Heather Creek

The Heather Creek is a gold and silver 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: Heather Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Arsenic
Secondary: Mercury

Location

State: Alaska
District: Alaska Peninsula

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: The main mineralized zone has been silicified, whereas the wall rocks exhibit strong argillization.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Peterson and others (1982) described this occurrence as a northeast-striking quartz vein system containing quartz veins less than a foot in width. The system is discontinuous along a 2,500 foot strike length and includes a knob of brecciated and silicified andesite 100 feet wide and 1,000 feet long characterized by numerous quartz-filled vugs and limonitic shears. Pyrite is the only sulfide that has been identified. The veins system cuts andesite flows and tuffs of the late Eocene to early Oligocene Popof volcanic rocks (Wilson and others, 1995). Grab samples from the knob contained as much as 0.23 ppm gold, 10 ppm silver, 390 ppm arsenic, and 0.28 ppm mercury. Channel samples of the veins contained as much as 0.02 ppm gold, 3.8 ppm silver, and 0.35 ppm mercury. Ellis and Apel (1990) described the occurrence as a 50- to 150-foot-wide, totally silicified and brecciated fault zone exhibiting multiple episodes of brecciation and mineralization. The zone extends 7,000 feet on strike from the California vein adit (PM082) west-southwest to Heather Creek. Argillic alteration forms halos 5 to 100 feet wide in tuff or flow wall rock. Samples of silicified breccia collected at approximately 200-foot intervals at selected sites along the trend contained as much as 0.414 ppm gold, more than 100 ppm arsenic, and more than 1.0 ppm mercury.

Comment (Geology): Age = Eocene or younger.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Ellis and Apel, 1990

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Resource Associates of Alaska and UNC Teton Exploration Drilling Company mapped and sampled the prospect in 1981and 1982. Grab samples from the knob contained as much as 0.23 ppm gold, 10 ppm silver, 390 ppm arsenic, and 0.28 ppm mercury. Vein channel samples contained as much as 0.02 ppm gold, 3.8 ppm silver, and 0.35 ppm mercury. Battle Mountain Exploration collected 56 rock samples in 1990; these contained as much as 0.414 ppm gold, more than 100 ppm arsenic, and more than 1 ppm mercury.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Epithermal gold veins

References

Reference (Deposit): Webber, B.S., Moss, J.M., Rutledge, F.A., and Sanford, R.S., 1946, Reconnaissance examinations of parts of the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands southwestern Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines, unpublished report of investigations, 40 p. (Unpublished report held by the U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage.)

Reference (Deposit): Wilson, F.H., Detterman, R.L., Miller, J. W., and Case, J.E., 1995, Geologic map of the Port Moller, Stepovak Bay, and Simeonof Island quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigation Series Map I-2272, 1 map sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Ellis, W.T., and Apel, R.A., 1990, Unga/Alaska Peninsula 1990 final report, Battle Mountain Exploration Company report, 49 p., 29 map sheets at various scales. (Report held by the Aleut Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska.)

Reference (Deposit): Wilson, F.H., White, W.H., and DuBois, G.D., 1988, Brief descriptions of mines, prospects, and mineral occurrences in the Port Moller and Stepovak Bay quadrangles, Alaska Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 88-666, 128 p., scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Peterson, R.J., Lemmers, J., Handverger, P., Gallagher, J., Pilcher, R., East, J., Macleod, T., Bartels. E., 1982, Geology and precious metals potential Unga, Popof, and Korovin Islands, Shumagin Group, Aleutian Chain, Alaska: UNC Teton Exploration Drilling Company report, 127 p., 5 map sheets, various scales. (Report held by the Aleut Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska.)

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