Curve Creek Prospect, Port Clarence Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Curve Creek Prospect	Prospect
Port Clarence Mining District	Mining District
Nome Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Curve Creek is the second tributary entering Lost River from the west, 3 miles upstream from the mouth of Lost River on Bering Sea. It is a southeast-flowing stream draining Ordovician limestones of the York Mountains. The Curve Creek prospect is located on the south side of a small west tributary between elevations of 500 and 1,000 feet. This is locality 4 of Cobb and Sainsbury (1972). Cobb (1975) summarized relevant references under the name 'Curve Cr.'.
Geology: Fluorite and some beryllium (up to 0.15% BeO) mineralization is localized along mafic dikes and fractured Lower Orodvician limestone in the footwall of the Rapid River fault. Sainsbury (1969; 1972) maps the Rapid River fault as a 12-mile long east-west trending thrust fault in the southern part of the York Mountains although stratigraphic relations across the fault suggest normal displacement. Mineralization here is apparently present over about 4,000 feet of east-west strike.
Workings: Surface observations and sampling reported by Sainsbury (1969, p. 77-78).
Age: The age of the mineralization is assumed to be related to the development of tin systems in the Lost River area and therefore Late Cretaceous, the age of the tin-mineralizing granites there (Hudson and Arth, 1983).
Alteration: Mass balance calculations show significant SiO2, Al2O3, alkali, and fluorine enrichment with mineralization (Sainsbury, 1968, p. 1567).
Reserves: Not defined

Commodities (Major) - Fluorite; (Minor) - Be
Development Status: None
Deposit Model: Fluorite- and beryllium-bearing veins and replacements in Ordovician limestone

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	TE037

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References