Ward

The Ward is a copper 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: Ward

Commodity

Primary: Copper

Location

State: Alaska
District: Serpentine

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

Alteration Text: The development of silica-rich rocks at the base of marble overlying metapelitic rocks, by whatever process, characterizes the deposit.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Azurite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

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

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Forty tons of high-graded material containing 30 to 40% copper were produced between 1906 and 1916.

Comment (Geology): Age = Unknown; if stratigraphic controls are important then it is probably Paleozoic in age. Otherwise the Ward deposit could be Jurassic or Early Cretaceous (age of regional deformation).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Sainsbury and others, 1969; Sainsbury, 1975

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The deposit has been explored by surface pits, trenches, shallow shafts, and short adits.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The lode deposit at the Ward mine is a type of mineral occurrence that is repeated at many locations along a north-trending marble belt that extends southward from this location to the Iron Creek and Casadepaga River areas of southern Seward Peninsula. It has been described as a zone of silicification in marble above a thrust contact with underlying metapelitic schist (Sainsbury and others, 1969; Sainsbury, 1975, p. 90-94). The silica-rich rocks have been metamorphosed and commonly have a laminar fabric. Copper-bearing minerals, mostly malachite but also including azurite and in places chalcopyrite and possibly bornite, are disseminated in the silica-rich rocks. The minor sulfides tend to be along faint laminae and joints (Sainsbury and others, 1969, p. 22). Malachite and azurite also occur in small veins and veinlets in the silica-rich rocks. Sainsbury and others (1969; p. 37) report a spectrographic analysis of copper-bearing rocks from the Ward deposit. This sample contained 1,500 ppm copper, 100 ppm tin, and 300 ppm zinc. Mercury, gold, and arsenic were also reported to be anomalous. The summary characterization of this type of Seward Peninsula mineral deposit by Sainsbury (1974, p. 90-94) contains inconsistencies with some descriptions of these deposits. Their origin is uncertain and other possibilities should be considered. One possiblity is that the silica-rich rocks are quartzites and that there is a stratigraphic control to the Ward deposit and similar occurrences elsewhere on Seward Peininsula. Quarzite at the base of the regional carbonate assemblage is recognized elsewhere in the Kougarok Mountain area (Puchner, 1986, p. 1777).

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Not defined

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Copper-bearing mineralization in silica-rich zones at base of marble overlying metapelitic schist.

References

Reference (Deposit): Sainsbury, C.L., 1975, Geology, ore deposits, and mineral potential of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 73-75, 108 p., 3 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Puchner, C.C., 1986, Geology, alteration, and mineralization of the Kougarok Sn deposit, Seward Peninsula, Alaska; Discussion reply: Economic Geology, v. 82, p. 2201-2204.

Reference (Deposit): Sainsbury, C.L., Kachadoorian, Reuban, Hudson, Travis, Smith, T.E., Richards, T.R., and Todd, W.E., 1969, Reconnaissance geologic maps and sample data, Teller A-1, A-2, A-3, B-1, B-2, B-3, C-1, and Bendeleben A-6, B-6, C-6, D-5, and D-6 quadrangles. Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 377, 49 p., 12 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

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): 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.

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