Robert Creek; Sheep Creek Occurrence, Koyukuk Mining District, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Robert Creek; Sheep Creek Occurrence	Occurrence
Koyukuk Mining District	Mining District
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Maddren (1913) did not actually visit this area, and his reports are based on Schrader (1900) and information from local prospectors. The published descriptions of the Robert Creek and Sheep Creek placer deposits are combined in this record. The only other gold occurrence known in tributaries to Robert Creek is Willow Creek (CH109). Reed (1938) points out that Maddren (1913) incorrectly identified Sheep Creek as Spruce Creek and Willow Creek as Sheep Creek.
Location: Robert Creek is one of the principal headwater tributaries to the Bettles River, and Sheep Creek is a significant right-limit tributary to Robert Creek. The confluence of Robert Creek and the Bettles River is approximately 5 miles west-northwest of the north end of Twin Lakes along Phoebe Creek. The mouth of Sheep Creek is approximately 3 1/2 miles upstream from this confluence. The literature is unclear as to which (and how many) tributaries to Robert Creek contain gold. Because Sheep Creek is a tributary to Robert Creek and has similar gold placers, the reference point is arbitrarily placed at the confluence of Robert and Sheep creeks, and the ambiguous published descriptions have been combined (sec. 32, T. 33 N., R. 7 W., of the Fairbanks Meridian). The location is accurate within a 1/2-mile radius.
Geology: Maddren (1913) reported that gold prospects had been found on Sheep Creek and 'especially those tributary to Robert Creek', along with a number of other creeks around the headwaters of the Bettles River. Maddren also noted that the gold was found on the lower parts of the tributaries to Roberts Creek, where miners had cut down to the schist underlying the limestones and that only prospect work had been done. No other descriptive information as to any further work, if any, is available. Recent mapping shows that lower Roberts Creek occupies a valley between significant granitic bodies that make up the Devonian Horace Mountain plutons to the north and the Baby Creek batholith to the south (Dillon and others, 1996). These plutons intrude Ordovician to Cambrian(?) schists and marbles.
Age: Quaternary.

Commodities (Major) - Au
Development Status: None
Deposit Model: Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	CH058

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References