Buckeye Zone Prospects, Fairbanks Mining District, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Buckeye Zone Prospects	Group of Prospects
Fairbanks Mining District	Mining District
Fairbanks North Star Borough	Borough
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: The Buckeye Zone is situated in the Buckeye Creek (BD005) drainage approximately 3.5 miles northeast of the town of Richardson on the Richardson Highway. The exact location and extent of the Buckeye Zone is not well defined. It is situated approximately 3 miles east of the Banner Dike Zone (BD046) and roughly 3.5 miles east of the Democrat Lode (BD014). The approximate center of the zone is in NE1/4SE1/4 section 1, T. 7 S., R. 7 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. Numerous unimproved roads provide access to the Buckeye Creek drainage. It was not identified as a separate location by Cobb (1972) or by Cobb and Eberlein (1980).
Geology: The Richardson area is characterized by gentle slopes and broad, alluvium-filled valleys (Prindle and Katz, 1913, p. 140). The area is unglaciated and largely overlain by windblown silt, sand, and loess, locally up to 50 meters thick (Foster and others, 1979). The bedrock in the region comprises greenschist to amphibolite facies schist, marble, and gneiss that have been intruded by various igneous bodies (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). The schist and marble are probably Paleozoic, and the gneiss has a probable protolith of Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks (Weber and others, 1978). The intrusive bodies in the area range in composition from rhyolite to andesite. Fine-grained rhyolite containing quartz and feldspar phenocrysts is common throughout the area (Olson and others, 1985). At the nearby Democrat Lode (BD014), the rhyolite contains arsenopyrite, gold, and pyrite, and is albitic, clay, and sericite altered (R.J. Newberry, oral communication, 1998). Structurally, the Richardson region is cut by a northwest-trending fracture system termed the Richardson Lineament. The lineament appears to correspond to the distribution of the rhyolite and other intrusive bodies and placer gold deposits (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). Also, the lineament tends to separate gneissic rocks to the northeast from schistose rocks to the southwest (Swainbank and others, 1984). The location and extent of the Buckeye Zone is poorly defined, but it appears to be situated in a narrow north-trending tributary of Buckeye Creek at the approximate intersection of the northwest-trending Richardson Lineament and a northeast-trending structural zone that confines Buckeye Creek. The zone is defined by mineralized areas of variably fractured, limonite-stained, massive quartz veins. Gold mineralization of the Buckeye Zone is characterized by high gold-bismuth-tellurium values. The best assay results are as high as 53 ppm Au, 846 ppm Bi, and 127 ppm Te (F.L. Blystone, press release, 1998). Sulfide assemblages include variable combinations of arsenopyrite, galena, pyrite, stibnite, and Pb-Sb sulfosalts (K. Ausburn, oral communication, 1998). Based on prospect-pit observations, the host rock appears to be predominantly biotite gneiss, amphibolite, and quartzite containing fine grained pyrrhotite. Prospect pits approximately 5,800 feet north-northeast and 750 feet southeast of the zone contain similar zones of mineralization and lithologies (F.L. Blystone, press release, 1998). Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and expanded to Banner Creek and associated tributaries. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). In 1998, an exploration program consisting of reconnaissance mapping, stream-sediment, heavy-mineral concentrate, and rock-chip sampling was conducted in the Richardson area. A total of 182 rock-chip samples were collected from 38 prospect pits and 109 pan concentrates from local streams (F.L. Blystone, press release, 1998). There has been no gold production from the Banner Dike Zone prospect.
Workings: Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson area in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and expanded to Buckeye Creek. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). In 1998, an exploration program consisting of reconnaissance mapping, stream-sediment, heavy-mineral concentrate, and rock-chip sampling was conducted in the Richardson area. A total of 182 rock-chip samples were collected from 38 prospect pits and 109 pan concentrates from local streams (F.L. Blystone, press release, 1998).
Production: There has been no gold production from the Banner Dike Zone prospect.

Commodities (Major) - Au; (Minor) - Ag, As, Bi, Pb, Sb, Te
Development Status: None
Deposit Model: Plutonic-related mesothermal, shear hosted deposit

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	BD048

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References