Henry Creek Mine (including Merrit Gulch), Kougarok Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Henry Creek Mine (including Merrit Gulch)	Mine
Kougarok Mining District	Mining District
Nome Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Henry Creek is a major west tributary to Kougarok River. The mouth of Henry Creek is 2 miles south of Taylor. Sainsbury and others (1969) show placer mine workings to be at two locations on this drainage. The first is a 1,500 foot-long segment of the active channel and an adjacent gulch on the north side that starts 4,000 feet upstream of the mouth. The second is another 1,500 foot-long segment of the active channel that starts 7,000 feet above the mouth. This is locality 29 of Cobb (1972; MF 417; 1975; OFR 75-429). Cobb (1975; OFR 75-429) notes that placer mining has taken place on Merrit Gulch, an unidentified location in Henry Creek valley.
Geology: Gold was identified in Henry Creek gravels as early as 1901 (Collier, 1902) and some sporadic mining activity was noted up to 1937 (Smith, 1939, B 910A). Sainsbury and others (1969) show placer mine workings to be at two locations on this drainage. The first is a 1,500 foot-long segment of the active channel and an adjacent gulch on the north side that starts 4,000 feet upstream of the mouth. The second is another 1,500 foot-long segment of the active channel that starts 7,000 feet above the mouth. The gold recovered from early work was reported to be relatively coarse and flat (Collier and others, 1908). Bedrock of the area is extensively coverd by tundra, but upland exposures are primarily Lower Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks (Sainsbury and others, 1969; Till and others, 1986). A report of schist bedrock with enclosed greenstone bodies (Collier and others, 1908) refers to the mafic metavolcanic assemblage in the headwater areas of Henry Creek (Sainsbury and others, 1969; Till and others, 1986).
Workings: Sainsbury and others (1969) show placer mine workings to be at two locations on this drainage. The first is a 1,500 foot-long segment of the active channel and an adjacent gulch on the north side that starts 4,000 feet upstream of the mouth. The second is another 1,500 foot-long segment of the active channel that starts 7,000 feet above the mouth.
Age: Quaternary

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	BN031

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References