The Unnamed (on present beach of Norton Sound) 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
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.
Unnamed (on present beach of Norton Sound) MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Unnamed (on present beach of Norton Sound)
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Titanium
Secondary: Tungsten
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
Not available
Orebody
Not available
Structure
Not available
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Not available
Analytical Data
Not available
Materials
Ore: Scheelite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Magnetite
Ore: Ilmenite
Ore: Gold
Gangue: Garnet
Comments
Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The beach placers were discovered in 1899 and were worked immediately after discovery. In 1899, as much as 1,000,000 dollars (nearly 50,000 ounces) was recovered from the beach deposits, mostly, however, on the more productive segment east of the Nome C-2 quadrangle (Schrader and Brooks, 1900). Production was mostly with rockers, and gold was either caught on blankets or was amalgamated.
Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Holocene beach placer formed by winnowing by wave action and long-shore currents.
Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive
Comment (Geology): Age = Holocene.
Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Schrader and Brooks, 1900
Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Local concentrations of gold are still produced during winter storms.
Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Relatively small amounts of so called beach gold were recovered from the segment of the modern beach between Snake River and a point just west of Quartz Creek in the Nome C-3 quadrangle (Collier and others, 1908). Although some of the gold in this segment probably came from western long-shore drift from the Snake River system, the gold was partly derived from less important auriferous drainages including Penny River (NM184), Cripple River (NM156), Sonora Creek (NM158), and Quartz Creek (NM121 and 122). The modern beach is generally 100 to 150 yards wide. The gold is mainly fine-grained but includes a few small (2 to 3 pennyweight [0.1 to 0.15 ounce]) nuggets. They occur in lenticular deposits associated with concentrations of garnet and magnetite, and lesser amounts of pyrite and ilmenite. Higher concentrations of gold tend to occur on blue clay layers below 1 to about 7 feet of sand and gravel. The pay zones range from a few inches to 2 feet in thickness. Most of the gold is bright and irregular in shape (Schrader and Brooks, 1900, p. 18-19). The average fineness of recovered beach gold was about 890 (Brooks and others, 1901). The present beach is developed along the seaward side of a broader coastal plain containing marine gravel, sand and silt deposits developed during Quaternary marine transgressions (Bundtzen and others, 1994).
References
Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Reger, R.D., Laird, G.M., Pinney, D.S., Clautice, K.H., Liss, S.A., and Cruse, G.R., 1994, Progress report on the geology and mineral resources of the Nome mining district: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Public Data-File 94-39, 21 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360.
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.
Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-463, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.
Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File report 78-93, 213 p.
Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., Richardson, G. B., and Collier, A. J., 1901, Reconnaissance in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900: U.S. Geological Survey Special Publication, p. 1-180.
Reference (Deposit): Schrader, F.C., and Brooks, A.H., 1900, Preliminary report on the Cape Nome gold region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Special Publication, 56 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.