The Butte Creek is a gold mine located in Alaska.
About the MRDS Data:
All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.
Mine Info
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Butte Creek MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Butte Creek
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Platinum
Location
State: Alaska
District: Bethel
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
Comments
Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Hoare and Cobb, 1977
Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)
Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.
Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Butte Creek is in the non-glaciated part of the Faro Creek drainage. Placer gold mining has taken place over about one mile of upper Butte Creek, starting in 1911 and continuing in most years up to 1940 (Hoare and Cobb, 1977, p. 29). About five feet of gravel covered a pay streak on a false clay bedrock like that on Kowkow Creek (GO031). The depth to true bedrock is 15 to 25 feet below the false bedrock. About 3,400 ounces of gold were produced up to 1919 (Harrington, 1921). Some platinum was also recovered with the gold. Platinum recovered from Butte Creek contained 59.07 percent Pt, 15.38 percent Ir, 14.82 percent Os, 9.31 percent Ru, 0.96 percent Rh, and 0.46 percent Pd (Mertie, 1969, table 38). Butte Creek was prospected for platinum in the 1960s by the Goodnews Bay Mining Company (Mertie, 1969, p. 89). Butte Creek is near the faulted contact between Precambrian crystalline rocks and Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks (Hoare and Coonrad, 1978).
Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Open-cut surface mine workings are present along about 1 mile of upper Butte Creek. The creek was prospected for platinum in the 1960s by the Goodnews Bay Mining Company (Mertie, 1969, p. 89).
Comment (Production): Production Notes = Placer gold mining has taken place over about one mile of the creek starting in 1911 and continuing in most years up to 1940 (Hoare and Cobb, 1977. p. 29). About 3,400 ounces of gold were produced up to 1919 (Harrington, 1921). The small amount of platinum production from Butte Creek was included in the amount reported by the Goodnews Bay Mining Company for its Salmon River operations in the Hagemeister Island quadrangle (Mertie, 1969).
Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive
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): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1969, Economic geology of platinum minerals: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 630, 120 p.
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.
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