Cahoon Creek Mine, Haines, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Cahoon Creek Mine	Mine
Haines	City Borough
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: These placer gold mine workings extend approximately 2 miles upstream on Cahoon Creek from its junction with McKinley Creek. Cobb (1972 [MF 424]) included them in his location 26 with other placer gold workings on Porcupine and McKinley Creeks.
Geology: According to Hoekzema and others (1986), the lower 0.5 miles of Cahoon Creek were extensively mined by the Cahoon Creek Mining Company from 1908 to 1913. Cahoon Creek is a steep northeast flowing tributary to McKinley Creek with an average gradient of 650 feet per mile. Very little gravel is present in the channel and much of the creek is on bedrock. There is some potential for abandoned channel or bench deposits, but these are generally covered by colluvium and avalanche debris. Gold concentration increases toward the junction with McKinley Creek. Samples contained from less than 0.0004 to 0.045 ounces of gold per cubic yard. The gold is nuggety and 83% is less than 0.02 inches in size. Panned concentrates contained greater than 70% magnetite, with minor pyrite, zircon, and garnet. The Cahoon Creek placer mineralization lies within the northwest-trending zone of quartz-sulfide veining in sediments and slates in the Skagway B-4 quadrangle that is described by Wright (1904 [B 225 and B 236}), Eakin (1918 and 1919), and MacKevett and others (1974) and considered to be the source of placer gold in this area.
Workings: The lower 0.5 miles of Cahoon Creek were extensively mined by the Cahoon Creek Mining Company from 1908 to 1913 (Hoekzema and others, 1986). A little placer mining was done at the head of Cahoon Creek in the early days of the camp, but apparently with little success (Eakin, 1918 and 1919).
Age: Quaternary.
Production: Hoekzema and others (1986) estimate 79,650 ounces for gold was produced from the Porcupine area that includes Cahoon Creek, but separate production figures for Cahoon Creek are not available. See Porcupine Creek (SK041) for a more detailed history of production in the Porcupine area.
Reserves: None reported, but Hoekzema and others, 1986, note that an abandoned channel about 0.25 miles upstream from the current junction with McKinley Creek should be investigated.

Commodities (Major) - Au; (Minor) - Ag
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Modern stream placer (Cox and Singer, 1986: model 39a).

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	SK044

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References