Boulder Creek Mine, Council Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Boulder Creek Mine	Mine
Council Mining District	Mining District
Nome Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Boulder Creek is a north tributary to Canyon Creek (SO083). Its mouth is 2 miles upstream of the confluence of Canyon Creek and the Casadepaga River. This is locality 50 of Cobb (1972, MF 445; 1978, OF 78-181).
Geology: Mining took place along the active channel of Boulder Creek where thin, 1.5- to 2-feet thick gravels over bedrock contained gold. Sainsbury and others (1972, OFR 511) show placer tailings along the lower 3/4 mile of the creek. The gold was bright and some was coarse; a 3/4 ounce nugget was recovered (Smith, 1910). It appears that some mining of bench gravels also occurred. The creek was noted as one of the richer in the area; 50 ounces were reported to have been recovered in one day of work in 1899 (Brooks and others, 1901). Bedrock in the area is pelitic schist of possible Cambrian or Precambrian age that is in contact with a lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage in the headwaters of Boulder Creek (Till and others, 1986).
Workings: Small-scale hand and hydraulic mining was used up to 1907; placer tailings are mapped along the lower 3/4 mile of the creek (Sainsbury and others, 1972,OFR 511).
Age: Quaternary; the numerous incised terraces along the Casadepaga River and its major tributaries (including Canyon Creek) indicate that more than one cycle of erosion and deposition has developed placer deposits in the area. The low elevations between 170 and 270 feet along the first 11 miles of the river, suggest that Quaternary sea level fluctuations could have influenced placer development.

Commodities (Major) - Au
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	SO084

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References