White River

The White River 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: White River

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Yakataga

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 (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Hydraulic mining took place as early as 1908 and continued in most years up to 1916 (Maddren, 1914; Cobb, 1979 [OF 79-1246]). A 9,000-foot-long flume was constructed in 1913 to enable larger scale hydraulic operations.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Maddren, 1914

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = The White River placers produced a small part of the 15,000 to 16,000 ounces of gold estimated to have been recovered in the Yakataga district (Cobb, 1979 [OF 79-1246]).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

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

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Placer gold occurs in glaciofluvial bench deposits along this part of White River. The gold is mostly fine, light, and flaky, but some small nuggests that weighed as much as 0.15 ounce were also recovered (Maddren, 1914). The deposits are 15 to 40 feet above the river, 8 or more feet thick, and as much as 500 feet wide (Brooks, 1912; Maddren, 1914). Hydraulic mining took place as early as 1908 and continued in most years up to 1916 (Maddren, 1914; Cobb, 1979 [OF 79-1246]). A 9,000-foot-long flume was constructed in 1913 to enable larger scale hydraulic operations. The present river also contains placer gold, but it was not accessible to mining. The gold may be derived from reworking of marine-glacial deposits of the Cenozoic Yakataga Formation (Reimnitz and Plafker, 1976). The White River placers produced a small part of the 15,000 to 16,000 ounces of gold estimated to have been recovered in the Yakataga district (Cobb, 1979 [OF 79-1246]). Bedrock in the White River drainage is Tertiary sedimentary rocks (Miller, 1971).

References

Reference (Deposit): Reimnitz, Erk, and Plafker, George, 1976, Marine gold placers along the Gulf of Alaska margin: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1415, 16 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Bering Glacier quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-373, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Miller, D.J., 1971, Geologic map of the Yakataga district, Gulf of Alaska Tertiary Province, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map I-610, scale 1:125,000.

Reference (Deposit): Maddren, A.G., 1914, Mineral deposits of the Yakataga district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-E, p. 119-153.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1979, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bering Glacier, Icy Bay, Middleton Island, and Yakutat quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 79-1246, 41 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1912, The Alaska mining industry in 1911, in Brooks, A.H., and others, Mineral resources of Alaska, 1911: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 520, p. 17-44.

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