Butte Creek Mines, Circle Mining District, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Butte Creek Mines	Group of Mines
Circle Mining District	Mining District
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Butte Creek is a tributary to Birch Creek. Butte Creek enters Birch Creek just south of the Steese Highway, approximately 1 mile east of the Bear Creek-Steese Highway junction. The coordinates are for the approximate center of extensive placer mining along the lower 3.2 km of the creek.
Geology: The drainage basin of Butte Creek lies within the Upper Schist unit of Wiltse and others (1995), which they describe as a mixed unit of variably garnetiferous, pelitic quartz-muscovite schist, muscovite-quartz schist, chlorite-quartz muscovite schist, and distinct intervals several tens of meters thick of garnetiferous, calcareous albite-porphyroblastic muscovite-chlorite schist containing interlayered, 3 to 5 cm thick impure marble. A pebble count of gravel in the lower part of Butte Creek reveals a composition of 43 percent quartzite, 26 percent quartz, 18 percent garnet schist, and 13 percent mica schist. The gravel in Butte Creek is coarse and typically contains boulders of quartz and quartzite as much as 0.5 meters in diameter (Yeend, 1991). A hydraulic plant was installed in 1916 but operated only a short time because of scarcity of water (Brooks, 1918). Placer mining was reported in 1916, 1937 and perhaps 1932 (Eberlein and others, 1977, p. 19). A dragline excavating plant was operated on the creek in 1937. Weighted mean of all gold mined through 1937 was 900 parts gold and 88 parts silver per thousand (Mertie, 1938). Extensive mining was done in the lower 3.2 km of the creek in the 1980's (Yeend, 1991). The upper parts of the creek are unmined, have steep gradients, and small volumes of gravel (Yeend, 1991).
Workings: A hydraulic plant was installed in 1916 but operated only a short time because of scarcity of water (Brooks, 1918). Placer mining was reported in 1916, 1937 and perhaps 1932 (Eberlein and others, 1977, p. 19). A dragline excavating plant was operated on the creek in 1937. Weighted mean of all gold mined through 1937 was 900 parts gold and 88 parts silver per thousand (Mertie, 1938). Extensive mining was done in the lower 3.2 km of the creek in the 1980's (Yeend, 1991). The upper parts of the creek are unmined, have steep gradients, and small volumes of gravel (Yeend, 1991).
Production: Mining has been reported (see workings/exploration); however, amount of production is unknown.

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	CI009

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References