Altair

Site Name

Primary: Altair

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Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Mercury
Secondary: Zinc
Secondary: Arsenic
Secondary: Copper
Secondary: Lead

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Alaska Peninsula

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Land Status

Not available

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Not available

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

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

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Not available

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Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Alteration in the host rock grades from strongly propylitic to argillic, mainly in zones 20 to 60 feet wide adjacent to the vein systems.

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Galena
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Gangue: Quartz

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Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = This prospect is located on land patented by, or interim-conveyed to, the Aleut Corporation.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Altair deposit is a northeast-striking vein system that crops out approximately 500 feet southeast of, and parallel to, the Ankle Creek vein (PM090) (Peterson and others, 1982, figure 11). The system is approximately 25 feet wide in the discovery area. Individual quartz veins are as much as 18 inches wide (Trujillo and others, 1981). The sulfide minerals include pyrite, and, based on assays probably chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite. The system has been traced for approximately 1,400 feet along strike, and at its northeast end it intersects the Amethyst vein (PM092). The host rocks are propylitized and argillized andesite flows of the late Eocene to early Oligocene Popof volcanic rocks (Wilson and others, 1995). At the intersection of the Ankle Creek and Amethyst veins, the vein systems form an ore shoot 150 to 200 feet long. The shoot is 30 feet wide and consists of a loose network of braided and parallel quartz veins 0.5 to 8 inches in width. Comb structures and banding are common. One drill hole and trench have penetrated the shoot. Gold is present mostly in the hanging wall of the shoot. The best assay of trench samples of the shoot was 5.14 ppm gold and 6.17 ppm silver over 9 feet (Trujillo and others, 1981). The drill hole intersected 16.5 feet assaying (core plus sludge) up to 8.3 ppm gold, 24.5 ppm silver, 1,120 ppm copper, 2,300 ppm lead, 870 ppm zinc, 240 ppm arsenic, and 0.11 ppm mercury (Anderson and others, 1980). At the southwest end of the shoot, two holes cut 35- to 40-foot wide vein zones. No gold was detected. It is assumed that good precious metal values occur only at changes in strike and at structural intersections (Trujillo and others, 1981).

Comment (Geology): Age = Eocene or younger.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Trujillo and others, 1981

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = During the period 1980 to 1981 Resource Associates of Alaska mapped and sampled the prospect, conducted geophysical surveys, dug two trenches, and drilled three core holes (Trujillo and others, 1981). The best trench sample contained 5.14 ppm gold and 6.17 ppm silver over 9 feet. A drill hole intersected 16.5 feet of an ore shoot assaying as much as 8.3 ppm gold and 24.5 ppm silver.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Epithermal gold vein

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References

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.)

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): Anderson, G.L., Butherus, D.L., Fankhauser, R.E., Pray, J.C., Lindberg, P.A., and Hoffman, B.L., 1980, Exploration and evaluation of lands leased from Aleut Native Corporation 1980; Resource Associates of Alaska Report, 84 p, 16 map sheets, various scales. (Report held by the Aleut Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska.)

Reference (Deposit): Trujillo, R.S., Anderson, G., MacLeod, T., Hendrick, K., Farnham, S., Peterson, J., 1981. Exploration and evaluation of the Unga-Popof-Korovan Islands portion of lands leased from Aleut Native Corporation: Resource Associates of Alaska report, 70 p., 38 map sheets, various scales. (Report held by the Aleut Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska.)

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