Penelope Creek Mine, Council Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Penelope Creek Mine | Mine |
| Council Mining District | Mining District |
| Nome Census Area | Census Area |
| Alaska | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
64° 51' 46'' North , 164° 15' 18'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Location: Penelope Creek is a south tributary to the Casadepaga River. Its mouth is at an elevation of about 250 feet, about 4 miles upstream of the mouth of Big Four Creek. This is locality 63 of Cobb (1972, MF 445; 1978, OF 78-181).
Geology: Penelope Creek was primarily placer mined along its lower part where it crosses terraces of the Casadepaga River. However, about a mile above its mouth, an exploration shaft went through 97 feet of unconsolidated materials before reaching bedrock (Smith, 1910). This shaft encountered 40 feet of well-rounded creek gravels with some gold colors, 24 feet of yellowish clay, and 29 feet of washed gravel, some colluvium, and bottomed on clay on bedrock. Bedrock is exposed along the creek about 1/4 mile further upstream. A shaft along the Casadepaga River at the mouth of Penelope Creek encountered 57 feet of unconsolidated materials over bedrock; from the surface down these consisted of fine quartz sand, fine gravel, 20 feet of blue clay, 20 feet of sand and gravel, and clay on decomposed mica schist. The mining on Penelope Creek, along the active channel where it crosses the Casadepaga River terraces, did not reach bedrock. Pans along this part of the creek were reported to carry 5 cents in gold (Brooks and others, 1901). Bedrock in the area is part of a lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage (Till and others, 1986).
Workings: At least three exploration shafts were dug in the area, including one along the Casadepaga River at the mouth of Penelope Creek. Small-scale placer mining took place locally along the lower part of the creek.
Age: Quaternary; the numerous incised terraces along the Casadepaga River indicate that more than one cycle of erosion and deposition has developed placer deposits in the area. The low elevations between 170 and 270 feet along the first 11 miles of the river, suggest that Quaternary sea level fluctuations could have influenced placer development.
Commodities (Major) - Au
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Placer Au-PGE (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
1 valid mineral.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| Au | Gold | |
|---|---|---|
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS - Alaska: | SO079 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Brooks-Seward DomainDomain
- Nome ComplexAccretionary Complex
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