Dry Creek Cut

The Dry Creek Cut is a gold 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

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Site Name

Primary: Dry Creek Cut

Commodity

Primary: Gold

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: 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: Gold
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

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

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Age = the same as Tammany paleochannel. Tammany channel is probably mid-Wisconsin in age (Reger and Bundtzen, 1990).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = The total production from the Dry Creek Cut is not known.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The geology of the general area of the Dry Creek Cut is described in records HE194 and HE197. The Dry Creek Cut is the downstream portion of the Tammany paleochannel truncated by the cross-cutting younger Valdez Creek. The base of the paleochannel was higher in elevation than Valdez Creek. The cut was mined from its lower extent upstream as far as was possible without destroying the access road to Denali. The Tammany-Dry Creek paleochannel was filled with large boulders at its base and contained a very high grade placer. The descriptions of the Valdez Creek area (HE194 and HE197) that apply to the Tammany or A paleochannel also apply to the Dry Creek Cut.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The workings in this cut are impressive. In places, overburden approached 100 feet in depth. Large boulders are hand stacked adjacent to the pay channels that were mined. A telegraph pole(?) and wire are still present. The cut appears to be mined out, except for the pay gravels that remain beneath the road.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Smith, 1981

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = No reserves remain.

References

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

Reference (Deposit): Smith, T.E., 1981, Geology of the Clearwater Mountains, south-central Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Geologic Report 60, 72 p., 3 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Tuck, Ralph, 1938, The Valdez Creek mining district, Alaska, in 1936: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-B, p. 109-131.

The Top Ten Gold Producing States

These ten states contributed the most to the gold production that built the West from 1848 through the 1930s. The Top Ten Gold Producing States.