Fay Creek; Fay Gulch; Faye Creek Mine, Koyukuk Mining District, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Fay Creek; Fay Gulch; Faye Creek Mine	Mine
Koyukuk Mining District	Mining District
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

See also: Nolan Creek (WI101), an unnamed deposit on Smith Creek Dome (WI110), and Thompson Pup (WI124).
Location: Fay Creek originates on the north side of Smith Creek Dome and flows westward a little more than 1 mile to Nolan Creek. Placer mining apparently extended from near the mouth of Fay Creek more than 4,000 feet upstream. The coordinates are just upstream from its mouth. The location is accurate.
Geology: Placer gold in Fay Creek occurs in the modern channel, in a deep channel, and in a high channel. The discovery in 1901 of gold in the shallow gravels near the mouth of the modern channel of Fay Creek sparked the initial interest in the Nolan Creek valley. These shallow gravels were first mined beginning in 1903 but were exhausted within a few years. Gold in portions of a high channel along the north side of Fay Creek was mined prior to 1930. These high-channel placers begin about 1000 feet upstream from the mouth of the creek and are about 275 higher in elevation (Reed, 1938). A gold-bearing deep channel near the mouth of the creek, which in fact was a deep channel of Nolan Creek, was mined out in the early 1900's. This deep channel was about 20 feet below the surface. Maddren (1913) noted that the placer gold in Fay Creek appeared not to have moved very far from its bedrock source as it generally occurs in rough and angular grains attached to quartz. There are reports of lode gold occurrences nearby on Smith Creek Dome (WI110 & WI127), near the head of Fay Creek, and as well on on Thompson Pup (WI128), a tributary of Fay Creek (Brosge and Reiser, 1972). A sample of gold from Fay Creek is 842 fine, and contains 16% silver, 94 ppm copper, 16 ppm lead, and 0.625% mercury (Mosier and Lewis, 1986). The modern and deep channels of Fay Creek were mined in the early 1900's, but there is no record of the mining methods. Sections of the high channel were mined in the early 1900's and the high channel was being prospected in 1929 (Reed, 1938). Brosge and Reiser (1960) noted probable post-World War II mining activity and Dillon (1982) noted reports of recent mining activity. Fay Creek was the first creek in the Nolan Creek valley to have been mined. Reed (1938) indicated that mining began in 1901, whereas Maddren (1913) reported that it began in 1903. According to Maddren (1913) Fay Creek produced about $30,000 of gold (about 1,500 ounces) between 1900 and 1909. Eden (2000) reports that a total of 1865.41 ounces of gold were produced from Fay Creek between 1904 and 1999. The modern stream channel and the deep channel were considered to have been mined out by 1937.
Workings: The modern and deep channels of Fay Creek were mined in the early 1900's, but there is no record of the mining methods. Sections of the high channel were mined in the early 1900's and the high channel was being prospected in 1929 (Reed, 1938). Brosge and Reiser (1960) noted probable post-World War II mining activity and Dillon (1982) noted reports of recent mining activity.
Age: Quaternary.
Production: Fay Creek was the first creek in the Nolan Creek valley to have been mined. Reed (1938) indicated that mining began in 1901, whereas Maddren (1913) reported that it began in 1903. According to Maddren (1913) Fay Creek produced about $30,000 of gold (about 1500 ounces) between 1900 and 1909. Eden (2000) reports that a total of 1865.41 ounces of gold were produced from Fay Creek between 1904 and 1999. The modern stream channel and the deep channel were considered to have been mined out by 1937.

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	WI112

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References