Gold Run Creek Prospect, Fairbanks Mining District, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Gold Run Creek Prospect	Prospect
Fairbanks Mining District	Mining District
Fairbanks North Star Borough	Borough
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Gold Run Creek drains north into McCoy Creek, approximately 12 miles north of the town of Richardson on the Richardson Highway. The creek is approximately 6.5 miles long and has several small tributaries. There are references to placer mining along Gold Run Creek, but it is unclear where. The approximate midpoint of the creek is in SE1/4SE1/4 section 34, T. 5 S., R. 7 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. Several unimproved roads provide access to the lower half, while the Trans-Alaska Pipeline provides access to the upper half of the Gold Run Creek drainage. It is locality 7 of Cobb (1977; OFR 77-168B) who summarized relevant references under the name 'Gold Run Creek'.
Geology: The Richardson area is characterized by gentle slopes and broad, alluvium-filled valleys (Prindle and Katz, 1913, p. 140). The area is unglaciated and largely overlain by windblown silt, sand, and loess, locally up to 50 meters thick (Foster and others, 1979). The bedrock in the region comprises greenschist to amphibolite facies schist, marble, and gneiss that have been intruded by various igneous bodies (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). The schist and marble are probably Paleozoic, and the gneiss has a probable protolith of Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks (Weber and others, 1978). The intrusive bodies in the area range in composition from rhyolite to andesite. Fine-grained rhyolite containing quartz and feldspar phenocrysts is common throughout the area (Olson and others, 1985). At the nearby Democrat Lode (BD014), the rhyolite contains arsenopyrite, gold, and pyrite, and is albitic, clay, and sericite altered (R.J. Newberry, oral communication, 1998). Structurally, the Richardson region is cut by a northwest trending fracture system termed the Richardson Lineament. The lineament appears to correspond to the distribution of the rhyolite and other intrusive bodies and placer gold deposits (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). Also, the lineament tends to separate gneissic rocks to the northeast from schistose rocks to the southwest (Swainbank and others, 1984). Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and soon expanded to nearby creeks. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). Glover (1950) reported a range in gold fineness of 694 to 847 for Gold Run Creek. From the investigations during the planning of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline route, Mulligan (1974) reported that Gold Run Creek contained prospect workings, but no mining. Metz (1991) described early drift mine and surface trench tailings in the Gold Run Creek drainage. From 1905 through 1921, production from the Richardson district was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, the district has produced approximately 10,000 additional ounces of gold from intermittent mining (Olson and others, 1985). No production for Gold Run Creek has been reported.
Workings: Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek and soon expanded to nearby creeks. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). From the investigations during the planning of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline route, Mulligan (1974) reported that Gold Run Creek contained prospect workings, but no mining. Metz (1991) described early drift mine and surface trench tailings in the Gold Run Creek drainage.
Production: From 1905 through 1921, production for the Richardson district was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, the district has produced approximately 10,000 additional ounces of gold from intermittent mining (Olson and others, 1985). No production for Gold Run Creek has been reported.

Commodities (Major) - Au
Development Status: No
Deposit Model: Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)?

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	BD016

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References