1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Homestake

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Copper, Lead, Zinc
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Mineral occurrence model information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  11. Mining district
  12. Links to other databases
  13. Bibliographic references
  14. General comments
  15. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10000208
MRDS ID A010245
Record type Site
Current site name Homestake
Related records 10283096

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -130.17065, 56.07477 (WGS84)
Relative position The Homestake mine is in Section 7 at about 3500 feet elevation on a south-facing mountainside approximately 0.3 mile east of upper Ibex Creek (Elliott and Koch, 1981, p. 14, loc. 51). The location is probably accurate within a quarter of a mile.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Prince of Wales-Hyder(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Bradfield Canal A-1(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Bradfield Canal SE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Bradfield Canal(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Southern Southeast Alaska(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southeast Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Tongass National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Copper Primary
Lead Primary
Zinc Critical Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Rock unit name Texas Creek
    Rock description Texas Creek
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -130.17065, 56.07477
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The country rock in the area of the Homestake mine is Triassic Texas Creek Granodiorite, which regionally underlies and locally intrudes pelitic metasedimentary and subordinate andesitic metavolcanic strata of the Jurassic or older Mesozoic Hazelton Group; and the Eocene Hyder Quartz Monzonite, which intrudes the Hazelton and Texas Creek rocks (Smith, 1977, Koch, 1996).? the deposit consists of a quartz fissure vein 4-5.5 feet thick in Texas Creek Granodiorite (Buddington, 1925, p. 88-89). The vein was traced in outcrop for about 250 feet. The mineralized parts of the vein contain bands of solid sulfide up to 4 feet thick consisting mainly of argentiferous 'steel' galena, accompanied by pyrite, chalcopyrite, and a little sphalerite. The granodiorite hanging wall of the vein contains stringers of tetrahedrite. So-called 'steel' galena resembles augen gneiss with eyes of granulated pyrite in flow-banded galena; this texture indicates that the mineral deposit was subjected to intense stress since its formation (Buddington and Chapin, 1929, p. 320).? A 9.5-ton test shipment of sorted ore sent to a smelter in 1925 contained 50% Pb, 0.7% Zn, 22.87 oz Ag per ton, and 0.29 oz Au per ton (Buddington, 1929, p. 95; Cobb, 1978, p. 39).? Lead-isotope studies of galena from the Homestake mine (Maas and others, 1929, p. 229-248) indicate that the deposit is Eocene in age, contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite.
  • Age = Lead-isotope studies of galena from the Homestake mine (Maas and others, 1929, p. 229-248) indicate that the deposit is Eocene in age, contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Hyder

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = A 25-foot crosscut adit is reported to have cut the vein 35 feet below its outcrop (Buddington, 1926, p. 53).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Buddington, A.F., 1925, Mineral investigations in southeastern Alasaka: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 773, p. 71-139.

  • Deposit

    Buddington, A.F., 1926, Mineral investigations in southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 783, p. 41-62.

  • Deposit

    Buddington, A.F., 1929, Geology of Hyder and vicinity, southeastern Alaska, with a reconnaissance of Chickamin River: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 807, 124 p.

  • Deposit

    Smith, J.G., 1977, Geology of the Ketchikan D-1 and Bradfield Canal A-1 quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1425, 49 p.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bradfield Canal quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-922, 98 p.

  • Deposit

    Elliott, R.L., and Koch, R.D., 1981, Mines, prospects, and selected metalliferous mineral occurrences in the Bradfield Canal quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-728-B, 23 p., 1 sheet, scales 1:250,000 and 1:63,360.

  • Deposit

    Maas, K.M., Bittenbender, P E., and Still, J.C., 1995, Mineral investigations in the Ketchikan mining district, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 11-95, 606 p.

  • Deposit

    Koch, R.D., 1996, Reconnaissance geologic map of the Bradfield Canal quadrangle, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-728-A, 35 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Buddington, 1929

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Polymetallic veins
Deposit Other Comments = Property originally staked in 1923

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 17-MAY-1998 H. C. Berg U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative Alaska resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.