Nome River Mines, Nome Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Nome River Mines	Group of Mines
Nome Mining District	Mining District
Nome Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Nome River is auriferous downstream from its confluence with Buffalo Creek, an east headwater tributary (Nome D-1 quadrangle), to the mouth of the river east of Nome (on Nome B-1 quadrangle). The location shown is the approximate mid-point of the auriferous deposit on the Nome C-1 quadrangle. The total length of the auriferous section is about 26 miles. Close to the mouth of Nome River, alluvial deposits merge with beach-type gold deposits to form a very complex series of placer gold deposits.
Geology: The Nome River floodplain is gold-bearing downstream from its confluence with Buffalo Creek (Nome D-1 quadrangle) to the mouth of Nome Creek (Nome B-1 quadrangle) (Collier and others,1908, plate X). Almost certainly some placer gold was mined from the Nome River with rockers and pans on transient gold deposits on river bars in the early days of the district. In later years, large-scale mechanical placer mining occurred in Nome River flood plain at the mouth of Sparkle Creek, also at the mouth of Dexter Creek (both on the Nome C-1 quadrangle) (Bundtzen and others, 1994, sheet 1). Gold-bearing tributaries to upper Nome River on the D-1 quadrangle include Boer Creek (NM049), Divide Creek (NM057), Dorothy Creek (NM057), Christian Creek (NM073), and Rocky Mountain Creek (NM082). On the C-1 quadrangle, gold-bearing tributaries include Basin (NM301), Sparkle (NM302), Dexter (NM303), Buster (NM304), and Osborn Creeks (NM305).
Workings: Small-scale placer mining by rocker or pan almost certainly occurred in the early years of the 20th century on river bar deposits of Nome River. Parts of the Nome River flood plain near the mouths of auriferous tributaries were mined mechanically in later years. These flood-plain operations include those near the mouths of Sparkle and Dexter Creeks and below the mouth of Nil Desperandum Gulch on the right limit (west side) of Nome River. On the basis of the distribution of patented placer claims, Nome River was explored systematically and covered by patented claims from just above Sparkle Creek to about McDonald Creek, which is the approximate location of the so-called 'Third-Beach' deposits.
Age: Quaternary.
Production: Production from Nome River may have been reported with that of its gold-bearing tributaries, such as Dexter Creek.
Reserves: Unknown, but the floodplain between Sparkle and McDonald Creeks is a gold resource.

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	NM101

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References