Ingle Creek Mine, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Ingle Creek Mine	Mine
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Ingle Creek is a small tributary about 3.3 miles west-northwest of Chicken that drains southwest into the Mosquito Fork of the Fortymile River (EA135). Placer workings extend from the mouth of Ingle Creek upstream for approximately 1.25 miles. The coordinates correspond to the location of the placer mine shown at the mouth of the creek on the U.S. Geological Survey 1:63,360-scale topographic map of the Eagle A-3 quadrangle (1957). The placer is near the boundary between sections 34 and 35, T. 27 N., R. 17 E., of the Copper River Meridian; the location is accurate. This site is localities 75 and 76 of Burleigh and Lear (1994), locality 35 of Eberlein and others (1977), and locality 49 of Cobb (1972 [MF-393]). In Cobb (1977 [OFR 77-845]), there are several references to mining on Eagle Creek and Engle Creek. Ingle Creek may have been referred to by these names, or these reports may refer to another area of unknown location.
Geology: The rocks in the vicinity of Ingle Creek are Paleozoic greenschist-facies metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks that have been intruded by the Taylor Mountain Batholith of Triassic age and the Chicken pluton of Jurassic age (Foster, 1976; Werdon and others, 2001). These units have been cut by many high-angle faults and intruded by Tertiary gabbro. Well-bedded to locally unconsolidated Tertiary tuff interlayered with minor shale overlies the Tertiary gabbro on the east side of Ingle Creek. Quaternary alluvium, colluvium, and terrace deposits are extensive. Ingle Creek flows through a narrow, steep-walled valley. It was mined from near its mouth upstream for about 1.25 miles. The gravels range from 2 to 4 feet thick. Placer gold mainly occurs on top of bedrock and within the top foot of bedrock (Mertie, 1930 [B 813]), but in places the gold has penetrated deeply into crevices and required hand quarrying to obtain a high recovery of the gold. The gold is mainly coarse nuggets; one nugget weighing 3.5 ounces was recovered (Mertie, 1938). An average of three assays of placer gold indicates a fineness of 851 parts of gold per thousand and 144 parts of silver per thousand (Mertie, 1938). Possible lode sources for placer gold on Ingle Creek include the Ingle Creek (EA107) and Lilliwig Creek (EA108) gold prospects. Ingle Creek has one gold-bearing tributary, Lilliwig Creek (see EA109). Ingle Creek was being mined for placer gold as early as 1905(?) (Prindle, 1908). The creek was mined intermittently from around 1905 to at least 1936, and then again in the 1970's (Eberlein and others, 1977). Production in 1904-1907 that included that from Myers Fork (EA124), Lost Chicken Creek (EA131), Stonehouse Creek (EA122), and Ingle Creek (EA111), totaled about 18,835 fine ounces of gold (Eberlein and others, 1977).
Workings: Placer gold on Ingle Creek was being mined as early as 1905(?) (Prindle, 1908). The creek was mined intermittently from around 1905 to at least 1936 and then again in the 1970's (Eberlein and others, 1977).
Age: Quaternary.
Production: Production in 1904-1907, which included that from Myers Fork (EA124), Lost Chicken Creek (EA131), Stonehouse Creek (EA122), and Ingle Creek (EA111), totaled about 18,835 fine ounces of gold (Eberlein and others, 1977).

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	EA111

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References