Grubstake Gulch and Willow Creek area Mine, Willow Creek Mining District, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Grubstake Gulch and Willow Creek area Mine | Mine |
| Willow Creek Mining District | Mining District |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough | Borough |
| Alaska | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
61° 45' 36'' North , 149° 25' 47'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fishhook | 4,679 (2011) | 10.3km |
| Tanaina | 8,197 (2011) | 14.8km |
| Meadow Lakes | 7,570 (2011) | 17.5km |
| Buffalo Soapstone | 855 (2011) | 18.0km |
| Lakes | 8,364 (2011) | 18.2km |
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
| Club | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Mat-Su Rock and Mineral Club | Palmer, Alaska | 24km |
Location: Claims on Willow Creek above and below the mouth of Grubstake Gulch and those mines located on Grubstake Gulch near its mouth. Generalized location, accurate within a few hundred of feet upstream or downstream. Locality 69 of Cobb (1972) and locality 57 of MacKevett and Holloway (1977).
Geology: Both creek and bench gravels near confluence of Grubstake Gulch and Willow Creek have been mined for placer gold intermittently since 1897. Gold probably is from small quartz veins found in mica-schist bedrock (Cobb, 1973). The bedrock in the Grubstake Gulch drainage is Jurassic (?) quartz-albite-chlorite (+/- garnet-biotite) pelitic schist; minor Eocene hypabyssal mafic intrusions and serpentinized Cretaceous ultramafic rocks. Gold has been found in gravels up to 70 ft deep in the area (Green and others, 1989).
Workings: Creek gravels mined for 900 ft along Grubstake Creek in 1904-1906, reportedly 200 ft wide and 2.5 to 3 feet deep (Paige and Knopf, 1907). Gravels mined in 1960 were 12-20 ft deep and exploratory drill holes that were sunk 85-105 ft did not all reach bedrock. Hydraulic and small scale methods used. Bench gravels contain pannable gold, but large boulders make mining difficult (Ray, 1954).
Age: Quaternary
Production: Cobb (1973) reported that Grubstake Gulch and the part of Willow Creek immediately below mouth of gulch probably account for considerably more than half the placer gold mined in the Willow Creek district.
Commodities (Major) - Au; (Minor) - Cu, W
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
2 valid minerals.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au |
| ⓘ Scheelite Formula: Ca(WO4) |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| 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) |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Scheelite | Ca(WO4) |
| W | Tungsten | |
| W | ⓘ Scheelite | Ca(WO4) |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS - Alaska: | AN011 |
|---|
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