Little Creek

Site Name

Primary: Little Creek
Secondary: Gold Run
Secondary: Discovery
Secondary: Bonanza
Secondary: No. 6 Pup

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Silver

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Innoko

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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: 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
Ore: Scheelite

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Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active?

Comment (Production): Production Notes = The estimated production from Little Creek from 1908 through 1986 is 47,600 ounces of gold and 8,092 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and others, 1987).

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary. The sources of the gold in Little Creek are probably the Cretaceous or Tertiary rhyolite dikes, possibly along with some contribution from the monzonite plutons (Bundtzen and others, 1987).

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

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Gold was discovered along Little Creek in 1907. Early prospecting and mining was conducted by digging shafts and drifts in the upper portions of the creek (Maddren, 1910; Eakin, 1914). By 1914, there was open- cut mining on the lower portions of the creek (Eakin, 1914). In 1925, a dredge was brought to the creek and continued to mine fairly steadily until at least 1940 (Moffit, 1927; Smith, 1929; Smith, 1930 [B 810]; Smith, 1930 [B 813]; Smith, 1932; Smith, 1933 [B 836]; Smith, 1933 [B 844-A]; Smith, 1934 [B 857-A]; Smith, 1934 [B 864-A]; Mertie, 1936; Smith, 1936; Smith, 1937; Smith, 1938; Smith, 1939 [B 910-A]; Smith, 1939 [B 917-A]; Smith, 1941; Joesting, 1942). After 1940, there was intermittent mining on Little Creek. In 1950, 3 mines were operating (Williams, 1950), and in 1959, the Little Creek Mining Co. was operating a bulldozer and dragline (Saunders, 1960). Additional sporadic mining has occurred since 1960.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The rocks in the vicinity of Little Creek are shale and argillite (Maddren, 1911). Little Creek also drains several small, Cretaceous or Tertiary monzonite plutons and rhyolite dikes, which probably are the source of the placer gold (Chapman and others, 1985; Bundtzen and others, 1987). Almost the whole 5-mile length of Little Creek has been mined. Gold was found in cracks in fractured bedrock, on 'benches' beside the stream which were mined using open cut methods, and in Little Creek's floodplain (Maddren, 1911; Eakin, 1914). The upper 6 feet of bedrock were mined for gold; the bedrock was buried under 10 to 25 feet of unconsolidated material (Maddren, 1911). The gold reportedly was coarse with many nuggets (Maddren, 1910), and averaged 830 fine (Smith, 1941). Minerals identified in panned concentrates include magnetite, ilmenite, siderite, monazite, pyrite, edenite, enstatite, and richterite (Bundtzen and others, 1987). No. 6 Pup, a tributary to Little Creek, contains abundant scheelite, probably from an igneous source (Joesting, 1942; Bundtzen and others, 1987). Gold was discovered along Little Creek in 1907. By 1914, there was open- cut mining on the lower portions of Little Creek (Eakin, 1914). In 1925, a dredge was brought to Little Creek and continued to mine fairly steadily until at least 1940 (Moffit, 1927; Smith, 1929; Smith, 1930 [B 810]; Smith, 1930 [B 813]; Smith, 1932; Smith, 1933 [B 836]; Smith, 1933 [B 844-A]; Smith, 1934 [B 857-A]; Smith, 1934 [B 864-A]; Mertie, 1936; Smith, 1936; Smith, 1937; Smith, 1938; Smith, 1939 [B 910-A]; Smith, 1939 [B 917-A]; Smith, 1941; Joesting, 1942). After 1940, there was intermittent mining on Little Creek. The estimated production from 1908 through 1986 is 47,600 ounces of gold and 8,092 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and others, 1987).

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

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References

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1928: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 810, p. 1-64.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1930: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 836-A, p. 1-83.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1931: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 844-A, p. 1-81.

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

Reference (Deposit): Moffit, F.H., 1927, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1925: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 792-A, p. 1-39.

Reference (Deposit): Saunders, R.H., 1960, Itinerary report on a trip to the Flat and Ophir Districts: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Itinerary Report 64-2, 15 p.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1928: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 813-A, p. 1-72.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1941, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1939: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 926-A, p. 1-106.

Reference (Deposit): Joesting, H.R., 1942, Strategic mineral occurences in interior Alaska: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Pamphlet 1, 46 p.

Reference (Deposit): Maddren, A.G., 1910, The Innoko gold-placer district, Alaska, with accounts of the central Kuskokwim valley and the Ruby Creek and Gold Hill placers: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 410, 87 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): 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): Smith, P.S., 1939, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1938: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 917-A, p. 1-113.

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): Williams, J.A., 1950, Mining operations in the Fairbanks district and Innoko and Koyukuk precincts: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 194-13, 20 p.

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

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1938, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1936: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-A, p. 1-107.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1930: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 836, p. 1-83.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1931: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 844-A, p. 1-82.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1937, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1935: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 880-A, p. 1-95.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1936, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1934: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 868-A, p. 1-91.

Reference (Deposit): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1936, Mineral deposits of the Ruby-Kuskokwim region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-C, 115-245.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1932: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 857-A, p. 1-91.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1933: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-A, p. 1-94.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1932, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1929, in Smith, P.S., and others Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1929: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 824-A, p. 1-81.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1928: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 813, p. 1-72.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1929, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1926: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 797, p. 1-50.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1927: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 810-A, p. 1-64.

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

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): Eakin, H.M., 1914, The Iditarod-Ruby region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 578, 45 p.

Reference (Deposit): Maddren, A.G., 1911, Gold placer mining developments in the Innoko-Iditarod region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480, p. 236-270.

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