Alvinella

The Alvinella 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: Alvinella
Secondary: Cub Creek

Commodity

Primary: Lead
Primary: Zinc

Location

State: Alaska
District: Lisburne

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

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Slight silicification.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The general area has been mapped, sampled, and explored by geophysical surveys. Several core holes, drilled since the early 1980's, have intercepted thin, low-grade mineralization (Scott Jennings, oral communication, 1999).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Alvinella prospect is in the southern part of a several-square-mile area which contains five surface showings of lead and zinc mineralization in the black shales of the Mississippian Lisburne Formation. The geologic and structural setting is similar to that at Red Dog (ARDF number DL001). Thrust faults cause repetition of the mineralized shale horizon. The thrust blocks overlie the Cretaceous Wolverine Creek allochthon, which is the structural footwall of the Red Dog sequence. Drilling at the prospect has intercepted zones of low-grade mineralization. The prospect is named for fossilized worm tubes commonly found in the Ikalikrok Member, which consists of silicified, sulfide-bearing shale, carbonate, and non-silicified shales. The tubes are associated with at least minor base-metal sulfides and are thought to indicate sites of hydrothermal discharge (Young, 1989).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Sedimentary exhalative Zn-Pb (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 31a).

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = the prospect is located on NANA-owned lands.

Comment (Geology): Age = Mississippian.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = This description

References

Reference (Deposit): Phelps, R., 1998, Leader of the Pack, Red Dog Mine 'Grows Up': Engineering and Mining Journal, v. 199, p. 34-44.

Reference (Deposit): Young, L.E., 1989, Geology and genesis of the Red Dog deposit, western Brooks Range, Alaska: Canadian Institute of Mining Bulletin, v. 82, p. 57-67.

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