Glacier; Banded Mountain Prospect, Hyder Mining District, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Glacier; Banded Mountain Prospect	Prospect
Hyder Mining District	Mining District
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Site is in Misty Fiords National Monument. Some of the early publications describing this site are vague or ambiguous [Smith, 1932 (B824, p 17); 1933 (B836, p.15; B844-A, p. 17); 1934 (B857-A, p. 16; B864-A, p. 16)]. Elliott and Koch (1981, p. 9) describe Glacier (Banded Mountain?) (Loc. 17a) and Banded Mountain (Glacier?) (Loc. 17b) separately, but assign both prospects identical map coordinates. This record assigns them the same ARDF number, but otherwise follows Elliott and Koch. Early publications (Smith, 1932, 1933, 1934) that include vague references to lode prospects on the northwest side of Banded Mountain probably refer to the Glacier prospect. These prospects also were referred to as the Metcalf and Fin(d)ley claims.
Location: The site is in Section 27 on the northwest flank of Banded Mountain at an elevation of about 2700 feet (Elliott and Koch, 1981, p. 9, locs. 17a and 17b) This location is probably accurate to within about a half mile. Also see Additional Comments field, below.
Geology: The country rocks in the general area of this site are graywacke and andesitic tuff and breccia of the Jurassic or older Mesozoic Hazelton Group (Berg and others, 1977, p. 15, 40, 41, and plate 1). The deposit at the Glacier prospect (Buddington, 1929, p. 120-121) consists of quartz fissure veins as much as one foot thick in graywacke and subordinate andesite tuff and breccia that is cut by a Tertiary lamprophyre dike 3 feet thick. The veins contain pyrite, small amounts of pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite, and rarely, galena. Assays showed 0.04 oz Au and 6 oz Ag per ton and 3% Cu. Quartz float near the Glacier prospect that may have come from the Glacier or similar veins contain pyrite, chalcopyrite, and molybdenite. In 1972-73, a U.S. Bureau of Mines field team searched for, but could not locate, this prospect (Berg and others, 1977, p. 41). In 1972-73, a U. S, Bureau of Mines field team (Berg, 1977, p. 132-133) investigated a vivid iron-stained zone in the cliffs at an elevation of about 3000-4300 feet on the northwest side of Banded Mountain about one mile due west of the summit. Hazelton Group gneiss and schist in the iron-stained zone contain up to 2% pyrite and pyrrhotite. Assays of chip samples of the zone showed 10-60 ppm Cu, 10-15 ppm Pb, 30-150 ppm Zn, and up to 10 ppm Mo.
Workings: Workings on the Glacier prospect included surface stripping and an 8-foot adit (Buddington, 1929, p. 120-121). Early assays showed 0.04 oz Au and 6 oz Ag per ton and 3% Cu. Assays of chip samples of an iron-stained zone taken by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1972-3 showed 10-60 ppm Cu, 10-15 ppm Pb, 30-150 ppm Zn, and up to 10 ppm Mo.
Alteration: Local intense iron staining

Commodities (Major) - Ag, Au, Cu, Pb; (Minor) - Mo?
Development Status: None
Deposit Model: Polymetallic veins

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Link to USGS - Alaska:	BC017

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References