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Seattle Alaska Copper Co.

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

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10000434
MRDS ID A010601
Record type Site
Current site name Seattle Alaska Copper Co.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -147.99139, 59.96454 (WGS84)
Relative position The occurrence consists of three tunnels that are located just below VABM Fairview 1926; it is in the NE1/4 of section 36, T. 2 S., R. 8 E., of the Seward Meridian. The lower tunnel is at an elevation of 1,150 feet . The middle tunnel is at an elevation of 1,350 feet and the upper tunnel is at an elevation of 1,450 feet. There is an open cut on the discovery outcrop just above the upper tunnel . This is location number 8 of Cobb (1972, MF-440) and location 270 of Tysdal (1978). This location is accurate to within a quarter of a mile.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Valdez-Cordova(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Blying Sound D-3(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Blying Sound NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Blying Sound(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Resurrection River-Frontal Resurrection Bay(hydrologic unit)

Prince William Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

South Central Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Chugach Alaska Corporation(ANCSA Region)

ANCSA Region NTVPIC(Type of land area)

NTVPIC(Federal land areas administered by NTVPIC)

Chugach 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
Copper Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Silver Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) None reported.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 90
USGS model code 24a
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, Cyprus
Mark3 model number 11

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Argillite
    Rock unit name Orca Group;Orca Group
    Rock description Orca Group;Orca Group

Nearby scientific data

(1) -147.99139, 59.96454
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The country rock in the vicinity of the prospect is graywacke and shale of the Tertiary Orca Group (Nelson and others, 1980). The strike of the bedding is northeast and dips 70W. The mineralization consists of siliceous massive sulfides and stringers of sulfides containing predominantly pyrite, pyrrhotite, and chalcopyrite. The mineralization varies from 18 to 66 inches in width and strikes N35 to 50E and dips 70 to 80W. Locally the mineralization is parallel to the schistosity of the country rock. Samples by the Bureau of Mines (Kurtak and Jeske, 1986) assayed up to 6.5% copper and 14 ppm silver.
  • Age = Tertiary; massive sulfides in Tertiary rocks.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Prince Willaim Sound

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = In 1914 a test shipment of 12 tons of ore that ran 0.97% copper and 1.92 ounces of silver per ton resulted in the production of 2,350 pounds of copper and 23 ounces of silver (Johnson, 1918 p. 209-210).

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = Kurtak and Jeske (1986) inferred a reserve of 2,900 tons copper in ore that contains 3% copper and 8.7ppm silver.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = There were 840 feet of underground workings driven between 1908 and 1911. In 1911 a mill was set up and run for a short while. In 1914 a test shipment of 12 tons of ore that ran 0.97% copper and 1.92 ounces of silver per ton resulted in the production of 2,350 pounds of copper and 23 ounces of silver (Johnson, 1918 p. 209-210). The prospect has tunnels at three levels and one open cut. The lower two tunnels are the most extensively developed. The lower tunnel is collapsed and reported to consists of 400 feet of workings . The middle tunnel was open in 1985 and is about 400 feet long; two drifts, 20 feet and 50 feet in length, were driven along the mineralized zone. The Bureau of Mines (Kurtak and Jeske, 1986) sampled the middle tunnel across a four foot width that contained 6.5% copper and 14 ppm silver. The 40-foot-long upper tunnel is collapsed. Martin and others (1915) reported that this tunnel was weakly mineralized. In 1976, Noranda Exploration staked the area and conducted geophysical studies.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Martin G.C., Johnson, B.L., and Grant, U.S., 1915, Geology and mineral resources of Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 587, 243 p.

  • Deposit

    Johnson, B.L., 1919, Mining on Prince William Sound: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 692-C, p. 143-151.

  • Deposit

    Moffit, F.H. , and Fellows, R.E. , 1950, Coper deposits of the Prince William Sound district, Alaska; Geological Survey Bullentin 963-B, p. 47-80.

  • Deposit

    Condon, W.H., and Cass, J.T., 1958, Map of a part of the Prince William Sound area, Alaska, showing linear geologic features on aerial photographs: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-273. 1 sheet, scale 1:125,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metalic mineral resources map of the Blying Sound quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Stuudies Map MF-440, 1 sheet, scale 1:150,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H. and Tysdal, R.G., 1980, Summaries of data on and list of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Blying Sound and Seward quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-621, 276 p.

  • Deposit

    Kurtak, J.M., and Jeske, R.E., 1986, Mineral investigations in the Chugach National Forest, Alaska (Islands area): U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 54-86, 302 p., 1 sheet.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metalic mineral resources map of the Blying Sound quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-440, 1 sheet, scale 1:150,000.

  • Deposit

    Grant, U.S., and Higgins, D.F., Jr., 1909, Notes on geology and mineral prospects in the vicinity of Seward, Kenai Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 379-C, p. 98-107.

  • Deposit

    Tysdal, R.G., 1978, Mines, prospects, and occurrences map of the Seward and Blying Sound quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-880-A, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    MacKevett, E.M., Jr., and Holloway, C.D., 1977, Map showing metalliferous and selected non-metalliferous mineral deposits in the eastern part of southern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-169-A, 99 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

  • Deposit

    Johnson, B.L., 1918, Copper deposits of the Latouche and Knight Island districts, Prince William Sound: U.S. Geological Survey BuIletin 662-C, p. 193-220.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Johnson, 1918; Kurtak and Jeske, 1986

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Cyprus massive sulfide (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 24a).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 21-JAN-99 Jeff A. Huber 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.