Mystery Creek Mine, Nome Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Mystery Creek Mine | Mine |
| Nome Mining District | Mining District |
| Nome Census Area | Census Area |
| Alaska | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
64° 38' 38'' North , 164° 27' 10'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Location: Mystery Creek is a west tributary to Shovel Creek (SO017). Shovel Creek is a major northeast tributary to the lower Solomon River. The mouth of Mystery Creek is 1.6 miles upstream from the confluence of Shovel Creek and Solomon River. This is locality 86 of Cobb (1972, MF 445; 1978, OF 78-181).
Geology: Hydraulic placer mining started on this creek as early as 1903 (Collier and others, 1908). Production was mostly at elevations from 150 to 200 feet between the Puzzle and Problem Creek tributaries, especially from benches that had a paystreak 100 to 150 feet wide (Smith, 1910). A shaft on this bench encountered 6-8 feet of gravel overlain by 2-18 inches of angular limestone fragments and about 30-35 feet of overburden; this shaft was located at an elevation 35 feet above the nearby stream bottom but encountered bedrock at a depth of 43 feet indicating an older and deeper channel than that of the present stream. Only 2 to 3 feet of gravel over bedrock is common in the present stream. The gold from the bench placer was fairly coarse, dark and rusty. Smith (1910) estimated that annual production from the early mining here was worth $30,000 or about 1,450 ounces. Bedrock is part of a lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage (Sainsbury and others, 1972, OFR 511; Till and others, 1986).
Workings: Mostly small-scale hydraulic placer mining operations, but a dredge operated in 1911 and winter drift mining took place on the benches.
Age: Quaternary; the location and elevation (150 to 200 feet) of this area indicate that it was affected by Quaternary sea level fluctuations.
Production: Smith (1910) estimated that annual production from the early mining here was worth $30,000 or about 1,450 ounces. The gold was worth between $17.50 and $18.75 per ounce at the time when the price of gold was $20.67 per fine ounce.
Commodities (Major) - Au
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).
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Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
1 valid mineral.
Gallery:
Other Databases
| Link to USGS - Alaska: | SO016 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Brooks-Seward DomainDomain
- Nome ComplexAccretionary Complex
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