Gold King Creek

Site Name

Primary: Gold King Creek

---

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Tungsten

---

Location

State: Alaska
District: Bonnifield

---

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

Not available

---

Rocks

Not available

---

Analytical Data

Not available

---

Materials

Ore: Gold
Ore: Scheelite

---

Comments

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Cobb, 1976 (OFR 76-662)

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Information on gold production is not available.

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

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = In 1990 and 1991, Gold King Creek was the largest placer mine in the district (Swainbank and others, 1991, p. 31; Bundtzen and others, 1991, p. 34). Gold is believed to be derived from the Tertiary Nenana Gravel (Bundtzen and others, 1991, p. 34). Placer gold is found in both the 4 to 5 feet of gravel overlying bedrock and on the clay-rich bedrock (Prindle, 1907, p. 212). Mining took place intermittently from 1903 to 1940 (Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-662, p. 44]). In the 1920's, an attempt at large-scale hydraulic mining of Nenana Gravel was not financially successful (Capps, 1924, p. 138). The gold varies from 818 to 833 fine (Glover, 1950).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = In 1990 and 1991, Gold King Creek was the largest placer mine in the district; it operated under the direction of Warren Taylor and Alaska Unlimited Inc. (Swainbank and others, 1991, p. 31; Bundtzen and others, 1991, p. 34). Mining from 1903 to 1916 was done by open-cut, pick-and-shovel methods and continued intermittently until 1940 (Maddren, 1918, p. 401). In 1924, a hydraulic operation was active in gravels 6 to 7 feet in depth (Wimmler, 1924, p. 43). An attempt at large-scale hydraulic mining of the Nenana Gravel was not financially successful (Capps, 1924, p. 138). This failed attempt consisted of 11 miles of ditches designed to convey 3,000 miner's inches of water from the upper part of Gold King Creek to a point on the eastern slopes of the valley, where it was to be delivered to a pipeline with a head of 700 feet (Maddren, 1918, p. 401).

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary placer.

---

References

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P. S., 1933, Mineral resources of Alaska in 1930: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 836-A, p. 1-83.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P. S., 1933, Mineral resources of Alaska in 1931: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 844-A, p. 1-82.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P. S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1933: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-A, p. 1-94.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P. S., 1934, Mineral resources of Alaska in 1932: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 857-A, p. 1-91.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1928: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 813-A, p. 1-72.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1942, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1940: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 933-A, p. 1-102.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1975, Mineral resources of Alaska, in Yount, M.E., ed., U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Program, 1975: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 722, p. 37.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1912, The Bonnifield region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 501, 64 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T. K., Swainbank, R. C., Wood, J. E., and Clough, A. H., 1991, Alaska's mineral industry 1991: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 46, 89 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1911, The Mount McKinley region, Alaska, with descriptions of the igneous rocks and of the Bonnifield and Kantishna districts by L.M. Prindle: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 70, 234 p.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1910, Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1909: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442, 426 p.

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

Reference (Deposit): Prindle, L.M., 1907, The Bonnifield and Kantishna regions, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 314-L, p. 205-226.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Swainbank, R.C., Deagen, J.R., and Moore, J.L., 1991, Alaska's mineral industry 1990: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report SR 45, 100 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-662, 174 p.

Reference (Deposit): Glover, A.E., 1950, Placer gold fineness: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-1, 38 p.

Reference (Deposit): Koschmann, A.H. and Bergendahl, M.H., 1968, Principal gold producing districts of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 610, 283 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1933: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-A, p. 1-94.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1936, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1934: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 868-A, p. 1-91.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-410, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Joesting, H.R., 1943, Strategic mineral occurrences in interior Alaska, supplement to pamphlet no. 1: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Pamphlet 2, 26 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., 1933, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1930: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 836-A, p. 1-83.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1932: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 857-A, p. 1-91.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1931: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 844-A, p. 1-82.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1932, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1929, in Smith, P.S., and others Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1929: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 824-A, p. 1-81.

Reference (Deposit): Moffit, F.H., 1933, Mining developments in the Tatlanika and Totatlanika basins: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 836-D, p. 339-345.

Reference (Deposit): Wimmler, N.L., 1924, Placer mining in Alaska in 1924: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-7, 114 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1928: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 813, p. 1-72.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1924, Geology and mineral resources of the region traversed by the Alaska Railroad: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 755-C, p. 73-150.

Reference (Deposit): Maddren, A.G., 1918, Gold placers near the Nenana coal field: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 662, p. 363-402.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1911, Mineral resources of the Bonnifield region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480-H, p. 218-235.

---

The Top Ten Gold Producing States

These ten states contributed the most to the gold production that built the West from 1848 through the 1930s. The Top Ten Gold Producing States.