Wattamuse Creek

Site Name

Primary: Wattamuse Creek

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Commodity

Primary: Gold

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Goodnews Bay

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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

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Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive

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

Comment (Production): Production Notes = About 2,000 ounces of gold were produced from 1917 to 1919 (Harrington, 1921). Fechner (1988) indicates that the tailings along the creek could be reworked and that local unmined areas are also present. One unmined area is estimated to contain 60,000 cubic yards with an average grade of 0.015 to 0.018 ounce of gold per cubic yard. The lower dredged part of the creek (included with Cascade Creek by Fechner, 1988) is estimated to have had about 800,000 cubic yards of tailings. As the dredge is reported to have recovered about 0.025 ounce of gold per cubic yard (Fechner, 1988), about 20,000 ounces of gold production are indicated for this part of the creek. However, recorded production for this creek segment is 9,300 ounces of gold (Fechner, 1988). The upper part of the creek has recorded and estimated production of 18,300 ounces of gold (Fechner, 1988) making total production from the creek possibly as much as 38,000 ounces.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Fechner, 1988

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Wattmuse Creek is the principal gold producer in the Goodnews River drainage. Gold was discovered in 1917 by a native reindeer herder (Harrington, 1921), and mining took place from the fall of 1917, when about 500 ounces were produced, to the beginning of WW II (Hoare and Cobb, 1977). Mining has been extensive over the lower 2 miles of the drainage and included dredging, especially below the mouth of Cascade Creek (GO022), a north tributary. A dragline operated in upper parts of the creek in 1946 and 1947 (Fechner, 1988). Fechner (1988) considered the lower part of Wattamuse Creek to be a continuation of Cascade Creek; the lower part of the creek is not named on USGS topographic maps. However, early descriptions indicate that Wattamuse Creek continues to Slate Creek and that Cascade Creek is a tributary to Wattamuse Creek. The pay streak on Wattamuse Creek was 20 to 30 feet wide in upper parts of the creek to over 100 feet wide on lower parts. The pay,1 to 2 feet of gravel and about 6 inches of bedrock, ranged in grade from 0.015 to 0.15 ounce of gold per cubic yard. The overburden was 2 to 5 feet of soil and gravel (Harrington, 1921). The gravel became coarser upstream, where boulders up to a few feet across became more abundant. Fechner (1988) collected eight 0.1 cubic yard placer samples in the Wattamuse Creek drainage, including one from lower Wattamuse below the mouth of Cascade Creek. These samples, from along the active drainage and from benches, contained 0.0013 to 0.7583 ounce of gold per cubic yard. Fechner (1988) indicates that the tailings along the creek could be reworked and that local unmined areas are also present. One unmined area is estimated to contain 60,000 cubic yards with an average grade of 0.015 to 0.018 ounce of gold per cubic yard. The lower dredged part of the creek (included with Cascade Creek by Fechner, 1988) is estimated to have had about 800,000 cubic yards of tailings. As the dredge is reported to have recovered about 0.025 ounce of gold per cubic yard (Fechner, 1988), about 20,000 ounces of gold production are indicated for this part of the creek. However, recorded production for this creek segment is 9,300 ounces of gold (Fechner, 1988). The upper part of the creek has recorded and estimated production of 18,300 ounces of gold (Fechner, 1988), making total production from the creek possibly as much as 38,000 ounces. Wattamuse Creek is a glaciated drainage. Bedrock in the area includes Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks intruded by an Upper Cretaceous granitic stock in the headwaters of the creek (Hoare and Coonrad, 1978).

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Mining has been extensive over the lower 2 miles of the drainage and included dredging, especially below the mouth of Cascade Creek (GO022), a north tributary. A dragline operated in upper parts of the creek in 1946 and 1947 (Fechner, 1988).

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References

Reference (Deposit): Harrington, G.L., 1921, Mineral resources of the Goodnews Bay region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 714-E, p. 207-228.

Reference (Deposit): Hoare, J.M., and Coonrad, W.L., 1978, Geologic map of the Goodnews and Hagemeister Island quadrangles region, southwestern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-9-B, two sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Hoare, J.M., and Cobb, E.H., 1977, Mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bethel, Goodnews, and Russian Mission quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-156, 98 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and Condon, W.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Goodnews quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-447, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Fechner, S.A., 1988, Bureau of Mines mineral investigation of the Goodnews Bay mining district, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 1-88, 230 p.

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