McDonald Creek

The McDonald Creek 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

Name: McDonald Creek

State:  Alaska

County:  na

Elevation:

Commodity: Gold

Lat, Long: 64.5109, -165.24990

Map: View on Google Maps

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.


Satelite image of the McDonald Creek

McDonald Creek MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: McDonald Creek


Commodity

Primary: Gold


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: Gold


Comments

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

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = McDonald Creek heads on the Nome coastal plain, and flows across the projected trace of Third Beach (NM258). It has been placer mined for gold downstream from this trace at surface elevations between 50 and 100 feet. In upper McDonald Creek, Third Beach is buried by only a thin deposit of sand and gravel, and the creek cuts through the beach deposit (Metcalfe and Tuck, 1942). The gold in McDonald Creek is entirely derived from reworking of coastal plain deposits, including those of Third Beach. Where upper McDonald Creek cuts Third Beach, its paystreak lay on fine sand (Moffit, 1913, p. 115), possibly itself a beach deposit, as is the case farther east near Hastings Creek.

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Metcalfe and Tuck, 1942

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Placer mine tailings are locally present along McDonald Creek between surface elevations of 50 to 100 feet.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive


References

Reference (Deposit): Metcalfe, J.B., and Tuck, Ralph, 1942, Placer gold deposits of the Nome district, Alaska: Report for U.S. Smelting, Refining, and Mining Co., 175 p.

Reference (Deposit): Moffit, F.H., 1913, Geology of the Nome and Grand Central quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 533, 140 p.


The Top Ten Gold Producing States

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.