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Goldstream

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Copper, Lead, Zinc
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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. 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 10001577
MRDS ID A012329
Record type Site
Current site name Goldstream
Alternate or previous names Bell, Miller (and Phillips), Goldstone, Goldstring
Related records 10283042

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -131.63066, 55.30474 (WGS84)
Relative position The Goldstream mine is at sea level on southeastern Gravina Island, opposite Pennock Island. The old workings are 1.0-3.0 miles north of Gravina Point, in section 6, T. 76 S., R. 91 E., of the Copper River Meridian. The site includes loc. 69 in Elliot and others (1978), and loc. 286 (1-3) in Maas and others (1995). The location is accurate within 0.1 mile. ? Also see Additional comments.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Ketchikan B-5 SW(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Ketchikan SW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Ketchikan(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 91
USGS model code 24b
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, Besshi (Japanese deposits)
Mark3 model number 30
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 > Diabase
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist > Greenschist
    Rock unit name Gravina Island Formation;Gravina Island Formation
    Rock description Gravina Island Formation;Gravina Island Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -131.63066, 55.30474
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The country rocks on southeastern Gravina Island are Upper Jurassic or Cretaceous marine andesitic or basaltic volcanic rocks interbedded with subordinate flyschlike sedimentary rocks (Berg, 1973; Berg and others, 1988). These strata were regionally metamorphosed to greenschist-grade phyllite and semischist in Late Cretaceous time. The country rocks are cut by a high-angle fault along Tongass Narrows that displays about 4 miles of right-lateral offset.? Wright and Wright (1908, p. 177-178) describe two types of lode deposits at the Goldstream mine. The main deposit consists of apparently stratiform massive sulfides in two or more layers of greenschist or quartz-sericite schist that strike NW and dip NE, and which are separated by layers of relatively barren schist. The sulfide-rich layers in the main deposit are 4-8 feet thick and have been traced on the surface and in underground workings for 1000 feet or more. Zones of lower-grade ore are as much as 40 feet thick and several hundred feet long. The principal ore minerals in the stratiform deposits are pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, arsenopyrite, and native gold, small particles of which accompany the sulfides and also occur in quartz seams. The other type of deposit consists of quartz-calcite fissure veins that carry galena and sphalerite, and which crosscut the massive-sulfide-bearing layers. Both types of deposits are cut by barren quartz stringers and by an altered diabase dike several feet wide that strikes N10W and dips 75NE. Several thousand tons of ore were produced in the early 1900s from the Goldstream mine, mainly from a 5-foot-long, steeply-pitching oreshoot in the main deposit (Cobb and Elliott, 1980, p. 47). Maas and others (1995, p. 201) report cumulative production of 8.1 kg Au and 15 kg Ag.? Maas and others (1995, p. 197) report that a 4-foot sample across quartz lenses in talc schist contained 4.7 ppm Au, 74.4 ppm Ag, 0.8% Cu, and 6.28% Zn. ? Maas and others (1995, p. 201) suggest that the massive-sulfide-bearing layers are of stratiform volcanogenic origin. If so, the Goldstream deposit probably can be classified as a metamorphosed Besshi massive sulfide deposit, possibly of Late Jurassic age. The sulfide-bearing quartz fissure veins that cut the stratiform deposits probably formed by remobilization, during or following Upper Cretaceous regional metamorphism.
  • Age = Late Jurassic (stratiform sulfides); Late Cretaceous or younger (quartz fissure veins).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Mining district

District name Ketchikan

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Several thousand tons of ore were produced in the early 1900s from the Goldstream mine, mainly from a 5-foot-long, steeply-pitching oreshoot in the main deposit (Cobb and Elliott, 1980, p. 47). Maas and others (1995, p. 201) report cumulative production of 8.1 kg Au and 15 kg Ag.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The Goldstream deposit was discovered in 1897 and worked mainly in the early 1900s. Some gold was also produced by reworking dump material in the 1930s. Development of the main deposit in the early 1900s included a 115-foot shaft with 2 levels (50 and 100 feet deep), and between 400 and 600 feet of drifts. The veins were developed at that time by two 50-foot shafts, opencuts, and trenches. Maas and others (1995) report that the two 50-foot shafts are plugged.? Maas and others (1995, p. 197) report that a 4-foot sample across quartz lenses in talc schist contained 4.7 ppm Au, 74.4 ppm Ag, 0.8% Cu, and 6.28% Zn.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Wright and Wright, 1908; Maas and others, 1995

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Besshi massive sulfide?; Polymetallic veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; models 24b, 24c)
Deposit Model Number = 24b?, 22c
Deposit Other Comments = the Goldstream mine was the most productive of the early mines in the Ketchikan area. In some early reports, the property was also referred to as Bell, or Miller (and Phillips) (Brooks, 1902, p. 62; Cobb and Elliott, 1980, p. 47, 145). In 1925, two of the Goldstream claims, the Goldstone and Goldstring, were patented (Maas and others, 1995, p. 194).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 02-JUL-99 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

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