Alpha Creek Mine, Nome Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Alpha Creek Mine | Mine |
| Nome Mining District | Mining District |
| Nome Census Area | Census Area |
| Alaska | State |
| USA | Country |
This page is currently not sponsored. Click here to sponsor this page.
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
64° 37' 34'' North , 165° 29' 38'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Nome | 3,806 (2018) | 14.5km |
Location: This small bench and alluvial placer gold mine is on Alpha Creek, a west tributary to Snake River. Their confluence is 0.9 mile west-northwest of the Snake River road crossing of Lindblom Creek. The main workings are where Alpha Creek enters the Snake River flood plain, at elevations of about 100 to 200 feet. This is locality 99 of Cobb (1972, MF 463; 1978, OFR 78-93). The map location is in the NW1/4 section 16, T. 9 S., R. 34 W., Kateel River Meridian; is accurate to within 1,000 feet.
Geology: The Alpha Creek placer deposit is on the flood plain of Snake River on the flank of the range of hills that extends from Monument Creek to Sledge Creek. On the basis of the configuration of tailings, the placer deposit was surface mined by scraper and gin pole. Cathcart (1922, p. 249) reported 'considerable' placer gold production from this small placer. Bedrock cleaned in mining was cut by numerous glassy quartz stringers containing sulfides and their alteration products. Cathcart (1922) did not find gold in the quartz samples that he assayed, but he reported that A.C. Stewart had obtained about 0.6 ounce of gold per ton in selected veinlets that he assayed. In addition to a local bedrock source, additional gold could have been derived from the Alpha Ridge lode prospect (NM171) at the head of Alpha Creek. Cathcart (1920) speculated that the gold either was distributed irregularly in the quartz veins or was derived from mineralized schist. The Alpha Creek placer is on schist bedrock on the east flank of the Twin Mountain anticline of Bundtzen and others (1994).
Workings: The Alpha placer deposit was worked, probably by scraper and gin pole, before 1920 (Cathcart, 1922). A reverse-circulation drill hole was completed near the ditch line above the placer by Kennecott Exploration Company in about 1994. Samples from this hole contained maximum gold values of a few hundreths of an ounce per ton.
Age: Quaternary.
Commodities (Major) - Au
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Alluvial placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a); possibly partly residual.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
1 valid mineral.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| Au | Gold | |
|---|---|---|
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS - Alaska: | NM196 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Brooks-Seward DomainDomain
- Nome ComplexAccretionary Complex
This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders
for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
