Unnamed (Boulder Creek east bench)

The Unnamed (Boulder Creek east bench) 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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Site Name

Primary: Unnamed (Boulder Creek east bench)

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Arsenic

Location

State: Alaska
District: Nome

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Prospect
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Text: Sulfidation of schist.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Arsenopyrite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Scheelite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = The northwesterly trending mineralization at this prospect may be cut off or displaced by the Rodine fault (Bundtzen and others, 1994).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Kennecott Exporation Company completed about 900 feet of trenches in 1992 to follow up arsenic and gold soil anomalies on the bench northeast of the confluence of Twin Mountain and Boulder Creek. The trenches were backfilled and reclaimed after mapping and sampling.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = This report

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Low-sulfide Au-quartz veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a).

Comment (Geology): Age = Mid-Cretaceous; postdates regional metmorphism and is probably similar in age to other low-sulfide Au-quartz veins of the Nome district (see, for example, the Divide prospect, NM058).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = This prospect was discovered in 1992 by following up results of a soil geochemistry survey. Mineralization continues to the south and the prospect is also probably related to quartz and sulfide vein mineralization reported as the Dakota group of some 13 claims (NM174) on Boulder Creek below Twin Mountain Creek (Mertie, 1918 [B 662-I, p. 429]). A soil geochemistry survey was completed on the northeast bench of Boulder Creek downstream from its confluence with Twin Mountain Creek in 1991. Soil samples were collected on 50-foot intervals on northeast lines about 200 feet apart. Some samples contained more than 1 percent arsenic and more than 2,000 ppb gold. In general, a strong arsenic anomaly (values in hundreds of parts per million) extends northwesterly across the bench. A series of five trenches with a total length of 900 feet was excavated; four were parallel to the soil sample lines and one crossed them. All trenches found mineralized zones, although establishing continuity between individual zones was difficult. A trench excavated on the soil line with values greater than 1 percent arsenic and 2,000 ppb gold (Trench NEBLdr-T1, Kennecott Exploration Company, written communication, 1992) found a massive quartz-arsenopyrite vein below 10 feet of overburden. A 30-foot-long zone in bedrock centered on the vein averaged 6.4 ppm gold and greater than 1 percent arsenic. Trenches 80 feet west and 100 feet east found lower values; these consisted of as much as 10 feet of 1,020 ppb gold 100 feet to the east and 10 feet of 4,400 ppb gold 80 feet to the west. A trench excavated 400 feet to the west of Trench NEBLdr-T1 contained one 10-foot sample with greater than 10 ppm gold and a 30-foot sample with about 500 ppb gold. This mineralization probably extends northwesterly into Twin Mountain Creek and could include the occurrences described in two adits driven into the east side of Twin Mountain (Cathcart, 1922, p. 251). One of these adits reportedly contained scheelite in a quartz-feldspar vein. The northwesterly trending mineralization at this prospect may be cut off or displaced by the Rodine fault (Bundtzen and others, 1994).

References

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Reger, R.D., Laird, G.M., Pinney, D.S., Clautice, K.H., Liss, S.A., and Cruse, G.R., 1994, Progress report on the geology and mineral resources of the Nome mining district: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Public Data-File 94-39, 21 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Cathcart, S.H., 1922, Metalliferous lodes in southern Seward Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 722, p. 163-261.

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