Tenderfoot Creek Mines, Fairbanks Mining District, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Tenderfoot Creek Mines	Group of Mines
Fairbanks Mining District	Mining District
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Tenderfoot Creek drains southeast into the Tanana River, approximately 4.5 miles east of the town of Richardson on the Richardson Highway. The creek is approximately 6 miles long and has several small tributaries. Placer workings are found from its mouth on the Tanana River to about 4 miles upstream (Chapin, 1914). The approximate center of the mining activity is in SW1/4SE1/4 section 30, T. 8 S., R. 8 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. The Richardson Highway follows the creek for several miles. Numerous unimproved roads provide access to the Tenderfoot Creek drainage. It is locality 14 of Cobb and Eberlein (1980) who summarized relevant references under the name 'Tenderfoot Creek'.
Geology: The Richardson area is characterized by gentle slopes and broad, alluvium-filled valleys (Prindle and Katz, 1913, p. 140). The area is unglaciated and largely overlain by windblown silt, sand, and loess, locally up to 50 meters thick (Foster and others, 1979). The bedrock in the region comprises greenschist to amphibolite facies schist, marble, and gneiss that have been intruded by various igneous bodies (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). The schist and marble are probably Paleozoic, and the gneiss has a probable protolith of Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks (Weber and others, 1978). The intrusive bodies in the area range in composition from rhyolite to andesite. Fine-grained rhyolite containing quartz and feldspar phenocrysts is common throughout the area (Olson and others, 1985). At the nearby Democrat Lode (BD014), the rhyolite contains arsenopyrite, gold, and pyrite, and is albitic, clay, and sericite altered (R.J. Newberry, oral communication, 1998). Structurally, the Richardson region is cut by a northwest-trending fracture system termed the Richardson Lineament. The lineament appears to correspond with the distribution of the rhyolite and other intrusive bodies and placer gold deposits (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). Also, the lineament tends to separate gneissic rocks to the northeast from schistose rocks to the southwest (Swainbank and others, 1984). Tenderfoot Creek has been the largest gold producer in the Richardson district. However, the gold from Tenderfoot Creek is the lowest grade of any in the Yukon region (Chapin, 1914). Bundtzen and Reger (1977) reported a gold fineness of 670 for Tenderfoot Creek. Metz and Hawkins (1981) reported the average gold fineness to be 901. Glover (1950) reported a range in gold fineness of 622 to 735 for Tenderfoot Creek. Mining operations occurred in the lower 4 miles of the creek. The alluvium ranges from 30 feet in thickness at the head of the creek to 155 feet near the mouth (Chapin, 1914). Pan concentrates contain amphibole, clinopyroxene, feldspar, garnet, gold, ilmenite, magnetite, quartz, sphene, and zircon (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Chapin (1914) reports that a piece of gold-bearing galena float was recovered during mining operations. However, the bedrock source was not found. Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on Tenderfoot Creek and expanded to nearby Banner Creek (BD001) and associated tributaries. Because the depth to bedrock in the drainage is 30 to 155 feet, early mining on Tenderfoot Creek was largely by drifting methods (Ellsworth and Parker, 1911). In recent years, surface mining, utilizing earth moving equipment, has taken place in the upper portions of Tenderfoot Creek. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). From 1905 through 1921, production for the Richardson district was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, the district has produced approximately 10,000 additional ounces of gold from intermittent mining (Olson and others, 1985). Production figures specifically for Tenderfoot Creek are not available, but it has been one of the major producers in the district.
Workings: Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on Tenderfoot Creek and expanded to nearby Banner Creek (BD001) and associated tributaries. Because the depth to bedrock in the drainage is 30 to 155 feet, early mining on Tenderfoot Creek was largely by drifting methods (Ellsworth and Parker, 1911). In recent years, surface mining, utilizing earth moving equipment, has taken place in the upper portions of Tenderfoot Creek.
Age: Quaternary
Production: After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). From 1905 through 1921, production for the Richardson district was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, the district has produced approximately 10,000 additional ounces of gold from intermittent mining (Olson and others, 1985). Production figures specifically for Tenderfoot Creek are not available, but it has been one of the major producers in the district.

Commodities (Major) - Au; (Minor) - Ag, Pb
Development Status: Yes; medium
Deposit Model: Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	BD039

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References