The Unnamed (moraine on Fairweather Glacier) is a copper and nickel 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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Unnamed (moraine on Fairweather Glacier) MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Unnamed (moraine on Fairweather Glacier)
Commodity
Primary: Copper
Primary: Nickel
Secondary: Iron
Secondary: Vanadium
Secondary: Cobalt
Secondary: Chromium
Secondary: PGE
Secondary: Titanium
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Gold
Location
State: Alaska
District: Yakutat
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
Not available
Orebody
Not available
Structure
Not available
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Not available
Analytical Data
Not available
Materials
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Pentlandite
Ore: Magnetite
Ore: Ilmenite
Ore: Cubanite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Comments
Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Kimball and others, 1978
Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Unconsolidated glacial moraine containing metalliferous detritus.
Comment (Geology): Age = Recent morainal accumulation of sulfide- and heavy metallic oxide-bearing detritus derived from the Mt. Fairweather intrusion.
Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Cobbles of mafic rocks containing concentrations of magnetite-ilmenite or of disseminated sulfides, including chalcopyrite and pentlandite, occur in moraine adjacent to the Mt. Fairweather layered mafic intrusion and must have been derived from mineral deposits within the intrusion. Plafker and MacKevett (1970) found as much as 0.5 percent copper, also 0.5 percent nickel in the first sampling of the moraine occurrence. Kimball and others (1978) found as much as 0.64 percent copper and 0.2 percent nickel in samples collected from the moraine. Gold, platinum or palladium, cobalt, and chromium were also reported in assays from samples from the moraine.
Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The mineralized rocks were collected from the moraine. No examination of the probable source area of the detritus was possible because of the extremely rugged terrane. Further investigations would call for trained mountaineers. The sites near Mt. Fairweather were first visited by Plafker and MacKevett (1970), who obtained materials estimated to contain as much as 0.5 percent each of copper and nickel. The sites were then resampled by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (Kimball and others, 1978, p. C108-C119). Samples 7K064 and 065 collected by the Bureau contained 0.03-0.05 ounce/ton gold, trace to 0.008 ounce/ton platinum or palladium, as much as 0.64 percent copper, 0.2 percent nickel, 200-300 ppm cobalt, and 2000-5000 ppm chromium.
Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = the site is in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. A search for the source of the metalliferous boulders would need mountaineering support.
References
Reference (Deposit): Plafker, George, and MacKevett, E. M., Jr., 1970, Mafic and ultramafic rocks from a layered pluton at Mount Fairweather, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 700-B, p. B21-B26.
Reference (Deposit): Kimball, A.L., Still, J.C., and Rataj, J.L., 1978, Mineral resources, in Brew, D. A., and others, Mineral resources of the Glacier Bay National Monument wilderness study area, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-494, p. C1-C375.
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