California Creek Mine, Shungnak Mining District, Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
California Creek Mine	Mine
Shungnak Mining District	Mining District
Northwest Arctic Borough	Borough
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Stream gradient is approximately 200 feet per mile. Asbestos fibers said to be as long as 3 inches were found in placer workings.
Location: The California Creek placer deposit is on California Creek between Little Creek and Wonder Creek. The coordinates are for the mine symbol on Shungnak D-2 quadrangle. The deposit is in sections 14, 15, and 22, T. 18 N., R. 10 E., of the Kateel River Meridian. Cobb (1972, MF-448), location 16, and Mayfield and Grybeck (1978), location 34.
Geology: At California Creek, placer gold occurs in the lower 5 feet of creek gravels, but not in bedrock crevices. The gold is smooth, flat and coarse; about half of it was nugget size. It was worth about $17.20 per ounce in 1931. The grade of the deposit was said to average $0.81 per cubic yard up to and including production from 1930. In 1931 the ground averaged about $0.385 per cubic yard (gold at $20.67/ounce). Both creek and bench deposits were auriferous. Depth to bedrock ranged from 14 to 20 feet. The gravel is coarse, up to 3 inches in diameter, and contains numerous subangular boulders of greenstone and greenschist up to 3 feet in diameter. Nephrite boulders were common, but few of gem quality. Asbestos fibers said to be as long as 3 inches were found in placer workings. The valley is unglaciated. The stream drains an area of lower Paleozoic metavolcanic rock and phyllite that is cut by many quartz veins from which the gold in the placers was probably derived. The veins may be genetically linked to the mid-Paleozoic granitic intrusion that outcrops on lower Lynx Creek (ARDF number SH006) (Reed, 1931). Quartz crystals have been recovered from gold placers.
Workings: California Creek has been mined since gold was discovered on it in 1918. The deposit was mined by hydraulicking pits and washing the lower 6 to 10 feet of gravel through a sluice box. Flumes, hydraulic mining equipment and piles of stripped gravel remain along the creek. The deposit is probably mined out.
Age: Quaternary.
Reserves: The deposit is probably mined out.

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	SH001

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References