Unnamed Occurrence (ARDF - BN052; near headwaters of Humbolt Creek), Fairhaven Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Unnamed Occurrence (ARDF - BN052; near headwaters of Humbolt Creek)	- not defined -
Fairhaven Mining District	Mining District
Nome Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: This occurrence is on the north side of the ridge overlooking the main west headwater tributary to Humbolt Creek. Humbolt Creek is a northeast-flowing tributary to Goodhope River. It is at an elevation of 1,460 feet adjacent to a flat spot on the ridge and 5,300 feet north of the continental divide. This is locality 2 of Cobb (1972; MF 417; 1975; OFR 429).
Geology: This occurrence is poorly exposed at the break in slope on the north side of the ridge overlooking the main west headwater tributary to Humbolt Creek. It appears to be associated with an altered fault zone that trends N 50 W and contains veins, veinlets, stringers and disseminations of quartz and iron oxide staining over a distance of at least 2,500 feet (Sainsbury and others, 1970; Hudson, 1979). The fault zone and related mineralization is in lower Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks. This fault appears to mark the boundary between Lower Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks and polydeformed, metapelitic schist that may be Precambrian in age (Till and others, 1986). Float of argentiferous galena was sampled from an old caved prospect pit at this locality. This sample contained 0.8 ppm Au, 5,000 ppm Ag, 700 ppm As, 9 ppm Hg, 3,000 ppm cu, greater than 20,000 ppm Pb, 1,500 ppm Sb, greater than 1,500 ppm Sn, 150 ppm Mo, and 3,000 ppm Zn. Samples of frost-heaved bedrock taken over a 1,000 by 200 feet area contained anomalous levels of Au, Ag, Pb, Hg, As, Mo, Sb, Sn, Cu, and Zn (Sainsbury and others, 1970). Epigenetic mineralization in this area is interpreted to have developed above buried parts of the Oonatut Granite Complex. The Oonatut Granite, exposed 2.5 miles to the northwest, is part of the western Seward Peninsula tin granite suite (Hudson and Arth, 1983). The polymetallic character of this mineralization may be reflective of the lead-zinc zone in tin deposit systems (Hudson, 1979).
Workings: Shallow hand-dug prospect pits are present.
Age: Probably Late Cretaceous; this occurrence is probably related to emplacement and crystallization of the Oonatut Granite Complex. K/Ar ages for the Oonatut Granite Complex are about 70 my (Hudson, 1979).
Alteration: Quartz veining and oxidation of iron-bearing sulfide minerals is common along a high angle fault zone.

Commodities (Major) - Ag, Au, Pb; (Minor) - Cu, Sn, Zn
Development Status: No
Deposit Model: Polymetallic quartz and sulfide-bearing veins and stringers along a fault zone i

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	BN052

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References