Red Fox Creek Mine, Valdez Creek Mining District, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Red Fox Creek Mine	Mine
Valdez Creek Mining District	Mining District
Matanuska-Susitna Borough	Borough
Alaska	State
USA	Country

MAS/MIL number 20760084.
Location: Placer mine workings on Red Fox Creek extend 5 miles upstream from its mouth. The workings are centered in the NE1/4 sec. 16, T. 24 N., R. 11 E., Seward Meridian. The location is accurate to within 1/4 mile.
Geology: The bottom of a mining cut on upper Red Fox Creek is shale; most of its drainage area is underlain by siltstone, shale, and cobble and pebble conglomerate of the Naknek Formation (Csejtey and others, 1978). A prominent cliff at the lower end of the drainage is conglomerate. Gold and platinum occur in the alluvial gravel. The gravels are 10 feet thick and up to 100 feet wide near the head of the creek (Kurtak and others, 1992). The stream gradient is 120 feet per mile. Samples collected by the U.S. Bureau of Mines contain up to 0.212 ounce of gold per cubic yard, 7,000 parts per billion (ppb) platinum, and 28 ppb palladium (Kurtak and others, 1992). Ferroplatinum occurs in the concentrates. Claims were staked between 1977 and 1982 and a mining license was granted in 1983. There are minor workings at the mouth of the creek, and test cuts and stream diversions are along its length. Bonanza Mining Company had a camp and mining operation near the head of the creek (Kurtak and others, 1992). As of January 1, 2000, a block of 6 state claims covered this site and Tyone Creek (Northern Associates Inc., written communication, 2001). An estimated 200 ounces of gold was produced from 10,000 cubic yards of gravel that were mined near the head of the creek, possibly in the 1980's (Kurtak and others, 1992).
Workings: Claims were staked between 1977 and 1982 and a mining license was granted in 1983. There are minor workings at the mouth of the creek, and test cuts and stream diversions are along its length. Bonanza Mining Company had a camp and mining operation near the head of the creek (Kurtak and others, 1992). As of January 1, 2000, a block of 6 state claims covered this site and Tyone Creek (Northern Associates Inc., written communication, 2001). Placer sampling by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (Kurtak and others, 1992).
Age: Quaternary placer.
Production: An estimated 200 ounces of gold was produced from 10,000 cubic yards of gravel that were mined near the head of the creek, possibly in the 1980's (Kurtak and others, 1992).
Reserves: An estimated resource of 500,000 cubic yards of potentially auriferous, gravel is in upper Red Fox Creek near Bonanza Mining Company's workings. An estimated 2 million cubic yards is in the lower part of the creek. No grade estimates are available (Kurtak and others, 1992).

Commodities (Major) - Au, Pt; (Minor) - Pd
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	TK134

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References