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Swede Creek

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Mercury
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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 10001780
MRDS ID A012584
Record type Site
Current site name Swede Creek
Related records 10233102

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -163.69936, 64.56738 (WGS84)
Relative position Swede Creek (Gulch) is a small, 0.4 mile long drainage that flows south to Norton Sound, 1.7 miles east of Bluff. It is locality 111 of Cobb (1972, MF 445; 1978, OF 78-181).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Solomon C-4 SE(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Solomon NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Solomon C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Federal lands

White Mountain Native Corporation(ANCSA Village)

ANCSA Village NTVPIC(Type of land area)

NTVPIC(Federal land areas administered by NTVPIC)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Mercury Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Gold Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 119
USGS model code 39a
Deposit model name Placer Au-PGE
Mark3 model number 54

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel

Nearby scientific data

(1) -163.69936, 64.56738
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Placer gold was discovered on Swede Creek between 1900 and 1902 (Collier and others, 1908) but most mining was between 1918 and WW II (Mulligan, 1971). The placer workings were shallow and extended 600 feet upstream from the coastal bluff (Herreid, 1965). Recorded gold production from the placer is less than 1,000 ounces but the extent of the workings suggested to Mulligan (1971) that production could have been greater. Bedrock in the area is Paleozoic marble and a band of intercalated metsedimentary schist (Herried, 1965; Mulligan, 1971; Till and others, 1986). The gold is thought to have been derived from mineralization in schist (as in the nearby Bluff/Daniels Creek area, ARDF localities SO006 and SO135) and part of the placer deposit here could be residual. Cinnabar was reported to be present in the placer deposits as early as 1922 (Cathcart, 1922) and lode cinnabar deposits were subsequently identified and locally explored (ARDF locality SO133).
  • Age = Quaternary; the placer deposits here are at low enough elevation (50 to 100 feet) to have been influenced by Quaternary sea level fluctuations.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Council

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = The reported production from Swede Creek back to 1910 is less than 1,000 ounces but the extent of placer workings suggests that production was greater (Mulligan, 1971).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The placer workings were shallow and extend about 600 feet upstream from the coastal bluff (Herreid, 1965).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Cobb, 1978 (OF 78-181)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 19-AUG-1999 Travis L. Hudson Applied Geology

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.