Klukwan Fan

Site Name

Primary: Klukwan Fan

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Copper
Primary: Iron
Primary: Titanium
Primary: Vanadium

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Juneau (Skagway subdistrict)

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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: Prospect
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

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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: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Hematite
Ore: Ilmenite
Ore: Palladium
Ore: Platinum
Ore: Titaniferous Magnetitite

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Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Geology): Age = The deposit is a Holocene alluvial fan (MacKevett and others, 1974).

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The following description is summarized from MacKevett and others (1974). The Klukwan fan is a Holocene alluvial deposit consisting of pyroxenite, gabbro, and diorite detritus that ranges from silt to large boulders in size. Parts of the fan are almost entirely pyroxenite while others are as much as 50% diorite and gabbro. The iron and the titanium are primarily in titaniferous magnetite that is widely distributed in the pyroxenite, both as disseminations and as nearly pure fragments. This alluvial material has been eroded from the mid-Cretaceous zoned mafic/ultramafic complex at Iron Mountain (SK030), which includes a core of pyroxenite surrounded by hornblende diorite. The northwest-trending Chilkat Fault, which separates the Taku terrane on the east from the Alexander terrane on the west, lies under the alluvial fan. Wells and Thorne (1953) comment that much of the titanium occurs in sphene, but later workers (MacKevett and others, 1974; Still, 1984 [OF 21-84]) refer only to titaniferous magnetite and ilmenite as the titanium-bearing minerals.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = Williams (1953) notes that the alluvial fan is a nearly perfect cone that contains about 600 million tons of material. He indicates that sampling showed the alluvial fan to average about 12% iron. Based on volume calculation for the alluvial fan and a density of 20 cubic feet per ton, Robertson (1956) estimates the fan to contain 500 million tons of broken rock that averages 10% magnetite. Still (1984 [OFR 21-084]) cites an unpublished 1972, Henry J. Kaiser Company report that estimates the fan contains 989,761,000 tons of material with 10.8% soluble iron.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = The Haines Highway crosses this alluvial fan and provides good accessibility. However, the alluvial fan lies partly in, and adjacent to, the Alaska, Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Still, 1984 (OF 21-84)

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = A placer iron deposit in an alluival fan eroded from a magnetite-bearing pyroxenite body.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = According to Still (1984 [OF 21-84]), claims covering both the alluvial and lode occurrences (SK030) were staked in 1946. The Alaska Iron Mines company was created to develop the deposit(s). Work through 1961 included sampling and diamond drilling of the lode, pit sampling and churn drilling of the placer, aeromagnetic and ground magnetic surveys, and surface mapping. A pilot mill was constructed and copper concentrates were produced for metallurgical testing. The claims were leased to Columbia Iron Mining Company in 1961 and some claims were patented in 1964. The property reverted back to Alaska Iron Mines in 1972. Wells and Thorne (1953) reported that the most effective metallurgical treatment resulted from wet magnetic separation of ore ground to minus-20 mesh, followed by grinding and retreatment of the rougher concentrate. This produced concentrates with 62% to 64% iron and total iron recoveries of 45% to 97%, depending on the head grades of the samples. These recoveries corresponded to a recovery of about 98% of the magnetic iron. The titanium-oxide content of the concentrates from low-grade ores averaged about 2.2%. Concentrates from higher-grade samples contained up to 4.2% titanium dioxide.

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References

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Skagway quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-424, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Clark, A.L., and Greenwood, W.R., 1972, Geochemistry and distribution of platinum-group metals in mafic to ultramafic complexes of southern and southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 800-C, p. C157-C160.

Reference (Deposit): Robertson, E.C., 1956, Magnetite deposits near Klukwan and Haines, southeast Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 132, 37 p.

Reference (Deposit): Berg, H.C., and Cobb, E.H., 1967, Metalliferous Lode Deposits of Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1246, 254 p.

Reference (Deposit): Wells, R.R., and Thorne, R.L., 1953, Concentration of Klukwan, Alaska, magnetite ore: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 4984, 15 p.

Reference (Deposit): Winkler, G.R., and MacKevett, E.M., Jr., 1970, Analyses of bedrock and stream-sediment samples from the Haines-Porcupine region, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 369, 91 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:125,000.

Reference (Deposit): Williams, J.A., 1953, Alaska Iron Company's magnetic deposit near Klukwan in the Haines recording district: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Prospect Evaluation 109-2, 3 p.

Reference (Deposit): Williams, J.A., 1952, Preliminary examination of Alaska iron company's magnetic deposit near Klukwan: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Prospect Evaluation 109-1, 10 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Mt. Fairweather and Skagway quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-316, 123 p.

Reference (Deposit): Berg, H.C., 1984, Regional geologic summary, metallogenesis, and mineral resources of southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report 84-572, 298 p., 1 plate, scale approx. 1:600,000.

Reference (Deposit): Still, J.C., Hoekzema, R.B., Bundtzen, T.K., Gilbert, W.G., Wier, K.R., Burns, L.E., and Fechner, S.A., 1991, Economic geology of Haines-Klukwan-Porcupine area, southeastern Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Report of Investigations 91-4, 156 p., 5 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Still, J.C., 1991, Bureau of Mines mineral investigations in the Juneau mining district, Alaska, 1984 - 1988, v. 2, Detailed mine, prospect, and mineral occurrence descriptions, section A, Haines-Klukwan-Porcupine subarea: U.S. Bureau of Mines of Mines Special Publication, 214 p.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., Robertson, E.C., and Winkler, G.R., 1974, Geology of the Skagway B-3 and B-4 quadrangles, southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 832, 33 p.

Reference (Deposit): Still, J.C., 1984, Copper, gold, platinum and palladium sample results from the Klukwan mafic/ultramafic complex, southeast Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 21-84, 53 p.

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