Upper Spruce Creek Mines, Petersburg Mining District, Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
Upper Spruce Creek Mines	Group of Mines
Petersburg Mining District	Mining District
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

There may be old patented claims that cover parts of upper Spruce Creek. If so, they are surrounded by the Chuck River Wilderness Area which is closed to prospecting and mining.
Location: Spruce Creek has been explored for placer gold for most it length and some parts of it have been mined. There is little specific information about the mining in upper Spruce Creek, but Kimble and others (1984) found workings and evidence of exploration or mining along Spruce Creek between about 1,600 and 2,500 feet in elevation. This site is plotted at about the center of that activity. It is about 0.6 mile northwest of the center of section 30, T. 49 S., R. 76 E.
Geology: Placer gold was discovered near Windham Bay in 1869, probably in Spruce Creek (Spencer, 1906; Kimble and others, 1984). There was intermittent placer mining on Spruce Creek until the 1950's although much of the production took before 1900 and in the early part of the 20th century. Most of the mining took place at what are called the First and Second Basins (SD036 and SD039) However, Kimble and others (1984) found considerable signs of small-scale mining on Spruce Creek above the Second Basin between elevations of 1,600 and 2,500 feet. They include placer pipe, old cuts, cabins, and a diversion ditch. There was probably no great accumulation of gravel in the upper part of Spruce Creek, but some gold was probably mined from potholes and thin stream gravels by hand methods. There are no records of mining on Spruce Creek even in the areas where placer mining was concentrated, let along in upper Spruce Creek. The total gold production from Spruce Creek is probably small.
Workings: There is evidence of some probably small-scale or hand mining on upper Spruce Creek.
Age: Probably Quaternary.
Production: A small amount of placer gold was probably produced on upper Spruce Creek.

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	SD045

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References