Upper Homestake Creek Mine, Kougarok Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Upper Homestake Creek Mine	Mine
Kougarok Mining District	Mining District
Nome Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Location: Homestake Creek is a west tributary of the Kougarok River. The mouth of Homestake Creek is 2,500 feet upstream of the mouth of Taylor Creek. Sainsbury and others (1969) show that 3,000 feet of the upper part of the creek, starting about 2.2 miles upstream from the mouth, has been placer mined. Cobb (1972; MF 417; 1975; OFR 75-429) summarizes information for Homestake Creek in general and locates previous mining here on lower Homestake Creek (locality 37 of Cobb, 1972; MF 417; see ARDF locality BN037).
Geology: Sainsbury and others (1969) show that 3,000 feet of upper Homestake Creek, starting about 2.2 miles upstream of its mouth, has been placer mined. Some of the gold recovered from Homestake Creek is coarse; a nugget worth $14.40 (0.8 ounces) was reported by early operators (Collier and others, 1908). Scheelite is reported to be present in the placer deposits here (Anderson, 1947; Moxham and West, 1953). Bedrock is extensively mantled by tundra in the area, but where exposed in nearby uplands it is part of a Lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage (Sainsbury and others, 1969; Till and others, 1986). Some bedrock, graphitic and calcareous mica schist, was apparently exposed by early mining operations somewhere on this drainage (Collier and others, 1908).
Workings: Sainsbury and others (1969) show that 3,000 feet of the upper part of the creek, starting about 2.2 miles upstream from the mouth, has been open-cut placer mined.
Age: Quaternary

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	BN038

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References