Daniels Creek Mine, Bonnifield Mining District, Denali Borough, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Daniels Creek Mine	Mine
Bonnifield Mining District	Mining District
Denali Borough	Borough
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: The Daniels Creek mine is located in sections 28 and 33, T. 9 S., R. 5 W., Fairbanks Meridian. The coordinates given are along the lower part of the creek where most placer mining took place. The creek is about 12 miles east-southeast of Rex Dome. The mine is locality 72 of Cobb (1972 [MF 410]).
Geology: The following description is summarized from Maddren (1918, p. 388-391). Placer claims were located widely along Daniels Creek as early as 1905; however, most production came from claims located along the lower mile of the creek. Most of the placer gold of Daniels Creek is somewhat rounded or worn. Daniels Creek is approximately 4 miles long and flows into the Totatlanika River from the southwest. The upper valley is composed of two headwater branches that have eroded deep gulches into the California Creek Member of the Totatlanika Schist, which consists of gray quartz-orthoclase-sericite schist and augen gneiss (Wahrhaftig, 1970 [GQ-810]). The middle part of the creek is eroded in slightly consolidated coal-bearing sediments that are overlain by the Nenana Gravel. From the junction of the headwater branches to its mouth, a distance of about 2 miles, the stream has cut 100 feet or more below the base of these sedimentary units and into harder and much older schist. The lower quarter mile of the creek is confined in a narrow, rocky gorge whose walls are several hundred feet high and composed of gravel that overlies schist. The gold at Daniels Creek is 817 fine (Glover, 1950).
Workings: The following description is summarized from Maddren (1918, p. 388-391). The first mining was reported to have been done in 1914 by two men on the lower end of No. 1 above Discovery (which is at the mouth of the creek). The work on this claim consisted of a sluice box and a small automatic dam that was used to work a cut 40 feet wide by 200 feet long through about 4 feet of gravels. About $1,500 worth of gold (about 72.5 ounces) was mined from this cut. During 1916, three men mined on the lower part of claim No. 3 above Discovery (about one-half mile above the previous workings). The first dam was destroyed by a flood, and the second one had only been in operation a few days at the time of Maddren's visit. At that time, a cut from 20 to 40 feet in width and 300 feet in length had been partly ground sluiced. In 1925, an automatic gate was in use (Wimmler, 1925 [ATDM MR 195-8, p. 43]).
Age: Quaternary placer.
Production: There is no information available on production.

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

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Link to USGS - Alaska:	FB140

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References