Oregon Creek (below Nugget Gulch)

The Oregon Creek (below Nugget Gulch) is a gold 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: Oregon Creek (below Nugget Gulch)

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Bismuth

Location

State: Alaska
District: Nome

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Hematite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Bismuth
Ore: Scheelite
Ore: Magnetite
Gangue: Garnet

Comments

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Mining started in 1898 and continued intermittantly to 1965.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Placer mining on Oregon Creek about a half mile below Nugget Gulch was in a gravel from 1.5 to 6 feet thick that consisted of schist, limestone (marble), and granite pebbles. Gold was bright, coarse, and little worn and was produced above a false, yellow-clay bedrock as well as in crevices in marble below the clay. The concentrates were rich in octahedral magnetite and contained some hematite, bismuth, and garnet. Approximately one-quarter mile above this locality, gold occurred mostly in a 2-foot-thick gravel section and in crevices in the underlying bedrock (Collier and others, 1908, p. 211-212).

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Collier and others, 1908

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Alluvial placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Gold was discovered in Oregon Creek in the winter of 1898-99. Some ground about a quarter of a mile below Nugget Gulch was worked in 1900. The area was visited by F.L. Hess in 1903 who found production on eight claims along the creek. Parts of Oregon Creek have been worked more recently by mechanical methods. Activity on six claims was reported from 1927 until 1965 on Oregon Creek (Heiner and Porter, 1972, Kardex site Kx 52-185; Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 1982).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive

References

Reference (Deposit): Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 1982, Mining claim location maps -- Nome quadrangle: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 8 p., 3 sheets, scales 1:63,360 and 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Heiner, L.E., and Porter, Eve, 1972, Alaska Mineral Properties, volume 2: University of Alaska, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Report 24, 669 p.

Reference (Deposit): Collier, A. J., Hess, F.L., Smith, P.S., and Brooks, A.H., 1908, The gold placers of parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, including the Nome, Council, Kougarok, Port Clarence, and Goodhope precincts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 328, 343 p.

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