Pioneer Gulch Mine, Nome Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Pioneer Gulch Mine	Mine
Nome Mining District	Mining District
Nome Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: This partly residual, alluvial placer gold mine is in Pioneer Gulch, a small west tributary to upper Snake River on the east side of hill 1276. The map site is in the NW1/4 section 23, T. 9 S., R. 34 W., Kateel River Meridian. It includes localities 35 and 90 of Cobb (1972 [MF 463], 1978 [OFR 78-93]) and locality 14 of Hummel (1962 [MF 247]).
Geology: A partly residual alluvial gold placer was mined in Pioneer Gulch as early as 1903 (Collier and others, 1908). Its discovery must have occurred early in the history of the Nome District because a 4.5 mile-long ditch had been constructed from Last Chance Creek to Pioneer Gulch by September of 1903 (Collier and others, 1908, p. 183). The placer gold was coarse and angular, and some had attached quartz fragments (Moffit, 1913). Prospecting for lode deposits, including at least one shaft, identified narrow limonitic calcite-quartz veins containing pyrite, arsenopyrite, and free gold (Cathcart, 1922). Gold-bearing quartz veins were exposed on the property in 1992. The veins cut graphitic schist that probably has an early Paleozoic protolith age (Hummel, 1962 [MF 247]; Sainsbury, Hummel, and Hudson, 1972 [OFR 72-326]; Till and Dumoulin, 1994; Bundtzen and others, 1994).
Workings: Surface mining of alluvial placer deposits commenced in 1903, and a residual placer deposit was mined by 1913. Hard rock exploration, including at least one shaft, was reported by Cathcart (1922).
Age: Quaternary; veins are mid-Cretaceous or younger because they cut schist metamorphosed in the mid-Cretaceous.

Commodities (Major) - Ag, Au
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Alluvial placer Au, in part residual, and low-sulfide Au-quartz veins (Cox and

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	NM198

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References