Blt

The Blt is a gold 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: Blt

Commodity

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

Location

State: Alaska
District: Valdez Creek

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: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Clays, ankerite/calcite, and quartz are the dominant alteration assemblages in the mafic dikes.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Arsenopyrite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Tetrahedrite
Gangue: Ankerite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Marcasite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Sericite

Comments

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = BLT is the name given to the prospect that includes the Blind, Little, and Tunnel veins near the Golden Zone mine (HE043) (C.C. Hawley, oral communication, 1999). The veins and a strongly altered mafic dike are in a shear zone that defines the southeast margin of the Golden Zone porphyry. The shear zone and mafic dike cut Triassic redbed sandstone, conglomerate, limestone, and volcanoclastic rocks. The shear zone-dike (BLT zone) also cuts the quartz-biotite porphyry associated with the Golden Zone breccia pipe. The BLT prospect consists of early, arsenopyrite-rich quartz veins, followed by quartz-carbonate-sulfide veins, stockwork zones, and massive sulfide lenses. The veins are colloform and banded, indicating an epithermal depositional environment. Sulfide phases in the BLT differ from those in the Golden Zone, in that they contain more pyrite and marcasite, more lead and zinc, and less copper. Only the younger, sulfide-quartz-carbonate veins that locally cut the arsenopyrite-rich veins contain free gold. The arsenopyrite-rich veins probably correlate with the Upper Cretaceous veins at the Golden Zone mine (unpublished report by Addwest Minerals International Ltd., 1997).

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

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Underground work encountered the Blind Vein in the 1970's. 19 drill holes (totalling over 6,000 feet) have been completed up to the present (1999), along with widespread trenching and soil geochemistry grids. Closely-spaced helicopter aeromagnetic and EM geophysical surveys have been flown over this prospect. The State of Alaska flew a more widely-spaced helicopter aeromagnetic survey in 1996 (Burns, 1997).

Comment (Geology): Age = Late Cretaceous and younger.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Hawley and others, 1978

References

Reference (Deposit): Hawley, C.C., and others, 1978, Mineral appraisal of lands adjacent to Mt. McKinley National Park, Alaska. Contract No. JO166107: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 24-78, 274 p., 12 sheets.

Reference (Deposit): Hawley, C.C., and Clark, A.L., 1974, Geology and mineral deposits of the upper Chulitna district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 758-B, p. 1-47, 2 sheets, scale 1:12,000 and 1:48,000.

Reference (Deposit): Mulligan, J.J., Warfield, R.S., and Wells, R.R., 1967, Sampling a gold-copper deposit, Golden Zone Mine, south-central Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 9-67, 59 p.

Reference (Deposit): Berg, H.C., and Cobb, E.H., 1967, Metalliferous Lode Deposits of Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1246, 254 p.

Reference (Deposit): Ross, C.P., 1933, The Valdez Creek mining district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 849, p. 289-467.

Reference (Deposit): Wells, R.R., 1956, Laboratory concentration of various Alaska copper ores: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 5245, 9 p.

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