Unnamed (near Weyahok River)

The Unnamed (near Weyahok River) is a lead, zinc, copper, and silver 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: Unnamed (near Weyahok River)

Commodity

Primary: Lead
Primary: Zinc
Primary: Copper
Primary: Silver
Secondary: Antimony

Location

State: Alaska
District: Noatak

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

Model Name: Polymetallic veins

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Alteration Text: None.

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Galena
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Sphalerite
Gangue: Quartz

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = The area is within the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Wilderness and has been closed to prospecting since 1981.

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The site is defined by a few short traverses and spot stations by USGS in late 1970's, and since closed to exploration.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The site consists of a sprinkling of small occurrences of epigenetic quartz veins, lenses, and breccia zones less than 3 feet thick that contain various combinations of galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and pyrite. The occurrences are in an area of about 30 square miles in an otherwise monotonous sequence of feldspathic sandstone of the Hunt Fork Shale (Nelson and Grybeck, 1980; Grybeck and Nelson, 1981). Assays of the sulfide-bearing samples show up to 100 ppm Ag and 200 ppm Sb. Our fieldwork (S.W. Nelson and D. Grybeck, unpublished data, 1977-1980), and geochemical sampling (Cathrall and others, 1981) suggest that many additional such deposits may occur in this area. All the occurrences found to date are small and discontinuous and there is no obvious sign of any large deposit within the area. There are two theories about the origin of the deposits: (1) Grybeck and others,1985) cite geochemical evidence that they may be related to a buried felsic intrusion; (2) Schmidt and Werdon (1993) and Schmidt (1997) believe that they are related to post-depositional dewatering of the sedimentary rock section and are similar in origin to other sedimentary-rock hosted mineral occurrences in the Brooks Range.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Grybeck and Nelson, 1981

Comment (Exploration): Status = Inactive

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Polymetallic vein (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c. See Schmidt and Werdon, 1993, p. 143)

References

Reference (Deposit): Nelson, S.W., and Grybeck, D.J., 1980, Geologic map of the Survey Pass quadrangle, Brooks Range, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-1176-A, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Grybeck, D.J., and Nelson, S.W., 1981, Mineral deposit map of the Survey Pass quadrangle, Brooks Range, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-1176-F, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cathrall, J.B., Billings, T.M., Colley, E.F., and O'Leary, R.M., 1981, Map showing anomalous drainage areas of selected elements in the Survey Pass quadrangle, Brooks Range, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-1176-D, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Grybeck, D.J., Cathrall, J.B., LeCompte, J.R., and Cady, J.W., 1985, Buried felsic plutons in upper Devonian redbeds, central Brooks Range, in Bartsch-Winkler, Susan, and Reed, K.M., eds., The United States Geological Survey in Alaska: Accomplishments during 1983: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 945, p. 8-10.

Reference (Deposit): Schmidt, J.M., and Werdon, M.B., 1993, Clastic-hosted stratiform, vein/breccia and disseminated Zn-Pb-Ag deposits of the northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska; are they different expersions of dewatering of the same source basin? [abs.]: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 24, p. 143.

Reference (Deposit): Schmidt, J.M., 1997, Shale-hosted Zn-Pb-Ag and barite deposits of Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Mineral Deposits of Alaska, 1997: Economic Geology Monograph 9, p. 35-65.

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