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  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Unnamed (in headwaters of Penny Creek)

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Copper
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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. 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 10001799
MRDS ID A012605
Record type Site
Current site name Unnamed (in headwaters of Penny Creek)

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -164.38938, 64.67625 (WGS84)
Relative position This occurrence is on the low ridge, at about 650 feet elevation, between the headwaters of Penny Creek (SO018) and Minnesota Creek. It is locality 11 of Asher (1969, DGGS R33).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nome(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Solomon C-5(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Solomon NW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Solomon(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Nome(hydrologic unit)

Norton Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Solomon 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
Copper Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Malachite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicification (?) and oxidation; the development of silica-rich rocks at or near the the base of Paleozoic marble overlying characterizes this type of copper occurrence.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -164.38938, 64.67625
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = This occurrence is one of several in the area where sparse disseminated copper minerals, mainly malachite, occur in silica-rich rocks along the contact between marble and schist. Grab samples of these rocks contain 0.13 to 0.78 percent Cu but generally only traces of gold. However, samples from this specific locality contained 0.02 to 0.08 ounces Au per ton and 0.02 to 0.04 ounces Ag per ton (Asher, 1969, DGGS R33). This type of copper occurrence is present at several localities in the western Solomon quadrangle (Gamble, 1988) and has similarities to several in the Kougarok area of the northeastern Teller quadrangle. In the Teller quadrangle, the Ward mine (TE071) is an example of this type of copper mineral occurrence. The Ward mine has been described as a zone of silicification in marble above a thrust contact with underlying metapelitic schist (Sainsbury and others, 1969; Sainsbury, 1975, p. 90-94). The silica-rich rocks have been metamorphosed and commonly have a laminar fabric. Copper-bearing minerals, mostly malachite but also including azurite and in places chalcopyrite and possibly bornite, are disseminated in the silica-rich rocks. The minor sulfides tend to be along faint laminae and joints (Sainsbury and others, 1969, p. 22). Malachite and azurite also occur in small veins and veinlets in the silica-rich rocks. The summary characterization of this type of Seward Peninsula mineral deposit by Sainsbury (1975, p. 90-94) contains inconsistencies with some descriptions of these deposits. Their origin is uncertain and other possibilities should be considered. One possiblity is that the silica-rich rocks are quartzites and that there is a stratigraphic control to the Ward deposit and similar occurrences elsewhere on Seward Peininsula. Quarzite at the base of the regional carbonate assemblage is recognized elsewhere in the Kougarok Mountain area (Puchner, 1986, p. 1777). Bedrock in the area of this occurrence is part of a lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage (Till and others, 1986).
  • Age = Unknown; if stratigraphic controls are important then it is probably Paleozoic in age.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Nome

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = No exploration or development work is reported for this occurrence.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Asher, 1969 (DGGS R33)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Copper-bearing mineralization in silica-rich zones at or near base of marble.

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.