Location: Dorothy Creek is a west tributary to upper Nome River. The mouth of Dorothy Creek is about 1.4 miles downstream from the mouth of Divide Creek, another west tributary to Nome River. Dorothy Creek may have been placer mined for gold over most of its lower 1.3 miles. This is locality 105 of Cobb (1972 [MF 463], 1978 [OFR 78-93]).
Geology: Dorothy Creek was placer mined for gold as early as 1900, and by 1903 about 44,000 dollars or 2,125 ounces of gold had been produced (Collier and others, 1908). Some mining took place as recently as 1940 (Smith, 1942). The placer concentrate contained bladed stibnite crystals and minor scheelite (Coats, 1944; Anderson, 1947). Bedrock in the Dorothy Creek drainage is mainly metasedimentary schist that lies structurally above a regionally extensive marble unit (Hummel, 1962 [MF 248]). Small orthogneiss bodies, greenstone bodies, and numerous quartz veins are present in the schist (Collier and others, 1908; Hummel, 1962 [MF 248]). The Wyoming prospect (NM110) is apparently an arsenopyrite- and (or) pyrite-bearing vein exposed along Dorothy Creek, and antimony occurrences (NM068, NM069) and the Bulk Gold prospects (NM071, NM072) occur on the ridge along the southwest headwaters of Dorothy Creek.
Workings: Dorothy Creek was placer mined as early as 1900 and by 1903 about 44,000 dollars or 2,125 ounces of gold had been produced (Collier and others, 1908). Some mining took place as recently as 1940 (Smith,1942).
Age: Quaternary.
Production: The produced gold reportedly assayed 14 to 15 dollars per ounce (Collier and others, 1908). The early mining was said to have been expensive and little profit was made (Moffit, 1913).

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

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.

ⓘ Antimony

ⓘ Tungsten

Mineral List

ⓘ Native Gold

ⓘ Scheelite

ⓘ Stibnite

3 valid minerals.

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Native Gold

Formula: Au

References:

(2008) Alaska Resource Data File (ARDF) Open-File Report 2008-1225. US Geological Survey

ⓘ Scheelite

Formula: Ca(WO₄)

References:

(2008) Alaska Resource Data File (ARDF) Open-File Report 2008-1225. US Geological Survey

ⓘ Stibnite

Formula: Sb₂S₃

References:

(2008) Alaska Resource Data File (ARDF) Open-File Report 2008-1225. US Geological Survey

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
ⓘ	Native Gold	1.AA.05	Au
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
ⓘ	Stibnite	2.DB.05	Sb₂S₃
Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates
ⓘ	Scheelite	7.GA.05	Ca(WO₄)

List of minerals for each chemical element

O	Oxygen
O	ⓘ Scheelite	Ca(WO₄)
S	Sulfur
S	ⓘ Stibnite	Sb₂S₃
Ca	Calcium
Ca	ⓘ Scheelite	Ca(WO₄)
Sb	Antimony
Sb	ⓘ Stibnite	Sb₂S₃
W	Tungsten
W	ⓘ Scheelite	Ca(WO₄)
Au	Gold
Au	ⓘ Native Gold	Au

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	NM097

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

North AmericaContinent

North America PlateTectonic Plate

Brooks-Seward DomainDomain
Nome ComplexAccretionary Complex

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References

Anderson, Eskil, 1947, Mineral occurrences other than gold deposits in northwestern Alaska: Alaska Territorial Division of Mines Pamphlet 5-R, 48 p. Coats, R.R., 1944, Lode scheelite occurrences of the Nome area: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 17, 6 p. Collier, A.J., Hess, F.L., Smith, P.S., and Brooks, A.H., 1908, The gold placers of parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, including the Nome, Council, Kougarok, Port Clarence, and Goodhope precincts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 328, 343 p. Hummel, C.L., 1962, Preliminary geologic map of the Nome D-1 quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-248, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360. Moffit, F.H., 1913, Geology of the Nome and Grand Central quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 533, 140 p. Smith, P.S., 1942, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1940: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 933-A, p. 1-102.

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