First Chance Creek

The First Chance Creek is a tin 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: First Chance Creek
Secondary: American Tinfields, Inc.

Commodity

Primary: Tin

Location

State: Alaska
District: Port Clarence

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: Alluvial placer Sn

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Cassiterite

Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The lower 1,500 feet of the drainage has been mined by various surface, non-float methods.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Not defined; the lower 1,500 feet of the drainage has been mined.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Hudson and Reed (1997) have concluded that a marine transgression affected the Cape Creek area and contributed to higher grades in the pay streak on bedrock that is present there. This transgression would have also affected First Chance Creek although evidence of it in the form of marine deposits has not been noted in the previous work.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Thin overburden (1 - 6 feet) overlies a thin (3 - 5 feet) gravel section on Mississippian limestone bedrock (Sainsbury, 1972). Churn-drill holes and shafts indicated grades between 0.5 and 4 pounds of tin per cubic yard (Mulligan and Thorne, 1959, p. 44) and an average grade of one pound of tin per cubic yard in the lower 1,500 feet of the drainage and traces of tin above (Mulligan, 1966, p. 20). Mulligan and Thorne (1959, p. 21) noted that some of the detrital cassiterite was coarse and attached to gangue minerals (not described) suggesting to them a local lode source rather than transport from Cape Mountain uplands to the west or north. This led to detrital cassiterite mapping in the area of First Chance Creek and discovery of the First Chance Creek Valley lode tin occurrence (TE010) between First Chance Creek and Sarah Creek (Mulligan, 1966, p. 21-22).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Production is a small part of the total 1,650 short tons of tin produced from placers in the Cape Mountain area (Hudson and Reed, 1997, p. 452).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Alluvial tin placer (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39e)

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Mulligan and Thorne, 1959; Mulligan, 1966

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

References

Reference (Deposit): Hudson, T.L., 1984, Tin systems of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Anchorage, Anaconda Minerals Company internal report, 51 p. (Report held by Cook Inlet Region Inc., Anchorage, Alaska)

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1975, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Teller quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 75-587, 130 p.

Reference (Deposit): Sainsbury, C.L., 1972, Geologic map of the Teller quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Map I-685, 4 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and Sainsbury, C.L., 1972, Metallic mineral resource map of the Teller quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-426, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Mulligan, J.J., 1966, Tin-lode investigations, Cape Mountain area, Seward Peninsula, Alaska; with a section on petrography by W. L. Gnagy: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 6737, 43 p.

Reference (Deposit): Mulligan, J.J., and Thorne, R.L., 1959, Tin-placer sampling methods and results, Cape Mountain district, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 7878, 69 p.

Reference (Deposit): Hudson, T.L., and Arth, J. G., 1983, Tin-granites of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 94, p. 768-790.

Reference (Deposit): Hudson, T.L., and Reed, B.L., 1997, Tin deposits of Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Mineral Deposits of Alaska: Economic Geology Monograph 9, p. 450-465.

Reference (Deposit): Heide, H.E., and Sanford, R.S., 1948, Churn drilling at Cape Mountain tin placer deposits, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 4345. 14 p.

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