True North

The True North 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: True North

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Fairbanks

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

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Quartz, manganese-oxides, ankerite, mariposite, sericite and carbon.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Not available

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Metallurgical tests found that gold recoveries would probably be 85-95% for the 1.3 million ounces of gold in the non-sulfide, coarse material from the oxide zones at the Hindenburg and Shepard prospects (Szumigala and Swainbank, 1999, p. 10). Deeper, more sulfide-rich samples from the Hindenburg and the Shepard prospects probably will have gold recoveries ranging from 61 to 68%.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Swainbank and others, 1998

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = As of 1997, geologic resources were calculated to be 1.3 million ounces of gold with a grade of 0.072 ounces of gold per ton (Swainbank and others, 1998, p. 8; Masterman, 1998).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The following history of exploration is based on an extended abstract presented by Steve Masterman, Newmont Exploration Limited, at the 1998 Alaska Miners Association Meeting. In 1990, Dick Swainbank brought the property to the attention of AMAX Gold, Inc. (AGI). AGI acquired the claims and conducted soil sampling, trenching, and 6,332 feet of reverse-circulation (RC) drilling. In 1994, after drilling 14 RC holes under an exploration agreement, LaTeko acquired the property from AGI. During the summer of 1994, LaTeko expanded the soil grid, excavated additional trenches, drilled 52,000 feet of RC and 2,040 feet of HQ core. In 1995, Newmont Exploration Ltd. began exploration on the property, after entering into a joint venture with LaTeko. Exploration activities on the True North property from 1991 to 1997 consisted of 9,832 top-of-bedrock soil samples, 15,621 feet of trenching, 40,133 feet of core drilling, and 153,914 feet of RC drilling (Masterman, 1998). In 1998, most exploration work consisted of auger soil sampling programs (Szumigala and Swainbank, 1999, p. 10). In 1999, Kinross Gold Exploration acquired Newmont's 65% interest in the True North Venture.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Disseminated carbonate-replacement gold mineralizaton associated with intrusion- and schist-hosted crushed veins and low-angle shears.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The True North gold deposit is a structurally controlled, disseminated gold deposit located on the northwest flank of Pedro Dome. Gold was recognized on the property as early as 1913, but historic production was limited to stibnite ore, mined from the Hindenburg/Markovich mine (ARDF no. LG054), which is located within the current True North land holdings. Mineralization at True North is associated with quartz-carbonate veins in a heterogeneous high-grade metamorphic package containing calcareous eclogites, particularly where carbonaceous schists and quartzite are prevalent (Swainbank and others, 1998, p. 8). Gold occurs within a northeast-trending zone, 2500 feet wide and 5000 feet long, west of the northeast-trending Eldorado Fault. Gold-bearing zones are typically 20 to 60 feet thick within gently dipping shear zones and faulted lithologic contacts (Masterman, 1998). Gold grades within the shear zones average 0.05 to 0.10 ounces of gold per ton (Masterman, 1998). Ar-Ar dating of alteration associated with mineralization at Fort Knox, Ryan Lode, Golden Summit and True North all place the main mineralizing event at +/- 90 Ma (Masterman, 1998). Exploration activities on the True North property from 1991 to 1997 consisted of 9,832 top-of-bedrock soil samples, 15,621 feet of trenching, 40,133 feet of core drilling and 153,914 feet of RC drilling (Masterman, 1998). Auger soil-sampling programs occurred in 1998 (Szumigala and Swainbank, 1999, p. 10). There is particular interest in a 400 foot by 1,000 foot gold-arsenic-antimony anomaly occurring southwest of the True North trend (Szumigala and Swainbank, 1999, p. 10). . As of 1997, geologic resources were calculated to be 1.3 million ounces of gold with a grade of 0.072 ounces of gold per ton (Swainbank and others, 1998, p. 8; Masterman, 1998). In 1997, core drilling and 55,000 feet of reverse-circulation drilling led to the discovery of the Merlyn and Dome Creek mineralized zones (Swainbank and others, 1998, p.8).

References

Reference (Deposit): Swainbank, R.C., Clautice, K.C., and Nauman, J.L., 1998, Alaska's Mineral Industry 1997: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 52, 65 p.

Reference (Deposit): Szumigala, D.J., and Swainbank, R.C., 1999, Alaska's mineral industry 1998: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report SR 53, 71 p.

Reference (Deposit): Masterman, S. S., 1998, The True North gold project, Fairbanks mining district, Alaska [abs.], in Extended abstracts of the 16th biennial conference on Alaskan mining: Alaska Miners Association Annual Meeting, March, 1998, Fairbanks, Alaska.

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.