Kayak Island

The Kayak Island is a zinc, lead, 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

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: Kayak Island

Commodity

Primary: Zinc
Primary: Lead
Primary: Copper
Secondary: Nickel
Secondary: Molybdenum
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Barium-Barite

Location

State: Alaska
District: Yakataga

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: Sedimentary exhalative Zn-Pb

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Barite
Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Chalcopyrite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Sedimentary-exhalative Zn-Pb ? (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 31a)

Comment (Geology): Age = Probably late Tertiary, the age of the upper Poul Creek and Yakataga Formations.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Goldfarb and others, 1989

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = A reconnaissance stream-sediment and heavy-mineral concentrate geochemical survey (Goldfarb and others, 1989) and follow-up soil geochemical survey (Pickthorn and others, 1985) have been completed on Kayak Island.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = This occurrence is representative of several localities on Kayak Island where stream sediments and heavy-mineral concentrates contain highly anomalous amounts of barium and zinc and less anomalous amounts of silver, copper, lead, molybdenum, and nickel (Goldfarb and others, 1989). At this locality, stream sediments contain 0.5 ppm silver, 150 ppm boron, 5,000 ppm barium, 20 ppm molybdenum, 150 ppm nickel, and weakly anomalous levels of cobalt, copper, scandium, and zinc. The heavy-mineral concentrates from these stream sediments contain 10,000 ppm strontium and 2,000 ppm zinc. Barite is abundant in heavy-mineral concentrates from stream sediments on Kayak Island, and it is generally accompanied by pyrite, sphalerite (zinc concentrations to 20,000 ppm), 10 to 30 percent iron, and 150 to 700 ppm nickel (Goldfarb and others, 1989; Pickthorn and others, 1985). Concentrates with anomalous copper and lead contain microscopic chalcopyite and galena. The barite and base metals are derived from weathering of Tertiary sandstone, siltstone, and glacial-marine deposits of the Poul Creek and Yakataga Formations (Plafker, 1974). The Eocene to Miocene Poul Creek Formation contains interbedded mafic pyroclastic and flow rocks in its upper part and is locally intruded by mafic dikes and sills. Soil sampling on Kayak Island suggests that many of the stream-sediment and heavy-mineral concentrate anomalies are spatially associated with the upper Poul Creek Formation, which contains mafic igneous rocks (Pickthorn and others, 1985).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

References

Reference (Deposit): Pickthorn, W.J., Goldfarb, R.J., O'Leary, R.M., Sutley, S.J., and Weaver, S.C., 1985, Kayak Island-Analysis of a geochemical anomaly, in Bartsch-Winkler, Susan, and Reed, K.M., eds., The U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska-Accomplishments during 1983: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 945, p. 82-83.

Reference (Deposit): Plafker, George, 1974, Preliminary geologic map of Kayak and Wingham Islands, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 74-82, 1 sheet, scale 1:31,680.

Reference (Deposit): Goldfarb, R.J., O'Leary, R.M., Sutley, S.J., and Trip, R.B., 1989, Geochemical survey of the Cordova and Middleton Island quadrangles, southcentral Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1865, 32 p.

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.