Galena Bay Mining Co. (Vesuvius Valley)

The Galena Bay Mining Co. (Vesuvius Valley) is a copper 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: Galena Bay Mining Co. (Vesuvius Valley)

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: Zinc
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Copper River

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: Massive sulfide, Cyprus

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Calcite

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Nelson and others (1985) interpret the country rocks as accreted ocean crust. Crowe and others (1992; 1993) and Sainsbury (1993) discuss the genesis of the volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in this area.. Chugach Alaska Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska has control of these lands.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The country rocks at these prospects are mafic volcanic rocks and sedimentary rocks of the Tertiary Orca Group (Nelson and others, 1985). The deposit consists of shear-zone-hosted masses of calcite, quartz, chalcopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, and sphalerite. Capps and Johnson (1915) reported that most of the ore was found in numerous 1- to 20-ft.-wide shear zones in pillow basalt (greenstone). The shear zone containing most of the early workings is 1000 ft. long. Jansons and others (1984) collected chip samples that contained 58 ppm to 13% Cu, 46 ppm to 2% Zn, and <0.1 ppm to 32.8 ppm Ag; their grab samples contained 80 ppm to 6.1% Cu, 790 ppm to 20.1% Zn, and 1.1 ppm to 20 ppm Ag. Small amounts of gold were reported in earlier assays (Capps and Johnson, 1915).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Cyprus massive sulfide (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 24a)

Comment (Geology): Age = Probably Tertiary based on the age of the host rocks.

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

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Inferred reserves of 5,800 tons @ 7.9% Cu, 1.3% Zn, and 5 ppm Ag (Jansons and others, 1984).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Capps and Johnson (1915) reported nine adits with a total of about 3000 ft. of underground workings, and some open cuts and buildings. The longest (2200 ft) adit was caved by the early 1980s (Jansons and others, 1984). Jansons and others (1984) collected chip samples that contained 58 ppm to 13% Cu, 46 ppm to 2% Zn, and <0.1 ppm to 32.8 ppm Ag; their grab samples contained 80 ppm to 6.1% Cu, 790 ppm to 20.1% Zn, and 1.1 ppm to 20 ppm Ag. Small amounts of gold were reported in earlier assays (Capps and Johnson, 1915).

References

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., and Johnson, B.L., 1915, The Ellamar district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 605, 125 p.

Reference (Deposit): Crowe, D.E., Nelson, S.W., Brown, P.E., Shanks III, W.C., and Valley, J.W., 1992, Geology and geochemistry of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits and related igneous rocks, Prince William Sound, south-central Alaska: Economic Geology, v. 87, p. 1722-1746.

Reference (Deposit): Nelson, S.W., Dumoulin, J. A., and Miller, M.L., 1985, Geologic map of the Chugach National Forest, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-1645-B, 16 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Cordova quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-392, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Sainsbury, C.L., 1993, Geology and geochemistry of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits and related igneous rocks, Prince William Sound, south-central Alaska, A discussion: Economic Geology, v. 88, p. 1284-1285.

Reference (Deposit): Crowe, D.E., Nelson, S.W., Brown, P.E., Shanks III, W.C., and Valley, J.W., 1993, Geology and geochemistry of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits and related igneous rocks, Prince William Sound, south-central Alaska-A reply: Economic Geology, v. 88, p. 1285-1288.

Reference (Deposit): Jansons, Uldis, Hoekzema, R.B., Kurtak, J.M., and Fechner, S.A., 1984, Mineral occurrences in the Chugach National Forest, Southcentral Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 5-84, 218 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

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