Unnamed (on present beach of Norton Sound)

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

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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.

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