Woodchopper Creek Area

Site Name

Primary: Woodchopper Creek Area
Secondary: Alluvial Golds Inc.
Secondary: Alluvial Placers, Inc.
Secondary: Anna May
Secondary: Aztec
Secondary: Joe
Secondary: Bennett
Secondary: Bodacious
Secondary: Charles
Secondary: Comet
Secondary: Cordova
Secondary: Florence
Secondary: Gold Medal
Secondary: Gladys
Secondary: Gold Star
Secondary: Kelly
Secondary: Herbert
Secondary: Holstrom
Secondary: Hunky Dory
Secondary: Mary Flow
Secondary: Seward Assn.
Secondary: Sioux
Secondary: Snowbird
Secondary: State
Secondary: Sunshine
Secondary: Valdez

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Iridium
Secondary: Platinum

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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: Gold
Ore: Iridium

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Comments

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Gold output for 1910 was estimated to be about $19,000 (1910 dollars) for the Woodchopper Creek area. For 1909, gold production was estimated to be about $20,000 (1909 dollars) (Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-632]).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The headwaters of Woodchopper Creek are underlain by Precambrian to Paleozoic metamorphic rocks that are intruded by Mesozoic(?) granitic plutons. The creek flows across a belt of Cretaceous to Tertiary conglomerate and other sedimentary rocks (Brabb and Churkin, 1969; Dover and Miyaoka, 1988). Gold placers are found in or immediately downstream from this belt. The proximal source of the gold is likely the conglomerate, but the ultimate source is probably the older metamorphic rocks upstream (Prindle and Mertie, 1912). Platinum metals are alloyed with the gold, and monazite is also present. In the 1912 workings, the depth to the conglomerate bedrock was about 22 feet; about 11 feet of this was gravel that contained many granite boulders (Prindle and Mertie, 1912). In 1942, the mean of 6 assays from the creek was 932 parts Au per thousand, and 62 parts Ag per thousand. One sample assayed 0.42 percent Pt with a trace of Ir (Mertie, 1942). Gold was discovered in 1902, or possibly earlier; mining and exploration continued intermittently in the area until 1964. In 1910, the gold output for the area was about $20,000 (1910 dollars) (Cobb, 1973; B 1374).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Gold was discovered in 1902, or possibly earlier, and mining and exploration continued intermittently in the area until 1964, when the dredge that had been operating since 1937 shut down.

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

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Cobb, 1976 (OFR 76-632)

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = See also Mineral Creek (CY020), Alice Gulch (CY002), Dome Creek (CY010), and Iron Creek (CY019). This site is within the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.

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References

Reference (Deposit): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1938, Gold placers of the Fortymile, Eagle, and Circle districts, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-C, p. 133-261.

Reference (Deposit): Purington, C.W., 1905, Methods and costs of gravel and placer mining in Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 263, 273 p.

Reference (Deposit): Dover, J.A., and Miyaoka, R.T., 1988, Reinterpreted geologic map and fossil data, Charley River quadrangle, east-central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2004, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Charley River quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-390, 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): Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Charley River and Coleen quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-632, 45 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1903, Placer gold mining in Alaska in 1902: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 213, p. 41-48.

Reference (Deposit): Bates, R.G. and Wedow, H. Jr., 1953, Preliminary summary review of thorium-bearing mineral occurrences in Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 202, 13 p.

Reference (Deposit): Overstreet, W.C., 1967, The geologic occurrence of monazite: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 530, 327 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): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1942, Tertiary deposits of the Eagle-Circle district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 917-D, p. 213-264.

Reference (Deposit): Prindle, L.M., and Mertie, J.B. Jr., 1912, Gold placers between Woodchopper and Fourth of July Creeks, upper Yukon River: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 520-G, p. 201-210.

Reference (Deposit): Brabb, E.E., and Churkin, M.J., 1969, Geologic map of the Charley River quadrangle, east-central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map I-573, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

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