Drone Creek

The Drone Creek is a lead and zinc 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: Drone Creek
Secondary: Dc

Commodity

Primary: Lead
Primary: Zinc
Secondary: Antimony
Secondary: Arsenic
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Copper

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

Model Name: Sedimentary exhalative Zn-Pb
Model Name: Massive sulfide, kuroko

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Boulangerite
Ore: Arsenopyrite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Geology): Age = Probably Devonian to Mississippian . Younger than U-Pb age of 356 Ma.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = There is no production reported for the DC Prospect.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Dusel-Bacon and others, 1998

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The prospect is part of the Chena Slate Belt, originally delineated by Menzie and Foster (1979), and later defined by Dusel-Bacon and others (1998). They describe the region as thrust sheets of ductilely deformed, metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks of uncertain age and origin that are overlain by klippen of weakly metamorphosed oceanic rocks, and intruded by post-kinematic, Lower Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary granite. Based on stratigraphic similarities and limited fossil ages and a U-Pb zircon age of 356 Ma, Mortenson (1992) interpreted that the rocks are similar to metamorphosed rocks in the eastern Alaska Range, western and southeastern Yukon (Dusel-Bacon and others, 1998), and unmetamorphosed rocks of the Selwyn Basin (Murphy and Abbott, 1995). The Chena Slate Belt is composed of siliceous and carbonaceous black quartzite, slate, and phyllite. At the Drone Creek Prospect, drilling encountered 45 meters of sulfide-bearing zones. Mineralization of the prospect consists of layered zones parallel to foliation that contain a variable combination of sulfides, including boulangerite, galena, pyrite, and sphalerite, with minor arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite. The best intervals include: 1) 17 meters of black, carbonaceous slate with laminae containing 5% to 7% sphalerite, galena, pyrite, and pyrrhotite; and 2) a sphalerite-rich zone, 1.2 meters thick containing 1.88% Zn, 820 ppm Pb, and 4.4 ppm Ag. Pyrite occurs as subhedral cubes and porphyroblasts. Sphalerite, with an 84% ZnS composition, occurs as anhedral lenses. Galena is interstitial to pyrite and sphalerite (Dusel-Bacon and others, 1998). The original sedimentary features in the carbonaceous rocks have been eliminated by ductile shearing, folding, and low- to medium-grade metamorphism. Early, near-vertical, quartz veining is cut by low angle shears, which commonly contain pyrite. Deformation of the sulfides indicated that mineralization of the DC Prospect predates regional metamorphism. Pyrite deposition occurred both before and after quartz veining and shearing (Dusel-Bacon and others, 1998). Isotopic Pb data from galena collected from the Chena Slate Belt indicates a mineralization age of Devono-Mississippian. In addition, a 346.4 +/-1 Ma U-Pb zircon age was obtained from interlayered felsic tuffs from the eastern section of the Chena Slate Belt. These dates and the presence of sulfide deposition textures parallel to metamorphic foliation and compositional layering indicate a syngenetic origin for the sulfides (Dusel-Bacon and others, 1998). . Exploration of the Chena Slate Belt was conducted intermittently from 1981 through 1994. A preliminary stream-sediment sampling program defined a 30-kilometer belt of anomalous Zn. In 1991, further soil and rock geochemistry, gravity surveys, and airborne and horizontal-loop EM surveys delineated a Zn-Pb zone at the DC Prospect. Subsequently, the prospect was drilled (Dusel-Bacon and others, 1998). There is no production reported for the DC Prospect.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Sedimentary exhalative Zn-Pb? (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 31a). Volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit? (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 28a), similar to Selwyn Basin deposits in Yukon, Canada (Murphy and Abbott, 1995)

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Exploration of the Chena Slate Belt was conducted intermittently from 1981 through 1994. A preliminary stream-sediment sampling program defined a 30-kilometer belt of anomalous Zn. In 1991, further soil and rock geochemistry, gravity surveys, and airborne and horizontal-loop EM surveys delineated a Zn-Pb zone at the DC Prospect. Subsequently, the prospect was drilled (Dusel-Bacon and others, 1998).

References

Reference (Deposit): Mortenson, J.K., 1992, Pre-mid-Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the Yukon-Tanana terrane, Yukon and Alaska: Tectonics, v. 11, p. 836-853.

Reference (Deposit): Dusel-Bacon, C., Bressler, J.R., Takoaka, H., Mortenson, J.K., Oliver, D.H., Leventhal, J.S., Newberry, R.J., and Bundtzen, T.K., 1998, Stratiform zinc-lead mineralization in Nasina assemblage rocks of the Yukon-Tanana Upland in east-central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-340, 26 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-388, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

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): Murphy, D.C., and Abbott, G., 1995, Northern Yukon-Tanana terrane: The equivalent of Yukon's western Selwyn Basin offset along the Tintina fault? [abs.]: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 27, no. 5, , 26 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.

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