Daniels Creek

Site Name

Primary: Daniels Creek

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Mercury

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Council

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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

Alteration Text: Manganese oxide cementation was at least locally present.

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Cinnabar
Ore: Gold
Ore: Scheelite

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Comments

Comment (Production): Production Notes = The initial discoveries were very rich; production in 1900 was about 10,000 ounces of gold from Daniels Creek and 29,000 ounces of gold from the modern beaches (Brooks and others, 1901; Collier and others, 1908; Cobb, 1978, OF 78-181). Cumulative gold production from Daniels Creek, mostly between 1900 and 1920, is about 44,000 ounces (Mulligan, 1971). Total placer production from the Bluff area (Daniels Creek, modern beaches, and offshore submerged channels or beaches - see ARDF locality SO134) is about 90,000 ounces.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = A rich gold placer was discovered on the beach at Bluff in 1899 and by 1900, placers on Daniels Creek were also being exploited (Brooks and others, 1901). Placer mning on Daniels Creek took place for about 2,500 feet from its mouth to where schist crosses the drainage. Downstream, bedrock in the drainage is Paleozoic marble (Herreid, 1965; Mulligan, 1971; Till and others, 1986). The marble bedrock is characterized by irregular solution channels, crevices, sink holes, pits, and collapsed caverns that are in places tens of feet deep and below sea level. Cumulative gold production from Daniels Creek, mostly between 1900 and 1920, is about 44,000 ounces (Mulligan, 1971). Ditch systems brought water to the area and much of the mining was by hydraulic methods. Total placer production from the Bluff area (Daniels Creek, modern beaches, and offshore submerged channels or beaches - see ARDF locality SO134) is about 90,000 ounces. The initial discoveries were very rich; production in 1900 included about 10,000 ounces from Daniels Creek and 29,000 ounces from the modern beaches (Brooks and others, 1901; Cobb, 1978, OF 78-181). Manganese oxide locally cemented the paystreak and cinnabar, scheelite, magnetite, and ilmentite accompanied gold in heavy mineral concentrates.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Cobb, 1978 (OF 78-181)

Comment (Reserve-Resource): Reserves = The Daniels Creek placer is mostly worked out but offshore extensions of the very irregular and locally deep channel probably still contain gold (see ARDF locality 134).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Hydraulic placer mining took place over 2,500 feet of the drainage upstream from the mouth. Much hand digging must have been required to exploit placers on the very irregular bedrock; shaft-digging buckets were scattered over the length of the mined area in 1966 (Mulligan, 1971). Ditch systems were constructed to bring water to the area for hydraulic operations. Other operations and exploration activities nearby were associated with beach and offshore mining (see ARDF locality SO134) and lode gold epxploitation (see ARDF locality SO135).

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary; the placer deposits here are at low enough elevation (below sea level to 100 feet) to have been influenced by Quaternary sea level fluctuations.

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

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References

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., Richardson, G. B., and Collier, A. J., 1901, Reconnaissance in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900: U.S. Geological Survey Special Publication, p. 1-180.

Reference (Deposit): Cox, D.P., and Singer, D.A., 1986, Mineral deposit models: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1693, 379 p.

Reference (Deposit): Herreid, G.H., 1965, Geology of the Bluff area, Solomon quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geological Report 10, 21 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:40,000.

Reference (Deposit): Till, A.B., Dumoulin, J.A., Gamble, B. ., Kaufman, D.S., and Carroll, P.I., 1986, Preliminary geologic map and fossil data, Soloman, Bendeleben, and southern Kotzebue quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 86-276, 10 p., 3 plates, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-181, 185 p.

Reference (Deposit): Mulligan, J.J., 1971, Sampling gold lode deposits, Bluff, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, with a section on petrography by Walter L. Gnagy: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 7555, 40 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic resources map of the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-445, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Collier, A. J., Hess, F.L., Smith, P.S., and Brooks, A.H., 1908, The gold placers of parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, including the Nome, Council, Kougarok, Port Clarence, and Goodhope precincts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 328, 343 p.

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