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Whalen Shaft Mine, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, USAi
Regional Level Types
Whalen Shaft MineMine
Yukon-Koyukuk Census AreaCensus Area
AlaskaState
USACountry

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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
63° 13' 1'' North , 154° 46' 1'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
63.21694,-154.76694
GeoHash:
G#: be1zwhq1k
GRN:
N43W52
Type:
Mine
Köppen climate type:
Dfc : Subarctic climate
Mindat Locality ID:
202886
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:202886:9
GUID (UUID V4):
0


See Nixon Fork Mine (MD062).
Location: The Whalen Shaft is located in Section 24, T. 26 S., R. 21 E., of the Kateel River Meridian, about 500 feet (152 m) from the Whalen Glory Hole near the old airstrip. Reporter visited the site in 1997.
Geology: The Whalen Shaft is mainly a tactite with gold-polymetallic mineral values. Ore from tactite contained the following: 25 percent biotite; 10 percent pyroxene; 10 percent tremolite; 10 percent carbonate; and 10 percent malachite (Herreid, 1966). The tactitie zone averaged: 1.24 ounces/ton gold, 2.9 ounces/ton silver, 1.11 percent copper, and 0.05 percent bismuth (Herreid, 1966). Age of mineralization is unknown, but probably related to the 68.0 Ma Nixon Fork monzonite pluton (Bundtzen and Miller, 1997).
Workings: The Whalen Shaft was driven to an unknown depth, but not below the water table, which was at about 400 feet.
Production: Specific production figures are not known; the gold-copper production was lumped with the Nixon Fork Mine (MD062).

Commodities (Major) - Ag, Au, Cu; (Minor) - Bi, W
Development Status: Yes
Deposit Model: Copper-Gold skarn (Cox and Singer, 1986; model no. 18b)

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.


Mineral List


7 valid minerals.

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
ⓘGold1.AA.05Au
ⓘSilver1.AA.05Ag
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
ⓘMalachite5.BA.10Cu2(CO3)(OH)2
Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates
ⓘScheelite7.GA.05Ca(WO4)
Group 9 - Silicates
ⓘZircon9.AD.30Zr(SiO4)
ⓘKyanite9.AF.15Al2(SiO4)O
ⓘTremolite9.DE.10◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Unclassified
ⓘ'Pyroxene Group'-ADSi2O6
ⓘ'Allanite Group'-(A12+REE3+)(M13+M23+M32+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
Hⓘ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Hⓘ Allanite Group(A12+REE3+)(M13+M23+M32+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
CCarbon
Cⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
OOxygen
Oⓘ KyaniteAl2(SiO4)O
Oⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
Oⓘ ScheeliteCa(WO4)
Oⓘ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Oⓘ ZirconZr(SiO4)
Oⓘ Pyroxene GroupADSi2O6
Oⓘ Allanite Group(A12+REE3+)(M13+M23+M32+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
MgMagnesium
Mgⓘ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
AlAluminium
Alⓘ KyaniteAl2(SiO4)O
SiSilicon
Siⓘ KyaniteAl2(SiO4)O
Siⓘ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
Siⓘ ZirconZr(SiO4)
Siⓘ Pyroxene GroupADSi2O6
Siⓘ Allanite Group(A12+REE3+)(M13+M23+M32+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH)
CaCalcium
Caⓘ ScheeliteCa(WO4)
Caⓘ Tremolite◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2
CuCopper
Cuⓘ MalachiteCu2(CO3)(OH)2
ZrZirconium
Zrⓘ ZirconZr(SiO4)
AgSilver
Agⓘ SilverAg
WTungsten
Wⓘ ScheeliteCa(WO4)
AuGold
Auⓘ GoldAu

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:MD071

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
USA

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

Brown, J.S., 1926, The Nixon Fork country: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 783-D, p. 97-144. Bundtzen, T.K., and Miller, M.L., 1997, Precious metals associated with Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary igneous rocks of southwestern Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Mineral Deposits of Alaska: Economic Geology Monograph 9, p. 242-286. Cobb, E.H., 1974, Placer Deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 pages. Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences in the Beaver, Bettles, and Medfra quadrangles: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 78-94, 54 pages. Herreid, G.H., 1966, Geology and geochemistry of the Nixon Fork area, Medfra quadrangle, Alaska: Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals Geologic Report 22, 34 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:40,000. Martin, G.C., 1922, Gold lodes in the upper Kuskokwim region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 722-E, p. 149-161. Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1936, Mineral deposits of the Ruby-Kuskokwim region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 864-C, p. 115-245. White, M.G., and Stevens, J.M., 1953, Reconnaissance for radioactive minerals in the Ruby-Poorman and Nixon Fork districts, west-central Alaska, in 1949: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 279, 19 pages.
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