St. Marys Creek Mine (Gulch), Chandalar Mining District, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| St. Marys Creek Mine (Gulch) | Mine |
| Chandalar Mining District | Mining District |
| Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | Census Area |
| Alaska | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
67° 31' 11'' North , 148° 12' 35'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
See also: Big Creek (CH043).
Location: St. Marys Creek drains the Chandalar mine area and joins Big Creek near the lower limit of mining on Big Creek. The reference point is near the junction of St. Marys Creek and Big Creek (SE1/4 sec. 9, T. 32 N., R. 3 W., of the Fairbanks Meridian). It is approximately 5 miles south of the southwest end of Squaw Lake. Mining has occurred upstream from the reference point for approximately 1/2 mile. The location is accurate within a 1/2-mile radius. See fig. 2 in Chipp (1970).
Geology: Maddren (1913) noted that most of the gold that had been produced in the Chandalar district up to that time had come from upper Big Creek and St. Marys Gulch. Despite its production, there is little information describing St. Marys Creek, which drains the area of gold quartz lode deposits in the Chandalar district (CH041-042). Chipp (1970) noted that pan samples from Big Creek and St. Marys Gulch show the gold to be bright yellow and irregular shot-like to flattened; a few crystals occur. The average grain size of the gold is said to be about 1 mm, and there are many 2- to 3-mm nuggets (Chipp, 1970). Some nuggets include quartz crystals and iron oxides. It is reported that, in addition to the gold the concentrates contain a large suite of heavy minerals including monazite(?), magnetite, hematite, rutile, pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, stibnite, molybdenite, scheelite, and uranothorianite.
Workings: Most of the early mining was by drifting or by hand. Heiner and Wolff (1968) reported drift mining in the winter of 1915. Some exploration work, including drilling and sampling, was reported in 1986 on several properties in the area, including St. Marys Creek (Bundtzen and others, 1987).
Age: Quaternary.
Production: Reported to be one of the major gold producers of the Chandalar area, although there is no record of actual production.
Commodities (Major) - Au; (Minor) - As, Cu, Mo, Pb, REE, Sb, Th, Ti, U, W
Development Status: Yes; medium
Deposit Model: Placer Au (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: | CH044 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
- Brooks RangeMountain Range
- Rocky MountainsMountain Range
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Brooks Range DomainVolcanic Arc
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