Cleary Creek Mine, Fairbanks Mining District, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Cleary Creek Mine	Mine
Fairbanks Mining District	Mining District
Fairbanks North Star Borough	Borough
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Cobb (1972, MF-413), loc. 88; sec. 18, T. 3 N., R. 2 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. The coordinates given are on the mining tailings at the confluence of Wolf Creek and Cleary Creek. Cleary Creek has been mined over most of its extent for 6 miles from the headwaters near Willow Creek to its mouth at the Chatanika River. Cleary Creek runs along the Steese Highway from Cleary Summit to near the village of Chatanika.
Geology: Cleary Creek is a highly productive placer gold creek that has been mined over its entire length of over 5 miles. Gold production began as early as 1903 and production continues today from fresh placer cuts near the mouth of Chatham Creek. In the early 1900's, reports about Cleary Creek describe the depth to bedrock schist as being from 14 to more than 135 feet (Prindle and Katz, 1913, p. 107). Gravel is a variety of schist, some hornblende-garnet rock and boulders of vein quartz. These early reports also describe the gold occurring in the basal 1 to 7 feet of gravel and the top 1.5 to 4 feet of bedrock, with a paystreak of 35 to 150 feet wide; the average value of the paystreak was 0.566 ounces of gold per cubic yard (Prindle, 1905). Concentrates contained gold, stibnite, cassiterite, scheelite, pyrite, garnet, and rutile (Prindle, 1905). From 1903 through 1924 production was about 1,129,650 fine ounces (Cobb, 1976; OFR 76-633). The largest nugget reported weighed 13.51 ounces. Most production was from drift mines working a pay streak 150 feet wide with an average thickness of 5 feet. In 1915, most mining in the Chatanika flats was on benches on the south side of the Chatanika valley (Eakin, 1915). U.S.S.R. & M. Dredge no. 3 worked on lower Cleary Creek and near Chatanika from 1928 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1963. Dredge no. 5 worked on upper Cleary Creek from 1929 to 1942 (R.M. Chapman, 1978, U.S.G.S. memorandum). In 1996 and 1997, Alf Hopen leased placer ground from the Alaska Gold Co. on Upper Cleary Creek (Swainbank and others, 1997). In 1999, fresh placer cuts on Cleary Creek were observed at the mouth of Chatham Creek (J. Schaefer, field observation, 1999).
Workings: In 1915, most mining in the Chatanika flats was on benches on the south side of the Chatanika valley (Eakin, 1915). U.S.S.R. & M. Dredge no. 3 worked on lower Cleary Creek and near Chatanika from 1928 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1963. Dredge no. 5 worked on upper Cleary Creek from 1929 to 1942 (R.M. Chapman, 1978, U.S.G.S. memorandum). In 1996 and 1997, Alf Hopen leased placer ground from the Alaska Gold Co. on Upper Cleary Creek (Swainbank and others, 1997). In 1999, fresh placer cuts on Cleary Creek were observed at the mouth of Chatham Creek (J. Schaefer, field observation, 1999).
Production: From 1903 through 1924 production was about 1,129,650 fine ounces (Cobb, 1976; OFR 76-633). Production amounts have not been reported for recent mining activites.

Commodities (Major) - Au; (Minor) - Ag, Sb, Sn, W
Development Status: Yes; medium
Deposit Model: Placer gold deposit (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

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Link to USGS - Alaska:	LG135

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References