Half Dollar Creek

Site Name

Primary: Half Dollar Creek
Secondary: Two-Bit Gulch

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Tin

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Circle

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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

Not available

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Cassiterite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Scheelite

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Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Prospecting and/or mining occurred in 1909 to 1914, 1935, 1938 to 1942, and probably 1976 to 1980 (Menzie and others, 1983). Several small placers were operated along this drainage in the early 1980's (Yeend, 1991).

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer gold deposit (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = See also Bottom Dollar Creek, ARDF no. CI007.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The entire length of both Two-bit Creek and Half Dollar Creek is underlain by a Cretaceous pluton described by Wiltse and others (1995) as chloritized porphyritic (hornblende) biotite monzogranite. Primary trace minerals in the granite include zircon, allanite, apatite and ilmenite. Uranium has been detected by fluorimetric tests (Eberlein and others, 1977). Minerals in the heavy-mineral fraction of concentrates from the granite contain allanite, hematite, limonite, pyrrhotite, scheelite, sphene and zircon. Stream placer concentrates contain gold, scheelite and cassiterite. The paystreak is narrow and the gold distribution is spotty (Cobb, 1976, [OFR 76-633]). The unmined gravel on Half Dollar Creek is mostly colluvium derived from side slopes (Yeend, 1991). Prospecting and/or mining occurred in 1909 to 1914, 1935, 1938 to 1942, and probably 1976 to 1980 (Menzie and others, 1983). Several small placers were operated along this drainage in the early 1980's (Yeend, 1991). Production from these operations is unknown.

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Prospecting and/or mining occurred in 1909 to 1914, 1935, 1938 to 1942, and probably 1976 to 1980 (Menzie and others, 1983). Several small placers were operated along this drainage in the early 1980's (Yeend, 1991). Amount of gold produced from these operations is unknown.

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References

Reference (Deposit): Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-J, p. 357-362.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Misc. Field Studies Map MF-391, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

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

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1937, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1935: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 880-A, p. 1-95.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1939, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1938: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 917-A, p. 1-113.

Reference (Deposit): Nelson, A.E., West, W.S., and Matsko, J.J., 1954, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in eastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 348, 21 p.

Reference (Deposit): Ellsworth, C.E., and Davenport, R.W., 1913, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 542, 303 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1915, Mineral resources of Alaska in 1914: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 622, 238 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1914, Mineral resources of Alaska in 1913: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592, p. 340-341.

Reference (Deposit): Ellsworth, C.E., 1912, Placer mining in the Fairbanks and Circle Disctricts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 520, p. 240-245.

Reference (Deposit): Wiltse, M.A., Reger, R.D., Newberry, R.J, Pessel, G.H., Pinney, D.S., Robinson, M.S., and Solie, D.N., 1995, Bedrock geologic map of the Circle mining district, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Report of Investigations 95-02b, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Ellsworth, C.E., and Parker, G.L., 1911, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480, 325 p.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., and Henning, M.W., 1978, Barite in Alaska: Mines and Geology Bulletin, v. 27, no. 4, p. 1-4.

Reference (Deposit): Yeend, W.E., 1991, Gold placers of the Circle district, Alaska - past, present, and future: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1943, 42 p.

Reference (Deposit): Menzie, W.D., Foster, H.L., Tripp, R.B., and Yeend, W.E., 1983, Mineral resource assessment of the Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 83-170-B, 61 p., 1 sheet, 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-633, 72 p.

Reference (Deposit): Eberlein, G.D., Chapman, R.M., Foster, H.L., and Gassaway, J.S., 1977, Map and table describing known metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits in central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-168-D, 132 p., 1 map, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Barker, J.C., 1979, Trace element study of the Circle mining district, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 57-79, 74 p.

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