Terra Cotta Mountains

The Terra Cotta Mountains is a antimony, lead, copper, 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

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: Terra Cotta Mountains

Commodity

Primary: Antimony
Primary: Lead
Primary: Copper
Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver

Location

State: Alaska
District: McGrath

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.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Stibnite
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Arsenopyrite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Allen, 199o

Comment (Commodity): Gangue = Carbonate

Comment (Geology): Age = Late Cretaceous or Tertiary. The veins crosscut Upper Cretaceous or Tertiary granitic rocks of the Alaska-Aleutian Range batholith.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Quartz-carbonate breccia veins are developed in altered granitic rocks and nearby graywacke country rock. The veins commonly contain pyrite, arsenopyrite, lesser stibnite and chalcopyrite, and some pyrrhotite. Allen and others (1990, samples 805 to 814) collected several samples in the general area of this locality. These samples contain as much as 1 ppm gold, 100 ppm silver, 1,000 ppm barium, 300 ppm bismuth, 1,000 ppm cobalt, 7,000 ppm copper, 20,000 ppm lead, 1,500 ppm antimony, and 500 ppm tin and greater than 10,000 ppm arsenic, 2,000 ppm boron, and 5,000 ppm manganese. The sedimentary rocks are Jurassic or Lower Cretaceous, and the Upper Cretaceous or Tertiary granitic rocks are part of the Alaska-Aleutian Range batholith (Reed and Lanphere, 1973; Nokleberg and others, 1994).

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

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Surface observation and sampling has occurred at this locality.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

References

Reference (Deposit): Allen, M. S., Malcolm, M. J., Motooka, J. M., and Slaughter, K. E., 1990, Geologic description, chemical analyses, and sample locality map for rock samples collected from the eastern part of the Lime Hills quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 90-69, 49 p..

Reference (Deposit): Nokleberg, W.J., and others, 1994, Metallogeny and major mineral deposits of Alaska and Metallogenic map of significant metalliferous lode deposits and placer districts of Alaska, in Plafker, G. and Berg, H.C., eds., The Geology of Alaska: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America: The Geology of North America, v. G1, p. 855-904 and v. G1, Plate 11, scale 1:2,500,000.

Reference (Deposit): Reed, B. L., and Lanphere, M. A., 1973, Alaska-Aleutian Range batholith-- Geochronology, chemistry, and relation to circum-Pacific plutonism: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 84, no. 8, p. 2583-2610.

Reference (Deposit): Allen, M.S, 1990, Gold anomalies and newly identified gold occurrences in the Lime Hills quadrangle, Alaska , and their association with the Hartman sequence plutons, in Goldfarb, R. J., Nash, J. T., and Stoeser, J. W., eds., Geochemical studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1989: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1950, p. F1-F16.

Reference (Deposit): Allen, M.S., and Slaughter, K. E., 1990, Mineralogical data and sample locality map of nonmagnetic, heavy-mineral-concentrate samples collected from the eastern part of the Lime Hills quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 90-67, 64 p., 1 plate, scale 1:250,000.

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.