Location: Village Creek flows into Bering Sea at the village of Wales, one mile north of Cape Prince of Wales. A placer tin concentration is located about one mile northeast of the stream mouth where the stream gradient decreases as the drainage enters onto the coastal lowland from its headwaters in the uplands of Cape Mountain. This is locality 22 of Cobb and Sainsbury (1972). Cobb (1975) summarized relevant references under the name 'Village Cr.'.
Geology: Village Creek drains the northwest uplands of the Cape Mountain granite stock (Hudson and Arth, 1983). Eight USBM churn-drill holes (Heide and Sanford, 1948) define one area where average tin grades are 0.1 lb. Sn per cubic yard (Mulligan, 1966, p. 19). This area is located where the stream gradient decreases as the drainage passes from steeper uplands to the coastal lowlands. Beach sands with shells are described in churn-drill holes at an elevation of 43 feet (Mulligan, 1966, p. 18). The tin in this drainage is present in small amounts compared to others peripheral to Cape Mountain known to be associated with significant lode tin deposits (Mulligan, 1966, p. 19-21).
Workings: Eight USBM churn-drill holes (Heide and Sanford, 1948).
Age: Quaternary

Commodities (Major) - Sn
Development Status: None
Deposit Model: Alluvial tin placer (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39e)

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.

ⓘ Tin

Mineral List

ⓘ Cassiterite

1 valid mineral.

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Cassiterite

Formula: SnO₂

References:

(2008) Alaska Resource Data File (ARDF) Open-File Report 2008-1225. US Geological Survey

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘ	Cassiterite	4.DB.05	SnO₂

List of minerals for each chemical element

O	Oxygen
O	ⓘ Cassiterite	SnO₂
Sn	Tin
Sn	ⓘ Cassiterite	SnO₂

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	TE001

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

North America PlateTectonic Plate

Brooks-Seward DomainDomain
Nome ComplexAccretionary Complex

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

Brooks, A.H., 1907, The Alaskan mining industry in 1906: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 314-A, p. 19-39. Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p. Cobb, E.H., and Sainsbury, C.L., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Teller quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-426, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. Heide, H.E., and Sanford, R.S., 1948, Churn drilling at Cape Mountain tin placer deposits, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 4345, 14 p. Heide, H.E., Wright, W.S., and Sanford, R.S., 1946, Exploration of Cape Mountain lode-tin deposits, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 3978, 16 p. Hudson, T.L., and Arth, J. G., 1983, Tin granites of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 94, p. 768-790. Mulligan, J.J., 1966, Tin-lode investigations, Cape Mountain area, Seward Peninsula, Alaska; with a section on petrography by W.L. Gnagy: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 6737, 43 p.

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