Little Eldorado Creek Mine, Fairbanks Mining District, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Little Eldorado Creek Mine | Mine |
| Fairbanks Mining District | Mining District |
| Fairbanks North Star Borough | Borough |
| Alaska | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
65° 3' 28'' North , 147° 31' 58'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fox | 417 (2011) | 11.8km |
| Farmers Loop | 4,853 (2017) | 18.4km |
| College | 12,964 (2011) | 25.7km |
| Fairbanks | 32,325 (2017) | 25.9km |
| Badger | 19,482 (2011) | 28.6km |
Location: Cobb (1972, MF-413), loc. 86, 87; NW1/4SW1/4 sec. 27, T. 3 N., R. 1 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. The mine tailings are marked on the Livengood (A-2) quadrangle. The coordinates given are for the center of the tailings at the head of Little Eldorado Creek.
Geology: Little Eldorado Creek drains the north side of Pedro Dome. Bedrock in the headwaters area consists of granodiortie on Pedro Dome and micaceous quartzite, quartz-mica schist and pelitic schist of the Fairbanks schist unit (Weber and others, 1992). Gold is mainly in the bench placers with some gold in the creek. Bedrock is quartz-mica schist at a depth of 60 to 120 feet (Prindle, 1908). Concentrates contain gold, cassiterite, scheelite, and wolframite (Prindle and Katz, 1909; Johnson, 1910). Bench placer mining took place in 1907-27, 1930-31, 1938-40 and drift mining has been active throughout the 1990's, especially in the lower parts of the creek (Cobb, 1976; OFR 76-633, p. 113-114; Swainbank and others, 1998). U.S.S.R. & M. Dredge no. 5 moved to Little Eldorado Creek in 1948 and worked there from 1948 to 1954 (R. M. Chapman, 1978, U.S.G.S. memorandum). Total production as of 1924 was worth $2,414,000 (Smith, 1926), and production figures are not available for more recent operations. More recent drift mining in the 1990's has taken place in the Chatanika flats, near the mouth of Little Eldorado Creek (ARDF no. LG045).
Workings: Mining took place in 1907-27, 1930-31, 1938-40 (Cobb, 1976; OFR 76-633, p. 113-114) and Al Hopen mined Little Eldorado Creek throughout the 1990's. Drift mining was reported in 1925 (Moffit, 1927, p. 17). U.S.S.R. & M. Dredge no. 5 moved to Little Eldorado Creek in 1948 and worked there from 1948 to 1954.
Production: Total production as of 1924 was worth $2,414,000 (Smith, 1926). Production records are not available for recent mining activity.
Commodities (Major) - Au; (Minor) - Sn, W
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Placer gold deposit (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
3 valid minerals.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Cassiterite Formula: SnO2 |
| ⓘ 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 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Cassiterite | 4.DB.05 | SnO2 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Scheelite | 7.GA.05 | Ca(WO4) |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| O | Oxygen | |
|---|---|---|
| O | ⓘ Cassiterite | SnO2 |
| O | ⓘ Scheelite | Ca(WO4) |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Scheelite | Ca(WO4) |
| Sn | Tin | |
| Sn | ⓘ Cassiterite | SnO2 |
| W | Tungsten | |
| W | ⓘ Scheelite | Ca(WO4) |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS - Alaska: | LG056 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Seventymile TerraneOceanic Back-arc Basin
- Yukon-Tanana lower DomainDomain
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