Unnamed (southwest of Sunshine Valley)

The Unnamed (southwest of Sunshine Valley) is a copper and silver 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: Unnamed (southwest of Sunshine Valley)

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: Silver

Location

State: Alaska
District: Bristol Bay Region

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

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

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicification and oxidation.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The ridge in the area of this occurrence is underlain by two small granitic stocks that sharply crosscut and thermally metamorphose Mesozoic sedimentary country rocks; other plutons may be present in the subsurface of the area (Mertie, 1938; Kilburn and others, 1993). A general area of mineralization and its relation to intrusive rocks on the ridge southwest of Sunshine Valley was originally reported by Mertie (1938, p. 88). This occurrence is in the contact zone of the easternmost of the two exposed plutons. Silicified and oxidized samples of argillite contained anomalous concentrations of Ag, As and Cu (Gray and others, 1992; Kilburn and others, 1993). The contact zone generally is iron-stained and silicified. Weakly mineralized hornfels contains some disseminated pyrite and small quartz-pyrite veinlets. Stream sediment and heavy mineral concentrate in the area contain anomalous concentrations of As, Au, Ba, Bi, Hg, Mo, Pb, Sn, W, and Zn, especially in streams headwatered near the granitic plutons (Cieutat and others, 1988).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Kilburn and others, 1993

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Surface reconnaissance geochemical sampling has been completed in the area (Kilburn and others, 1993).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = This occurrence is within Wood-Tikchik State Park.

Comment (Geology): Age = Late Cretaceous or Early Tertiary. Mineralization is probably related to the granitic plutons in the area, which are part of a regionally extensive Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary plutonic suite. K/Ar ages for samples collected from the western stock on this ridge are 69.5 +/-2.1 Ma on biotite and 63.4 +/- 1.9 Ma on hornblende (Hoare and Coonrad, 1978).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Polymetallic veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c)

References

Reference (Deposit): Hoare, J.M., and Coonrad, W.L., 1978, Geologic map of the Goodnews and Hagemeister Island quadrangles region, southwestern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-9-B, two sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Kilburn, J.E., Goldfarb, R.J., Griscom, Andrew, and Box, S E., 1993, Map showing metallic mineral resource potential in the Goodnews Bay, Hagemeister Island, and Nushagak Bay quadrangles, southwest Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2228, 4 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cieutat, B.A., Goldfarb, R.J., and Specman, W.S., 1988, Analytical results and sample locality map of stream-sediment, heavy-mineral-concentrate, and organic material samples from the Goodnews, Hagemeister Island, and Nushagak quadrangles, southwest Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 88-591, 187 p.

Reference (Deposit): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1938, The Nushagak district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 903, 96 p.

Reference (Deposit): Gray, J.E., Adrian, B.M., Hagemon, P.L., and Kilburn, J.E., 1992, Analytical results and sample locality map of rock samples from the eastern Goodnews Bay quadrangle, southwest Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 92-8-A, scale 1:250,000.

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