Canyon Creek Prospect, Fairbanks Mining District, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Canyon Creek Prospect	Prospect
Fairbanks Mining District	Mining District
Fairbanks North Star Borough	Borough
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Canyon Creek drains southeast into the Tanana River approximately 4 miles west of the town of Richardson on the Richardson Highway. The creek is approximately 3.5 miles long and has several tributaries. The approximate midpoint of Canyon Creek is NE1/4SW1/4 section 14, T. 7 S., R. 6 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. There are references to placer mining along Canyon Creek, but it is unclear where. The Richardson Highway provides access to all but the headwaters of the Canyon 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 with 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). Metz (1991) described early drift mine and surface tailings in the Canyon Creek drainage. Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and soon expanded to nearby creeks. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). The placer gold mined from the area ranged from 639.5 to 785 in fineness (Menzie and Foster, 1979). From 1905 through 1921, production from the Richardson district was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, the district has produced approximately 10,000 additional ounces of gold from intermittent mining (Olson and others, 1985). Gold production for Canyon Creek has not been reported separately.
Workings: Metz (1991) described early drift mine and surface trench tailings in the Canyon Creek drainage. Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson area in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek and soon expanded to nearby creeks. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985).
Age: Quaternary
Production: From 1905 through 1921, production for the Richardson area was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, mining in the district has produced an additional 10,000 ounces of gold (Olson and others, 1985). Gold production for Canyon Creek has not been reported separately.

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	BD008

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References