Grouse Creek

The Grouse 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: Grouse Creek

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
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Pyrite

Comments

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Heide and Rutledge, 1949

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Only local unmined areas containing tin grades greater than 1 pound per cubic yard were identified by USBM churn-drilling.

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Bedrock in the headwaters of Buck Creek (TE020), the major east tributary and the apparent source of placer cassiterite on Grouse Creek, is thermally metamorposed thin-bedded metapelite, metasandstone, and minor impure metacarbonate rocks of unknown but probable Paleozoic age. These rocks makeup the relatively resistant upland of Potato Mountain that is interpreted to be underlain at depth by biotite granite (Hudson and Reed, 1997, p. 454). Significant lode tin deposits are present in the headwaters of Buck Creek and its tributaries (Mulligan, 1965). Alluvial gravels of the active Grouse Creek drainage have been mined by a small bucket-line dredge over about 5,000 feet of the stream channel from the mouth of Buck Creek downstream to the mouth of East Fork. USBM churn-drilling showed Grouse Creek gravels to be thin (2 to 9 feet) and some local unmined portions to have as much as 6.7 pounds of tin per cubic yard (Heide and Rutledge, 1949, p. 9). Most of the remaining unmined gravels contain a few hundreths to a few tenths pound tin per cubic yard. The downstream limit of pay seems to be at an elevation of 150 to 200 feet and Mulligan (1965, p. 14-15) has considered the possibility that a high sea level stand may have influenced tin distribution in this area. All the gravels are frozen except for those in proximity to the active stream.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Alluvial gravels of the active Grouse Creek drainage have been mined by a small bucket-line dredge over about 5,000 feet of the stream channel from the mouth of Buck Creek downstream to the mouth of East Fork. The USBM completed 22 churn-drill holes along 8 lines spread out over 6,000 feet of the drainage, from the mouth of Buck Creek downstream to below the mouth of East Fork.

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary

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

Comment (Production): Production Notes = A portion of the 1,124 short tons of tin produced from the placers of the Potato Mountain area came from Grouse Creek.

References

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): 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., 1965, Tin-lode investigations. Potato Mountain area, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 6587, 85 p.

Reference (Deposit): Heide, H.E. and Rutledge, F.A., 1949, Investigations of Potato Mountain tin placer deposits, Seward Peninsula, northwestern Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 4418, 21 p.

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