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

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

MAS/MIL number 20760036.
Location: Placer mining on Tyone Creek is concentrated above its junction with Buchia Creek, near the center of sec. 13, T. 24 N., R. 11 E., Seward Meridian. The location is accurate to within 1/4 mile.
Geology: The rocks in Tyone Creek above Buchia Creek are siltstone, shale, and cobble and boulder conglomerate of the Naknek Formation; below Buchia Creek, the rocks are Cretaceous sandstone, siltstone, and claystone, Quaternary glaciofluvial deposits, and Tertiary fluviatile conglomerate (Csejtey and others, 1978). Tertiary conglomerate occurs in the headwaters. area. Gold and platinum occur in the alluvial gravel deposits, which range from 100 to 1000 feet wide and 6 to 50 feet thick (Kurtak and others, 1992). The stream gradient averages 50 feet per mile. Stream-sediment samples collected by the U.S. Bureau of Mines contain up to 4 parts per million platinum, 280 parts per billion palladium, and 0.0032 ounce of gold per cubic yard (Balen, 1990). Gold fineness ranges from 683 to 868, and averages 807 (Kurtak and others, 1992). Reports by prospectors tell of gold plates worth 1 to 5 cents apiece in the headwaters of the Tyonek River (Paige and Knopf, 1907). As of January 1, 2000, a block of 6 state claims covered this site and Red Fox Creek (Northern Associates Inc., written communication, 2001). About 30,000 cubic yards of gravel was mined from Tyone Creek near the mouth of Red Fox Creek; the grade is unknown (Kurtak and others, 1992).
Workings: Stream-sediment sampling by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (Kurtak and others, 1992). As of January 1, 2000, a block of 6 state claims covered this site and Red Fox Creek (Northern Associates Inc., written communication, 2001).
Age: Quaternary placer.
Production: About 30,000 cubic yards of gravel was mined from Tyone Creek near the mouth of Red Fox Creek; the grade is unknown (Kurtak and others, 1992). Reports by prospectors tell of gold plates worth 1 to 5 cents apiece in the headwaters of the Tyonek River (Paige and Knopf, 1907).
Reserves: An estimated 20 million cubic yards of potentially auriferous, alluvial material are in the upper section of Tyone Creek; there is no estimate of the grade (Kurtak and others, 1992).

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	TK137

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References