Gopher

Site Name

Primary: Gopher
Secondary: Gopher Gulch
Secondary: Gopher Creek
Secondary: Gopher Cr.

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Commodity

Primary: Gold

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Yentna

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Land Status

Not available

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Not available

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Not available

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Alterations

Alteration Text: C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc. (1978) describe argillic alteration of the Tertiary quartz porphyry intrusive rocks.

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Gold

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Comments

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Similar deposits occur on Thunder Creek (TL032, 058) and Dollar Creek (TL031), both tributaries to Cache Creek. Also see Peters Creek (TL045). The structural grain of the area is defined by major northeast-trending, steeply dipping faults (Hawley and Clark , 1968).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = At the head of Gopher Gulch, highly argillaceous white quartz conglomerate contained about 1500 ounces of angular gold in a 320 by 660 foot cut (C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., 1978).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., 1978

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Hand-mining and (?) hydraulic operations were conducted since 1917 (Garrett, 1998).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Willow Creek drains across the contact between Mesozoic slate and graywacke (KJs) and Tertiary strata of the Sterling (?) (Tcp) and Tyonek (?) (Tts) Formations of the Kenai Group (Reed and Nelson, 1980). The placer gold deposits within Willow Creek and the headwater drainages, Gopher and Ruby Gulches, are hosted in Pleistocene stream gravels. At the head of Gopher Gulch, highly argillaceous white quartz congomerate contained about 1500 ounces of angular gold in a 320 by 660 foot cut (C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., 1978). Gold is concentrated mainly on bedrock (Cobb and Reed, 1980). Mertie (1919) describes intricately intergrown gold and lead in one specimen from this locality. Mining was conducted on Gopher Gulch as early as 1917 (Garrett, 1998). The white quartz conglomerate placers (e.g. Willow Creek, Thunder Creek, TL032, 058, Dollar Creek, TL031) represent the oldest placers in the Cache Creek area. Capps (1925) describes the white quartz conglomerate as the basal unit of the Tertiary Kenai Formation. However Clark and Hawley (1968) suggest that the white quartz conglomerate is older and that the Kenai Group was deposited on it. They believe the auriferous conglomerate is near its original source in part because the characteristics of the gold show a common source that has not moved far or has not been reworked. Further, they indicate that the conglomerate is a product of shearing and weathering in situ of argillic altered, auriferous Tertiary quartz porphyry intrusive rocks and associated quartz veins that were emplaced along northeast, high angle normal faults. The lineaments in Dutch and Cache Creeks represent two of these faults. Tributaries to Willow Creek which have been mined include: Ruby Creek (TL041), Willow Creek (TL042); Falls Gulch, Rocky Gulch, Slate Gulch, and Snow Gulch. See also Peters Creek (TL045).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Undetermined.

Comment (Geology): Age = Tertiary and Pleistocene (Clark and Hawley,1968).

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References

Reference (Deposit): C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., 1978, Mineral appraisal of lands adjacent to Mt. McKinley National Park, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 24-78, 275 p., 7 plates.

Reference (Deposit): Reed, B.L., Nelson, S.W., Curtin, G.C., and Singer, D.A., 1978, Mineral resources map of the Talkeetna Quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-870-D, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., and Holloway, C.D., 1977, Map showing metalliferous and selected non-metalliferous mineral deposits in the eastern part of southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-169-A, 99 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p.

Reference (Deposit): Clark, A.L., and Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Talkeetna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-369, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Garrett, D. R., 1998, The Blue Ribbon Mine, Yentna Mining District, Alaska: Worldwide Web URL http://www.alaska.net/~freegold/brm.html.
URL: http://www.alaska.net/~freegold/brm.html

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1927: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 810-A, p. 1-64.

Reference (Deposit): Clark, A.L., and Hawley, C.C., 1968, Reconnaissance geology, mineral occurrences, and geochemical anomalies of the Yentna district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 68-35, 64 p.

Reference (Deposit): Hawley, C.C., and Clark, A.L., 1973, Geology and mineral deposits of the upper Chulitna district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 758-A, p. 1-10, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000 and 1:500,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and Reed, B.L., 1980, Summaries of data and lists of reference to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Talkeetna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-884, 106 p.

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