Bear Creek

The Bear 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: Bear Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Silver

Location

State: Alaska
District: Innoko

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

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = See also Cripple Creek (OP005).

Comment (Production): Production Notes = Production from Bear Creek prior to 1961 was at least 10,412 ounces of gold and 1,150 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and others, 1987).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Bear Creek area is underlain by chert, argillite, and volcaniclastic rocks. The upper portion of Cripple Creek, a nearby tributary to Graham Creek, is underlain by volcanic graywacke and conglomerate. The headwaters of Cripple Creek drain a small monzonite pluton. The rocks along the lower part of Cripple Creek are chert, argillite, and volcaniclastic strata; in the upper part of the creek, these rocks are in fault contact with structurally overlying volcanic graywacke and conglomerate (Chapman and others, 1985). Mining along Bear Creek took place on a bench between Cripple and Bear creeks. Placer mining was intermittent from 1922 until 1961, and again from 1970 until at least 1991(Brooks and Capps, 1924; Smith, 1939 [B 910-A]; Smith, 1942; White and Killeen, 1953; Cobb, 1972 [MF 367]; Cobb, 1973 [OFR 76-576]; Bundtzen and others, 1990; Bundtzen and others, 1992). The average fineness of gold is 901 (Metz and Hawkins, 1981). Production from Bear Creek prior to 1961 was at least 10,412 ounces of gold and 1,150 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and others, 1987).

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Placer mining was intermittent from 1922 until 1961, and again from 1970 until at least 1991(Brooks and Capps, 1924; Smith, 1939 [B 910-A]; Smith, 1942; White and Killeen, 1953; Cobb, 1972 [MF 367]; Cobb, 1973 [OFR 76-576]; Bundtzen and others, 1990; Bundtzen and others, 1992).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Cobb, 1976 (OFR 76-576)

References

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

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1939, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1937: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 910-A, p. 1-113.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Swainbank, R.C., Wood, J.E., and Clough, A.H., 1992, Alaska's mineral industry 1991: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report SR 46, 89 p.

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

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Swainbank, R.C., Deagen, J.R. and Moore, J.L., 1990, Alaska's mineral industry 1989: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 44, 100 p.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., Green, C.B., Deagen, J., and Daniels, C.L., 1987, Alaska's mineral industry, 1986: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Special Report 40, 68 p.

Reference (Deposit): Chapman, R.M., Patton, W.W., and Moll, E.J., 1985, Reconnaissance geologic map of the Ophir quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 85-203, 1 sheet, 1:250,000 scale.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction material) in the Iditarod and Ophir quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-576, 101 p.

Reference (Deposit): Metz, P.A., and Hawkins, D.B., 1981, A summary of gold fineness values from Alaska placer deposits: University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Report No. 45, 63 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Ophir quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-367, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H. and Capps, S.R., 1924, Mineral industry in Alaska, 1922: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 755, p. 1-56.

Reference (Deposit): White, M.G., and Killeen, P.L., 1953, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in the lower Yukon-Kuskokwim highlands region, Alaska, 1947: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 255, 18 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S. 1939, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1937: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 910-A, p. 1-113.

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