Sledge Creek

The Sledge 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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Site Name

Primary: Sledge Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver
Secondary: Tin
Secondary: Tungsten

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: Placer Au-PGE

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Cassiterite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Scheelite

Comments

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Sledge Creek could contain a largely unmined placer deposit (C.C. Hawley, personal observation, 1994, 2000).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Drift mining reported in 1916; small open-cut surface mining on and below U.S. Mineral Survey No. 1343 probably took place in about 1925 (Heiner and Porter, 1972).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Sledge Creek has been mined at the surface in a shallow deposit near where the creek emerges from the hills and enters the Snake River valley. Drift mining at two unknown locations was also reported by Mertie (1918 [B 662-I, p. 454]). Patented claim U.S. Mineral Survey No.1343 is in lower Sledge Creek, immediately above the surface placer cut, and claim U.S. Mineral Survey No. 1840 is in the south fork of Sledge Creek. Gold and tungsten were reported at the former site (Heiner and Porter, 1972, Kardex site Kx 52-259). Tungsten in scheelite was also reported by Thorne and others (1948, p. 33) in Sledge Creek. Kennecott Exploration Company found gold in two pan concentrate samples collected 1,500 and 3,000 feet below the south fork junction. The samples, contained more than 4 and more than 2 ppm gold respectively. They also contained anomalous amounts of tin, suggesting that cassiterite is present. This placer deposit is at an elevation of 150 to 175 fee, suggesting that it may have been influenced by Quaternary sea-level changes during its development. Bedrock of the Sledge Creek drainage is mostly chloritic and calcareous schist. One or more branches of the Rodine fault parallel upper Sledge Creek (Bundtzen and others, 1994). At least some of the placer gold in Sledge Creek was probably derived from erosion of the Alpha Ridge deposit (NM171).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = This report

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary.

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

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): Thorne, R.L., Muir, N.M., Erickson, A.W., Thomas, B. I., Hedie, H. E., and Wright, W. S., 1948, Tungsten deposits of Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigation 4174, 51 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File report 78-93, 213 p.

Reference (Deposit): Heiner, L.E., and Porter, Eve, 1972, Alaska Mineral Properties, volume 2: University of Alaska, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Report 24, 669 p.

Reference (Deposit): Thorne, R.L., Muir, N.M., Erickson, A.W., Thomas, B. I., Hedie, H. E., and Wright, W. S., 1948, Tungsten deposits of Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigation 4174, 22 p.

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