St. Michaels Creek

The St. Michaels 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: St. Michaels Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Nome

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 (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Cobb, 1978 (OFR 78-93)

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Placer gold tailings are present along the lower 3,000 feet of St. Michaels Creek, where it was extensively dredged.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = St. Michaels Creek has been extensively dredged for placer gold along its lower 3,000 feet. The mine workings are at surface elevations of about 50 to 75 feet. Specific information for St. Michaels Creek has not been reported, but the deposit may be similar in origin, tenor, and mining history to that on nearby Osborn Creek (NM305). St. Michaels Creek's low elevation and proximity to the lower Nome River valley suggest that Quaternary sea-level fluctuations probably influenced development of its placer deposits. Parts of St. Michaels Creek probably rework older coastal plain deposits. St. Michaels Creek barely cuts down to an elevation where Third Beach could have existed in a re-entrant to the northeast side of Army Peak. Bedrock sources of gold could also be present; bedrock exposed in the area is mainly calc-schist, mica-chlorite schist, and marble with some graphitic quartz schist (Hummel, 1962 [MF 247]).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = St. Michaels Creek may have made significant contributions to placer gold production in this area.

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

Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive

References

Reference (Deposit): Collier, A. J., Hess, F.L., Smith, P.S., and Brooks, A.H., 1908, The gold placers of parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, including the Nome, Council, Kougarok, Port Clarence, and Goodhope precincts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 328, 343 p.

Reference (Deposit): Moffit, F.H., 1913, Geology of the Nome and Grand Central quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 533, 140 p.

Reference (Deposit): Hummel, C.L., 1962, Preliminary geologic map of the Nome C-1 quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-247, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-463, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File report 78-93, 213 p.

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