Patterson Creek

The Patterson Creek is a silver and lead 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: Patterson Creek

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Lead

Location

State: Alaska
District: Fairhaven

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

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Galena

Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Early drift mining is reported to have exposed galena-bearing veins in bedrock. A short shaft was apparently sunk on one of these veins but evidence of this early work has not been observed by recent workers (Briskey, 1983).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Anderson (1947, p. 31) reports that drift mine operations on claim no. 4 Above exposed a one foot-wide galena vein (low in silver content); and on claim no. 8 Above several veins from 8 inches to one foot-wide were exposed that carried considerable silver. Anderson (1947) also notes that earlier work uncovered a 3-foot wide galena vein somewhere on the creek but it apparently pinched out at a shallow depth. Local miners indicated in 1982 that they had not encountered such veins or old workings that may have exposed them (Briskey, 1983). Bedrock is extensively covered by tundra but what is exposed in the area is part of a Lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage (Till and others, 1986). A small granitic stock is exposed on the ridge south of upper Candle Creek (Till and others, 1986) and Sandvik (1956) notes that granitic rocks have been identified in the headwaters of Jump Creek and Minehaha Creek. Intermediate to felsic dikes and sills crosscutting metamorphic rocks have been exposed in placer workings along Candle Creek (BN074).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Anderson, 1947

Comment (Geology): Age = Cretaceous ; Epigenetic mineralization in metamorphic rocks of Seward Peninsula is primarily of Cretaceous age.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Galena-bearing veins in metamorphic rocks

References

Reference (Deposit): Sandvik, P.O., 1956, Report of diamond drilling for radioactive material near Candle, northeast Seward Peninsula: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines, 5 p.

Reference (Deposit): Till, A.B., Dumoulin, J.A., Gamble, B. ., Kaufman, D.S., and Carroll, P.I., 1986, Preliminary geologic map and fossil data, Soloman, Bendeleben, and southern Kotzebue quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 86-276, 10 p., 3 plates, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Briskey, J.A., 1983, Summary of field observations on Seward Peninsula mineral deposits: U.S. Geological Survey, unpublished administrative report, 34 p.

Reference (Deposit): Anderson, Eskil, 1947, Mineral occurrences other than gold deposits in northwestern Alaska: Alaska Territorial Division of Mines Pamphlet 5-R, 48 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Bendeleben quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-417, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1975, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bendeleben quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 75-429, 123 p.

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