Konechney Prospect (Mission Creek)

The Konechney Prospect (Mission Creek) is a copper, silver, and 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

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Site Name

Primary: Konechney Prospect (Mission Creek)

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold
Secondary: Antimony
Secondary: Tin
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Uranium

Location

State: Alaska
District: Aniak

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: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Text: Silicification and tourmalinization.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Metazeunerite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Goethite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Malachite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Scheelite
Ore: Stephanite
Ore: Stibnite
Ore: Cuprite
Ore: Covellite
Ore: Arsenopyrite
Ore: Azurite
Ore: Bornite
Ore: Cassiterite
Ore: Chalcocite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Chrysocolla
Gangue: Tourmaline
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Geology): Age = Late Cretaceous or Tertiary. Veins crosscut part of the intrusive complex of the Russian Mountains. Quartz monzonite from this complex has yielded a K/Ar age of 70.3 +/- 2.1 Ma (Bundtzen and Laird, 1991).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Bundtzen and Laird, 1991

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Polymetallic veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c)

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = This prospect, discovered and first staked in 1921, is named after one of its discovers, Joseph Konechney. Konechney persistently explored the prospect with trenches and two levels of underground workings for many years (Hoare and Coonrad, 1977). The deposits are quartz-sulfide-tourmaline greisen veins developed near the contact between syenite and an axinite-bearing andesite porphyry dike. The mineralized zone, which has been traced northwest for at least 470 feet, contains quartz tourmaline, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, metazeunerite, gold, scheelite, and cassiterite. Late-forming minerals include chalcocite, bornite, stibnite (?), stephanite, covellite, cuprite, azurite, malachite, goethite, and chrysocolla (Bundtzen and Laird, 1991). Twelve channel samples collected by Bundtzen and Laird (1991) combined with five collected by Holzheimer (1926) average 4.44 ppm gold, 1.64 percent copper, 1.14 percent arsenic, and 0.24 percent antimony. The samples also contain anomalous levels of tin (to 200 ppm), silver (to 317 ppm), and uranium (to 106 ppm). The only sample analyzed for bismuth by Bundtzen and Laird (1991) contained 112 ppm of this element. Wedow and others (1953) and West (1954) examined the prospect for radioactive minerals; the highest eU content they observed was 0.006 percent. Assuming dimensions, in feet, of 3.4 x 400 x 470, Bundtzen and Laird (1991) estimated a resource of 37,600 tons of material with the stated average grades. The country rocks are part of the Upper Cretaceous intrusive complex of the Russian Mountains.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Surface trenches and two adits (now caved) with a total of 900 feet of underground workings have been completed. The main adit was 800 feet long. Maps of the underground workings were made by Holzheimer (1926) and are described in Bundtzen and Laird (1991).

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Assuming dimensions, in feet, of 3.4 x 400 x 470, Bundtzen and Laird (1991) estimate a resource of 37,600 tons of material averaging 4.44 ppm gold, 1.64 percent copper, 1.14 percent aresenic, and 0.24 percent antimony, along with as much as 200 ppm tin, 317 ppm silver, and 106 ppm uranium.

References

Reference (Deposit): Hoare, J M., and Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Russian Mission quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-444, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Holzheimer, F.W., 1926, Lode prospects in the Russian Mountains, Kuskokwim River region: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 81-1, 15 p.

Reference (Deposit): Bundzten, T.K., and Laird, G.M., 1991, Geology and mineral resources of the Russian Mission C-1 Quadrangle, southwest Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Professional Report 109, 24 p.

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): Wedow, Helmuth, Jr., 1953, Preliminary summary of reconnaissance for uranium and thorium in Alaska, 1952: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 248, 15 p.

Reference (Deposit): West, W.S., 1954, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in the lower Yukon-Kuskokwim region, Alaska, 1952: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 328, 10 p.

Reference (Deposit): Hoare, J M., and Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Russian Mission quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-444, scale 1:250,000.

The Top Ten Gold Producing States

These ten states contributed the most to the gold production that built the West from 1848 through the 1930s. The Top Ten Gold Producing States.