Steamboat Creek

The Steamboat Creek is a 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

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: Steamboat Creek

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Secondary: Lead

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

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Galena

Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = In 1958, Pete Smith, a local placer miner, found some pieces of galena-bearing float in the valley of Steamboat Creek (Saunders, 1963; ATDM PE 49-15). He attempted to trace the float to its bedrock source by hand-trenching and trenching with a bulldozer. The Alaska Department of Mines investigated the area in the early 1960's by bulldozer trenching, hand-digging pits and auger hole drilling for geochemical sampling. By 1968, the owners of the lode prospect were conducting rotary drilling and intended to drill about 450 feet (Vance, 1968).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = In 1963, it was reported that the owners of the prospect planned to mine and ship ore from an exposed vein. It is not known whether or not mining took place (Saunder, 1963; ATDM PE 49-15).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Polymetallic shear zone.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = A prospect shaft revealed a 7-foot-wide shear zone that strikes north and dips vertically (Saunders, 1963; ATDM PE 49-15). A channel sample cut across four feet of the shear zone assayed 0.18 ounces of gold per ton and 3.50 ounces per ton silver. Subsequent samples revealed only trace to 0.02 ounces of gold per ton and 0.70 to 1.31 ounces of silver per ton. The shear zone is at the contact between mica schist and quartz diorite. In 1963, a trial shipment of galena ore from a vein exposed in a trench contained 106.0 ounces of silver per ton, 0.02 ounces of gold per ton, 49.0% lead and 0.04% copper (Saunders, 1963; ATDM PE 49-15).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Saunders, 1963 (ATDM PE 49-15)

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

References

Reference (Deposit): Vance, T., 1968, Examination of Steamboat Creek prospect, Fairbanks district, in 1968: Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals Prospect Evaluation 49-19, 2 p.

Reference (Deposit): Saunders, R.H., 1963, Report on the Pete Smith prospect, Steamboat Creek, Fairbanks district, Livengood quadrangle: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Prospect Evaluation 49-15, 21 p., 2 maps, scale 1:240.

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.