Tsirku Silver

The Tsirku Silver is a silver, zinc, lead, and copper 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: Tsirku Silver

Commodity

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

Location

State: Alaska
District: Juneau (Skagway subdistrict)

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

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age in Years: 33.000000+-1.000000
Age Young: Paleogene

Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age in Years: 29.300000+-1.000000
Age Young: Paleogene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Sphalerite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Galena
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = This occurrence was discovered in 1986 during the Bureau of Mines study reported in Still and others (1991).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Polymetallic quartz-sulfide veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Still and others (1991) informally named this occurrence 'Tsirku Silver'. They describe it as, '...scattered, narrow, discontinuous silver-bearing zinc-galena-quartz veins hosted in dolomite and limy slate.' A representative chip sample of the highest grade vein contained 0.48 ppm gold, 653.5 ppm silver, 18.4 % zinc, and 6.2 % copper. According to Gilbert and others (1987), the veins occur within a 6-square-mile area immediately east of the Tsirku River that is cut by a swarm of felsic, intermediate, and mafic dikes. The dikes are probably Tertiary in age, based on a 29.3 + 1 to 33.0 + 1 m.y. age of nearby quartz diorite and granodiorite bodies (MacKevett and others, 1974). The probable Devonian or Mississippian age of the host rocks (Gilbert and others, 1987) establishes a maximum age for the veins. More likely, the veins are the same inferred Tertiary age as the dikes.

Comment (Geology): Age = the veins must be younger than the Devonian to Mississippian age of the host rocks (Gilbert and others, 1987) and are probably about the same age as the dikes in the area, which are inferred to be 29.3 + 1 to 33.0 + 1 m.y. based on the age of nearby quartz diorite and granodiorite (MacKevett and others, 1974).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Still and others, 1991

Comment (Geology): Age = Chronological age is for the nearby quartz diorite and granodiorite. Host rock is Mississippian - Devonian.

References

Reference (Deposit): Gilbert, W.G., Burns, L.E., Redman, E.C., and Forbes, R.B., 1987, Preliminary bedrock geology and geochemistry of the Skagway B-3 Quadrangle, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Report of Investigations 87-2, 2 sheets, scale 1:36,200.

Reference (Deposit): Gilbert, W.G., and Redman, E.C., 1989, Lode deposits, prospects, and occurrences of the Porcupine mining area, southeast Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 17-89, 1 sheet, scale 1:39,600.

Reference (Deposit): Still, J.C., 1991, Bureau of Mines mineral investigations in the Juneau mining district, Alaska, 1984 - 1988, v. 2, Detailed mine, prospect, and mineral occurrence descriptions, section A, Haines-Klukwan-Porcupine subarea: U.S. Bureau of Mines of Mines Special Publication, 214 p.

Reference (Deposit): Still, J.C., Hoekzema, R.B., Bundtzen, T.K., Gilbert, W.G., Wier, K.R., Burns, L.E., and Fechner, S.A., 1991, Economic geology of Haines-Klukwan-Porcupine area, southeastern Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Report of Investigations 91-4, 156 p., 5 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., Robertson, E.C., and Winkler, G.R., 1974, Geology of the Skagway B-3 and B-4 quadrangles, southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 832, 33 p.

Reference (Deposit): Gilbert, W.G., Still, J.C., Burns, L.E., Wier, K.R., and Redman, E.C., 1991, Geochemistry of Haines-Klukwan-Porcupine area, southeastern Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Report of Investigations 91-5, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360, 75 p.

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