Ptarmigan I

The Ptarmigan I is a zinc 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: Ptarmigan I
Secondary: Ptarmigan II
Secondary: R-2290

Commodity

Primary: Zinc
Primary: Copper
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Gold
Secondary: Tin
Secondary: Molybdenum

Location

State: Alaska
District: Kaiyuh

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: Iron-oxide alteration (gossan).

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Not available

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Flanigan, 1998

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = These occurrences were discovered by Anaconda Minerals Company in 1980 (Flanigan, 1998).

Comment (Geology): Age = Based on similarities to the Paw Print occurrence (NL009) and proximity to the Round Top (NL011) intrusion, the age of the deposit may be the same as the age of Round Top intrusion, about 73 Ma (Flanigan, 1998).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Ptarmigan I, Ptarmigan II, and R-2290 are small, individual, gossan occurrences in about a 3-square-mile area. The country rocks in the area are Paleozoic to Proterozoic schist and quartzite (Patton and Moll-Stalcup, 2000). Ptarmigan I consists of scattered float of massive gossan and schist in rubble of quartz schist, dolomite, mica schist, and phyllite. Ten rock samples of the gossan material contained up to 290 ppm copper, 99 ppm lead, 1500 ppm zinc, 1.2 ppm silver, 25 ppb gold, 13 ppm molybdenum, and 10 ppm tin. Three soil lines in the vicinity of Ptarmigan I indicate weakly anomalous copper and gold values but no obvious trend (Flanigan, 1998). Ptarmigan II is a shear zone with gossan breccia that cuts a schistose micaceous quarztite. Twelve rock samples contain up to 595 ppm copper; soil samples are weakly anomalous in copper, silver, and gold (Flanigan, 1998). R-2290 is a limonitic ankerite-quartz boulder on a game trail near a stream. Although the source of the boulder was not found, gossan fault breccia occurs uphill, in quartz schist rubble. Several rock samples contain up to 500 ppm copper and 494 ppm zinc (Flanigan, 1998). Also see NL008, 009, and 011.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Plutonic-related Cu-Zn?

References

Reference (Deposit): Patton, W.W., Jr., and Moll-Stalcup, E.J., 2000, Geologic map of the Nulato quadrangle, west-central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigation Map I-2677, 41 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Flanigan, B., 1998, Genesis and mineralization of ore deposits in the Illinois Creek region, West Central Alaska: University of Alaska, Fairbanks, M.Sc. thesis, 125 p., 2 plates.

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