Straight Creek Springs

The Straight Creek Springs is a zinc, nickel, and copper 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: Straight Creek Springs

Commodity

Primary: Zinc
Primary: Nickel
Primary: Copper
Secondary: Molybdenum

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

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Silicrete-limonite.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Not available

Comments

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = This description

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Unknown; anomalous values are apparently derived from Ordovician-Silurian black shale section.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = the gossan occurs in the same stratigarphic position as exists in the Crash (MG049) and Dahl (MG053) prospects in the 'Farewell mineral belt'.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Straight Creek Springs consist of a very distinctive, north-south trending, 400-meter-long line of more than a dozen active springs, each containing conspicuous coatings and replacements of brilliant orange limonite and light gray, bleached, silicrete crusts up to 3 centimeters thick. The conspicuous orange-light gray colored springs occur immediately below the contact between the black shale-rich section of the Ordovician-Lower Silurian, Post River Formation and the mid to Late Silurian Terra Cotta Mountains Sandstone, both of lower Paleozoic age (Churkin and Carter, 1996; Bundtzen, Harris, and Gilbert, 1997). The springs may indicate a concealed mineralized source in the black shale section. . Herreid (1968) and T.K. Bundtzen and G.M. Laird (written communications, 1998) report that samples of silicrete-limonite material from two of the springs contain up to 125 ppm copper, 270 ppm zinc, 400 ppm nickel, and 10 ppm molybdenum.

Comment (Commodity): Gangue = Silicrete minerals

Comment (Geology): Ore Material = Iron oxides

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The Straight Creek Springs were first described by Herreid (1968). Herreid (1968) and T.K. Bundtzen and G.M. Laird (written communication, 1998) report that samples of silicrete-limonite material from three of the springs contain up to 125 ppm copper, 270 ppm zinc, 400 ppm nickel, and 10 ppm molydenum.

References

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Harris, E.E., and Gilbert, W.G., 1997, Geologic Map of the eastern McGrath quadrangle, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Report of Investigations 97-14, 34 pages, one sheet, scale 1:125,000.

Reference (Deposit): Herreid, G.H., 1968, Geological and geochemical investigations southwest of Farewell, Alaska: Alaska Division of Mines and Geology Geologic Report 26, 24 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:75,000.

Reference (Deposit): Churkin, Michael Jr., and Carter, Claire, 1996, Stratigraphy, structure, and graptolites of an Ordovician and Silurian sequence in the Terra Cotta Mountains, Alaska Range, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1555, 84 pages.

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