Yakataga (east of White River)

The Yakataga (east of White River) is a gold and titanium 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: Yakataga (east of White River)

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Titanium
Secondary: Chromium

Location

State: Alaska
District: Yakataga

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: Copper
Ore: Chromite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Hematite
Ore: Ilmenite
Ore: Magnetite
Ore: Rutile
Gangue: Zircon
Gangue: Sphene
Gangue: Pyroxene
Gangue: Monazite
Gangue: Garnet
Gangue: Amphibole

Comments

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

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The placer gold in Yakataga-area beaches was discovered in 1897 or 1898, and small-scale mining started in 1899 (Maddren, 1914). Rocker and sluice operations continued to WW II. Drill prospecting of raised beaches occurred after WW II (Thomas and Berryhill, 1962), as did sporadic attempts at small-scale mining. Most of the post-WW II mining was west of Cape Yakataga (see BG005; Miller, 1971). The gold in the Yakataga area, naturally concentrated in heavy-mineral accumulations by storm waves, is fine and flat. Other heavy minerals include amphibole, garnet, chromite, native copper, hematite, magnetite, pyroxene, rutile, sphene, ilmenite, zircon, and probably some monazite (Maddren, 1914, Thomas and Berryhill, 1962; Foley and others, 1995). The iron and titanium oxide contents of reconnaissance samples of beach sand from the Yakataga area were reported by Thomas and Berryhill (1962). These samples contained as much as 6.2 pounds of iron per ton but mostly less than 2 pounds of iron per ton. Their titanium oxide content was less than 2 pounds per ton in the magnetic fraction and as much as 7.3 pounds, but mostly less than 2 pounds, per ton in the non-magnetic fraction. Foley and others (1995) processed 94 samples from 69 locations, including some raised beaches, along this segment of the Yakataga shoreline. Spiral concentrates from these samples contained less than 0.028 gram (72 samples) to 0.790 gram of gold per ton (one outlier sample was reported to contain 12.219 grams of gold per ton), 0.31 to 3.66 percent titanium, and 78 to 6867 ppm zirconium. Heavy-mineral concentrates from six samples (8.42 to 18.20 weight percent of the original samples) contained 0.008 to 0.437 percent magnetite, 0.250 to 2.310 percent ilmenite, 0.631 to 4.780 percent garnet, 0.008 to 0.271 percent rutile, and 7.22 to 12.38 percent other minerals. Flotation concentrate from one sample contained 3.499 grams of gold per ton, less than 0.003 gram of platinum per ton, and 0.102 gram of palladium per ton. The placer gold in the Yakataga beaches may be derived from reworking of marine-glacial deposits of the Cenozoic Yakataga Formation (Reimnitz and Plafker, 1976).

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Foley and others, 1995

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Small-scale rocker and sluice operations took place from 1899 to WW II. Drill prospecting of raised beaches occurred after WW II (Thomas and Berryhill, 1962), as did sporadic attempts at small-scale mining. Most of the post-WW II mining was west of Cape Yakataga (Miller, 1971).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = A part of the 15,000 to 16,000 total ounces of gold produced in the Yakataga district was recovered from this area.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive

References

Reference (Deposit): Miller, D.J., 1971, Geologic map of the Yakataga district, Gulf of Alaska Tertiary Province, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map I-610, scale 1:125,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1979, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bering Glacier, Icy Bay, Middleton Island, and Yakutat quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 79-1246, 41 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Bering Glacier quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-373, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Thomas, B.I., and Berryhill, R. V., 1962, Reconnaissance studies of Alaskan beach sands, eastern Gulf of Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 5986, 40 p.

Reference (Deposit): Maddren, A.G., 1914, Mineral deposits of the Yakataga district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-E, p. 119-153.

Reference (Deposit): Foley, J.Y., La Berge, R.D., Grosz, A.E., Oliver, F.S., and Hirt, W.C., 1995, Onshore titanium and related heavy mineral investigations in the eastern Gulf of Alaska region, southern Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 10-95, 125 p.

Reference (Deposit): Reimnitz, Erk, and Plafker, George, 1976, Marine gold placers along the Gulf of Alaska margin: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1415, 16 p.

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