. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). In 1998, an exploration program consisting of reconnaissance mapping, stream-sediment, heavy-mineral concentrate, and rock-chip sampling was conducted in the Richardson area. A total of 182 rock-chip samples were collected from 38 prospect pits and 109 pan concentrates from local streams (F.L. Blystone, press release, 1998).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Richardson area is characterized by gentle slopes and broad, alluvium-filled valleys (Prindle and Katz, 1913, p. 140). The area is unglaciated and largely overlain by windblown silt, sand, and loess, locally up to 50 meters thick (Foster and others, 1979). The bedrock in the region comprises greenschist to amphibolite facies schist, marble, and gneiss that have been intruded by various igneous bodies (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). The schist and marble are probably Paleozoic, and the gneiss has a probable protolith of Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks (Weber and others, 1978). The intrusive bodies in the area range in composition from rhyolite to andesite. Fine-grained rhyolite containing quartz and feldspar phenocrysts is common throughout the area (Olson and others, 1985). At the nearby Democrat Lode (BD014), the rhyolite contains arsenopyrite, gold, and pyrite, and is albitic, clay, and sericite altered (R.J. Newberry, oral communication, 1998). Structurally, the Richardson region is cut by a northwest-trending fracture system termed the Richardson Lineament. The lineament appears to correspond to the distribution of the rhyolite and other intrusive bodies and placer gold deposits (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). Also, the lineament tends to separate gneissic rocks to the northeast from schistose rocks to the southwest (Swainbank and others, 1984). . The location and extent of the Buckeye Zone is poorly defined, but it appears to be situated in a narrow north-trending tributary of Buckeye Creek at the approximate intersection of the northwest-trending Richardson Lineament and a northeast-trending structural zone that confines Buckeye Creek. The zone is defined by mineralized areas of variably fractured, limonite-stained, massive quartz veins. Gold mineralization of the Buckeye Zone is characterized by high gold-bismuth-tellurium values. The best assay results are as high as 53 ppm Au, 846 ppm Bi, and 127 ppm Te (F.L. Blystone, press release, 1998). Sulfide assemblages include variable combinations of arsenopyrite, galena, pyrite, stibnite, and Pb-Sb sulfosalts (K. Ausburn, oral communication, 1998). Based on prospect-pit observations, the host rock appears to be predominantly biotite gneiss, amphibolite, and quartzite containing fine grained pyrrhotite. Prospect pits approximately 5,800 feet north-northeast and 750 feet southeast of the zone contain similar zones of mineralization and lithologies (F.L. Blystone, press release, 1998). Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and expanded to Banner Creek and associated tributaries. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). In 1998, an exploration program consisting of reconnaissance mapping, stream-sediment, heavy-mineral concentrate, and rock-chip sampling was conducted in the Richardson area. A total of 182 rock-chip samples were collected from 38 prospect pits and 109 pan concentrates from local streams (F.L. Blystone, press release, 1998). There has been no gold production from the Banner Dike Zone prospect.

References

Reference (Deposit): Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-J, p. 357-362.

Reference (Deposit): Weber, F.R., Foster, H.L., Keith, T.E.C., Dusel-Bacon, C., 1978, Preliminary geologic map of the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-529A, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Metz, P.A., and Hawkins, D.B., 1981, A summary of gold fineness values from Alaska placer deposits: University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Report No. 45, 63 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and Eberlein, G.D., 1980, Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Big Delta and Tanacross quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-1086, 77 p.

Reference (Deposit): Swainbank, R.C., Burton, J.P., and Metz, P.A., 1984, Bedrock geology of the Richardson mining district, Alaska: University of Alaska, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Open-File Report 84-2, 60 p., 8 maps, scale 1:40,000.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., and Reger, R.D., 1977, The Richardson lineament-a structural control for gold deposits in the Richardson mining district, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geologic Report 55, 46 p.

Reference (Deposit): Menzie, W.D., and Foster, H.L., 1979, Metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral resource potential in the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-529D, 61 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Eberlein, G.D., Chapman, R.M., Foster, H.L., and Gassaway, J.S., 1977, Map and table describing known metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits in central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-168-D, 132 p., 1 map, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Prindle, L.M., and Katz, F.J., 1913, Detailed description of the Fairbanks district, in Prindle, L. M., A geologic reconnaissance of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 525, p. 59-152.

Reference (Deposit): Olson, B.G., Burton, J., Wolff, E.N., and Swainbank, R.D., 1985, Mining and minerals in the golden heart of Alaska: Fairbanks North Star Borough Publication, 80 p.

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