Kwiniuk River

The Kwiniuk River is a copper, ree, and tungsten 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: Kwiniuk River

Commodity

Primary: Copper
Primary: REE
Primary: Tungsten

Location

State: Alaska
District: Council

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Occurrence
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age in Years: 88.300000+-1.500000
Dating Method: K-Ar
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age in Years: 92.800000+-2.600000
Dating Method: K-Ar
Age Young: Late Cretaceous

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Allanite
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Powellite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Scheelite
Gangue: Sphene
Gangue: Rutile
Gangue: Magnetite
Gangue: Hornblende
Gangue: Hematite
Gangue: Garnet
Gangue: Epidote
Gangue: Apatite
Gangue: Spinel

Comments

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = West, 1953

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = There are no known workings; exploration in the region may have included reconnaissance stream sediment sampling and radiometric surveys.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Skarns, veins, or disseminations at or near the contact of the Darby pluton and metasedimentary rocks; disseminations in late, felsic phases of the Darby pluton.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = A heavy-mineral concentrate from stream gravels at this locality contained sphene, hornblende, allanite, apatite, hematite, garnet; traces of spinel, scheelite, powellite, magnetite, epidote, rutile, pyrite, and chalcopyrite. This sample (approximate concentration ratio of 230:1) contained 0.017% equivalent uranium (sample 2961, West, 1953). The stream drains the contact between the Darby pluton (Miller and others, 1972; Miller and Bunker, 1976; Johnson and others, 1979) and Paleozoic marble and related metasedimentary rocks (Till and others, 1986). The slightly uraniferous granodiorite and granite of the Darby pluton is mid-Cretaceous; K/Ar ages for the Darby pluton are 88.3 +/- 1.5 and 92.8 +/- 2.6 Ma (Berry and others, 1976). The possible sources of heavy minerals in the stream gravels include skarns, veins, and disseminations at or near the contact of the Darby pluton and metasedimentary rocks. The widespread elevated Nb values in stream sediments (Miller and Grybeck, 1973) and in heavy -mineral concentrates (West, 1953) of the Clear Creek-Vulcan Creek area to the north may indicate specific mineralized zones or disseminations in late, felsic phases of the Darby pluton (Miller and Grybeck, 1973).

Comment (Geology): Age = The lode source of the heavy minerals in the stream gravels is probably mid-Cretaceous, the age of the Darby pluton; K/Ar ages for the Darby pluton are 88.3 +/- 1.5 and 92.8 +/- 2.6 Ma (Berry and others, 1976).

Comment (Geology): Age = Chron age is for the Darby pluton.

References

Reference (Deposit): Johnson, B.R., Miller, T.P., and Karl, S., 1979, Uranium-thorium investigations of the Darby pluton, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 804-B, p. 68-70.

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): Berry, A.L., Dalrymple, G.B., Lamphere, M.A., and Von Essen, J.C., 1976, Summary of miscellaneous potassium-argon age determinations, U. S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, for the years 1972-1974: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 727, 13 p.

Reference (Deposit): Miller, T.P., and Bunker, C.M., 1976, A reconnaissance study of the uranium and thorium contents of plutonic rocks of the southeastern Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Journal of Research, v. 4, p. 367-377.

Reference (Deposit): Miller, T.P., and Grybeck, D.J., 1973, Geochemical survey of the eastern Solomon and southeastern Bendeleben quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 553, 115 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): Miller, T.P., Grybeck, D.J., Elliott, R.L., and Hudson, T.L., 1972, Preliminary geologic map of the eastern Solomon and southeastern Bendeleben quadrangles, eastern Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 72-256, 11 p.

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): West, W.S., 1953, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in the Darby Mountains, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 1948: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 300, 7 p.

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