Shamrock Creek

The Shamrock 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

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Site Name

Primary: Shamrock Creek
Secondary: VABM Buck

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Fairbanks

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

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

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Text: Fe-carbonate, quartz, and tourmaline alteration is associated with shear hosted gold mineralization (D. Bohme, written communications, 1998).

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Pyrite
Gangue: Quartz
Gangue: Tourmaline

Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson area in 1905. Mining initially occurred on nearby Tenderfoot Creek and extended to other nearby creeks. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). Metz (1991) described early drift mine and surface trench tailings in the Shamrock Creek drainage. In 1992, approximately 7,750 feet of trenching was completed, and 106 composite rock chip samples were collected. Resampling and exploration activities were conducted in 1997 (D. Bohme, written communications, 1998).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Plutonic-related mesothermal, shear-hosted deposit, distal to intrusive?

Comment (Production): Production Notes = From 1905 through 1921, production for the Richardson area was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, mining from the district has produced an additional 10,000 ounces of gold (Olson and others, 1985). Gold production for Shamrock Creek has not been reported separately.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Richardson area is characterized by gentle slopes and broad, alluvium-filled valleys (Prindle and Katz, 1913, p. 140). The area is unglaciated and largely overlain by windblown silt, sand, and loess, locally up to 50 meters thick (Foster and others, 1979). The bedrock in the region comprises greenschist to amphibolite facies schist, marble, and gneiss that have been intruded by various igneous bodies (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). The schist and marble are probably Paleozoic, and the gneiss has a probable protolith of Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks (Weber and others, 1978). The intrusive bodies in the area range in composition from rhyolite to andesite. Fine-grained rhyolite containing quartz and feldspar phenocrysts is common throughout the area (Olson and others, 1985). Structurally, the Richardson region is cut by a northwest-trending fracture system termed the Richardson Lineament. Bundtzen and Reger (1977) interpreted the lineament to extend from Shamrock Creek to Tenderfoot Creek (BD039). The lineament appears to correspond to the distribution of the rhyolite and other intrusive bodies and placer gold deposits (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). Also, the lineament tends to separate gneissic rocks to the northeast from schistose rocks to the southwest (Swainbank and others, 1984). There are several granitic intrusions and associated hornfels on the southwest side of VABM Buck . Numerous northwest-trending shear zones in contact with the intrusions, contain gold-bearing quartz veins (D. Bohme, written communications, 1998). In 1992, trenching and sampling operations defined a 3/4 square mile area with several mineralized intervals. The best trench sample results were 10 meters of 1,750 ppb Au, and 6 meters of 2,354 ppb Au. However, a 1997 exploration program sampled the same trench intervals and failed to reproduce the 1992 gold values. In the hornfels, mineralization is associated with Fe-carbonate alteration, quartz, tourmaline, and pyrite. The system has been interpreted to be shear-hosted and comparable to an intrusive-distal 'True North' style of mineralization (D. Bohme, written communications, 1998). In 1992, approximately 7,750 feet of trenching was completed, and 106 composite rock chip samples were collected. Resampling and exploration activities were conducted in 1997 (D. Bohme, written communications, 1998). Continued exploration in the Shamrock Creek area is expected in 1999. There has been no gold production from the Shamrock Creek prospect.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Bundtzen and Reger, 1977

Comment (Commodity): Gangue = Fe-carbonates

References

Reference (Deposit): Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-J, p. 357-362.

Reference (Deposit): Metz, P.A., 1991, Metallogeny of the Fairbanks Mining District, Alaska and adjacent areas: London, Royal School of Mines, Ph.D. dissertation, 370 p.

Reference (Deposit): Menzie, W.D., and Foster, H.L., 1979, Metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral resource potential in the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-529D, 61 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and Eberlein, G.D., 1980, Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Big Delta and Tanacross quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-1086, 77 p.

Reference (Deposit): Weber, F.R., Foster, H.L., Keith, T.E.C., Dusel-Bacon, C., 1978, Preliminary geologic map of the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-529A, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Olson, B.G., Burton, J., Wolff, E.N., and Swainbank, R.D., 1985, Mining and minerals in the golden heart of Alaska: Fairbanks North Star Borough Publication, 80 p.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., and Reger, R.D., 1977, The Richardson lineament-a structural control for gold deposits in the Richardson mining district, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geologic Report 55, 46 p.

Reference (Deposit): Ellsworth, C.E., and Parker, G.L., 1911, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480, 325 p.

Reference (Deposit): Prindle, L.M., and Katz, F.J., 1913, Detailed description of the Fairbanks district, in Prindle, L. M., A geologic reconnaissance of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 525, p. 59-152.

Reference (Deposit): Eberlein, G.D., Chapman, R.M., Foster, H.L., and Gassaway, J.S., 1977, Map and table describing known metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits in central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-168-D, 132 p., 1 map, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Saunders, R.H., 1965, A geochemical investigation in the Richardson area, Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals Geochemical Report 3, 11 p.

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