Red Shale

The Red Shale is a lead and zinc 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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Site Name

Primary: Red Shale

Commodity

Primary: Lead
Primary: Zinc
Secondary: Copper

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: Mississippi Valley, S.E. Missouri Pb-Zn
Model Name: Sedimentary exhalative Zn-Pb

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Strong ferricrete replacement of earlier sulfides.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Calcite

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = This description

Comment (Geology): Age = Late Proterozoic or Cambrian if mineralization is syngenetic.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Red Shale occurrence is a stratiform, ferricrete gossan interbedded with quartzite, algal limestone, and dolomite of probable Cambrian or Late Proterozoic (?) age (Wilson and others, 1998). The section is exposed near the axis of an upright anticline that is structurally uplifted in a horst. The ferricrete zone occurs mainly as rubble crop and talus in a poorly exposed, shallow water, dolomite-carbonate dominant sequence that is interpreted to be the oldest exposed part of the Nixon Fork subterrane in the McGrath quadrangle (Babcock and others, 1994; Decker and others, 1994). . The mineralized gossan strikes N15E, dips approximately 8E, ranges from 10 centimeters to 40 centimeters thick, and can be traced for about 140 meters along strike. Vegetation conceals the extensions of the mineralized area in both directions. Although poorly exposed, the mineralization is parallel to bedding. Minor late calcite incrustations were found in the ferricrete gossan. Three chip-channel samples (82BT219, 82BT221, 82BT222) taken at equally-spaced intervals along the exposed strike of the gossan zone contain up to 62.60 percent iron, 231 ppm copper, 485 ppm lead, 169 ppm nickel, and 2,250 ppm zinc (T.K. Bundtzen, written communication, 1983). No sulfides were recognized.

Comment (Geology): Ore Material = Ferricrete oxide

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Three chip-channel samples (82BT219, 82BT221, 82BT222) taken at equally spaced intervals along the exposed strike of the gossan zone contain up to 62.60 percent iron, 231 ppm copper, 485 ppm lead, 169 ppm nickel, and 2,250 ppm zinc (T.K. Bundtzen, written communication, 1983).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Uncertain; either Southeast Missouri Pb-Zn (?) or sedimentary exhalitive lead-zinc (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 32a or 31a).

References

Reference (Deposit): Wilson, F.H., Dover, J.H., Bradley, D.C., Weber, F.R., Bundtzen, T.K., and Haeussler, P.J., 1998, Geologic map of central (interior) Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-133, 17 p., 2 sheetsm, scale 1:500,000.

Reference (Deposit): Decker, J., Bergman, S.C., Blodgett, R.B., Box, S.E., Bundtzen, T.K., Clough, J.G., Coonrad, W.L., Gilbert, W.G., Miller, M.L., Murphy, J.M., Robinson, M.S., and Wallace, W.K., 1994, Geology of southwestern 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. G-1, p. 285-310.

Reference (Deposit): Babcock, L.E., Blodgett, R.B., and St. John, James, 1994, New Late(?) Proterozoic age formations in the vicinity of Lone Mountain, McGrath quadrangle, Alaska, in Till, A.B., and Moore, T.E., eds., Geological studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1993: U.S. Geological Survey 2107, p. 143-156.

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