Canyon Creek

The Canyon Creek is a 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

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Site Name

Primary: Canyon Creek
Secondary: Divide Creek
Secondary: Long Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Platinum
Secondary: Tin

Location

State: Alaska
District: Yentna

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

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

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Cassiterite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Ilmenite
Ore: Magnetite
Ore: Platinum
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Specularite
Gangue: Garnet
Gangue: Zircon

Comments

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = The drainage has been prospected and mined by various small scale surface methods.

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Mertie, 1919

Comment (Geology): Age = Tertiary and Pleistocene.

Comment (Deposit): Other Comments = Cobb and Reed (1980) state that most, if not all, references to Long Creek are probably to Canyon Creek. Mining has also been reported on Ramsdyke Creek (Cobb, 1973), which runs along the northwest side of the ridge north of the headwater basin of Canyon Creek.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Canyon, Divide and Long Creeks drain across the contact between Mesozoic slate and graywacke (KJs) and Tertiary strata of the Sterling (?) (Tcp) and Tyonek (?) (Tts) Formations of the Kenai Group (Reed and Nelson, 1980). Cobb and Reed (1980) report that the placer deposits in Canyon Creek are probably derived directly from local mineralized zones in bedrock, which is mainly Mesozoic slate (KJs), intruded by Tertiary and (or) Cretaceous (TKi) acidic dikes and cut by quartz stringers. The bedrock locally contains visible pyritized zones. According to Mertie (1919) stream gravels at this locale have a pay streak which ranges from 1 to 15 feet in width (average: 6 feet) and 2 to 8 feet in depth. Gold is found on or near bedrock. Gravel is mostly cobble-sized clasts 6 inches in diameter with some boulders up to 2 feet in diameter. Gold, platinum, magnetite, ilmenite, garnet, zircon, and cassiterite, some of which is crystalline with unworn edges, are noted in concentrates by Mertie (1919). This suggested to him that the gold and cassiterite were largely derived from mineralized rocks of the drainage area. Cobb and Reed (1980) report that most, if not all, references to Long Creek are probably to Canyon Creek. Mining has also been reported on Ramsdyke Creek (Cobb, 1973), which runs along the northwest side of the ridge north of the headwater basin of Canyon Creek.

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

References

Reference (Deposit): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1919, Platinum-bearing gold placers of the Kahiltna Valley: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 692-D, p. 233-264.

Reference (Deposit): MacKevett, E.M., Jr., and Holloway, C.D., 1977, Map showing metalliferous and selected non-metalliferous mineral deposits in the eastern part of southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-169-A, 99 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Clark, A.L., and Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Talkeetna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-369, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Koschmann, A.H. and Bergendahl, M.H., 1968, Principal gold producing districts of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 610, 283 p.

Reference (Deposit): Clark, A.L., and Hawley, C.C., 1968, Reconnaissance geology, mineral occurrences, and geochemical anomalies of the Yentna district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 68-35, 64 p.

Reference (Deposit): Robinson, G. D., Wedow, Helmuth, Jr., and Lyon, J. B., 1955, Radioactivity investigations in the Cache Creek area, Yentna district, Alaska 1945: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1024-A, p. 1-23.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1934, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1932: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 857-A, p. 1-91.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1932, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1929, in Smith, P.S., and others Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1929: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 824-A, p. 1-81.

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., 1921, The future of Alaska mining, in Martin G.C. and others, Mineral resources of Alaska, 1917: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 714, p. 5-57.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1927: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 810-A, p. 1-64.

Reference (Deposit): Reed, B.L., Nelson, S.W., Curtin, G.C., and Singer, D.A., 1978, Mineral resources map of the Talkeetna Quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-870-D, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and Reed, B.L., 1980, Summaries of data and lists of reference to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Talkeetna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-884, 106 p.

Reference (Deposit): Capps, S.R., 1913, The Yentna district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 534, 75 p.

Reference (Deposit): Garrett, D. R., 1998, The Blue Ribbon Mine, Yentna Mining District, Alaska: Worldwide Web URL http://www.alaska.net/~freegold/brm.html.
URL: http://www.alaska.net/~freegold/brm.html

Reference (Deposit): Reed, B.L., and Nelson, S.W., 1980, Geologic map of the Talkeetna quadrangle: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map I-1174, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1969, Economic geology of platinum minerals: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 630, 120 p.

Reference (Deposit): C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., 1978, Mineral appraisal of lands adjacent to Mt. McKinley National Park, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 24-78, 275 p., 7 plates.

Reference (Deposit): Hawley, C.C., and Clark, A.L., 1973, Geology and mineral deposits of the upper Chulitna district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 758-A, p. 1-10, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000 and 1:500,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p.

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