Upper Banner Creek Mine, Council Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Upper Banner Creek Mine	Mine
Council Mining District	Mining District
Nome Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Banner Creek is an east tributary to the Casadepaga River. The mouth of Banner Creek is 1.2 miles downstream from the mouth of Ruby Creek at an elevation of about 320 feet. This locality, about 1 mile above the mouth, is 73 of Cobb (1972, MF 445; 1978, OF 78-181).
Geology: Small-scale placer mining apparently took place along most of this creek in the early history of the area (Smith, 1910). In the lower creek, gold was coarse, had a fineness of 929, and was present in 8 to 10 feet of gravel but mostly concentrated on bedrock (Brooks and others, 1901). The creek was rich compared to others in the area; 4 men sluiced for 2.5 days in 1899 and recovered $400 or about 20 ounces of gold (Brooks and others, 1901). Two men were working at this location on upper Banner Creek in 1907 (Smith, 1910). Bedrock in the lower part of the creek is Paleozoic marble but the headwaters and underlain by pelitic schist of possible Cambrian or Precambrian age (Till and others, 1986).
Workings: Small-scale placer mining by hand took place at this location in 1907.
Age: Quaternary; the numerous incised terraces along the Casadepaga River and its major tributaries indicate that more than one cycle of erosion and deposition has developed placer deposits in the area. The low elevations between 170 and 270 feet along the first 11 miles of the river, suggest that Quaternary sea level fluctuations could have influenced placer development.

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	SO095

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References