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Billiken

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold
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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 10001865
MRDS ID A012684
Record type Site
Current site name Billiken

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -162.49337, 65.68938 (WGS84)
Relative position The Billiken prospect is a magnetite-bearing skarn on the east side of Kugruk Mountain (elevation 1,607 feet), at an elevation of about 760 feet. This is 2 miles northwest of the Independence Mine (BN076) on the Kugruk River. Although tundra cover is extensive in this area, the deposit is well expressed in aeromagnetic data.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Northwest Arctic(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Bendeleben C-1(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Bendeleben NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Bendeleben(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Goodhope-Spafarief Bay(hydrologic unit)

Northern Seward Peninsula(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Iron Primary
Silver Secondary
Gold Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Clinohumite Gangue
Diopside Gangue
Dolomite Gangue
Idocrase Gangue
Olivine Gangue
Phlogopite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Serpentine Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Mg-bearing silicate minerals have been serpentinized and phlogopite is well-developed.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 62
USGS model code 18d
Deposit model name Skarn Fe

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type
    Rock unit name Kugruk pluton
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
    Chronological age 94.9
    Dating method K-Ar

Nearby scientific data

(1) -162.49337, 65.68938
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = This magnetite-rich skarn prospect was discovered and core drilled by Placid Oil and Minerals in the mid-1970's. Although tundra cover is extensive in this area, the deposit is well expressed in aeromagnetic data. A large, positive, north-south trending aeromagnetic anomaly over this prospect is about 0.4 mile wide and 2 miles long. The deposit contains massive to brecciated magnetite in dolomite with blebs to stringers of pyrite and chalcopyrite (Hudson and others, 1977). Newberry and others (1997) classify this prospect as a magnesian iron skarn developed in dolomite. It contains clinohumite, olivine, diopside, and idocrase. Serpentine minerals replace diopside and olivine and phlogopite is present. A sample of the skarn contained 0.06 ounces/ton Ag, 0.0003 ounces/ton Au, 0.2 % Cu, 0.02 % Zn, 0.01 % Co, and 45 % Fe (Newberry and others, 1997, Table 2). This deposit is in the east contact zone of the Kugruk pluton, which has yielded a K/Ar age of 94.9 +/- 2.9 Ma (Till and others, 1986, p. A-15).
  • Age = Cretaceous; this deposit is in the east contact zone of the Kugruk pluton, which has yielded a K/Ar age of 94.9 +/- 2.9 Ma (Till and others, 1986, p. A-15).
  • Age = Chron age is for metavolcanic rocks that host the mineralization.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Fairhaven

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The general area is extensively mantled with tundra; the prospect was initially explored by core drilling. Some core may still be stored at Independence (BN076).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Hudson, T.L., Miller, M. L., and Pickthorn, W. J., 1977, Map showing metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-796-B, 46 p., one sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

  • Deposit

    Newberry, R.J., Allegro, G.L., Cutler, S.E., Hagen-Levelle, D.D., Adams, D.D., Nicholson, L.C., Weglarz, T.B., Bakke, A.A., Clautice, K.H., Coulter, G.A., Ford, M.J., Myers, G.L., and Szumigala, D.J., 1997, Skarn deposits of Alaska, in Goldfarb, R.J., and Miller, L.D., eds., Mineral Deposits of Alaska: Economic Geology Monograph 9, p. 355-395.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Newberry and others, 1997

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Magnesian iron skarn (Newberry and others, 1997; Cox and Singer, 1986; model 18d)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 15-MAR-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.