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Cripple River

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodity 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. Mineral occurrence model information
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  10. Mining district
  11. Links to other databases
  12. Bibliographic references
  13. General comments
  14. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10002018
MRDS ID A012864
Record type Site
Current site name Cripple River
Related records 10281978

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -165.85689, 64.61288 (WGS84)
Relative position Cripple River was reported to be auriferous from its headwaters to its mouth on Norton Sound by Collier and others (1908, plate X). The location given is the approximate mid-point of patented claims along a section of the river that extends from above Stella Creek (NM151) to its mouth on Norton Sound. This includes locality 65 of Cobb (1972 [MF 463], 1978 [OFR 78-93]).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nome(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Nome C-2(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Solomon NW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Nome(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Nome(hydrologic unit)

Norton Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

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

Nearby scientific data

(1) -165.85689, 64.61288
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Collier and others (1908) reported that Cripple River was auriferous from its head to its mouth on Norton Sound. This was partly confirmed in the upper part of Cripple River during 1989-1990 reconnaisance exploration by Kennecott Exploration Company (written communication, 1992). Pan concentrates containing greater than 10,000 ppb gold were found in gravels of Cripple River above Aurora Creek. Gold was also panned both above and below Gold Run, a north headwater tributary. A pan concentrate at the mouth of Oregon Creek contained greater than 10,000 ppb gold. Both Cleveland Creek (NM150) and Stella Creek (NM151) were mined just above their confluences with Cripple River. A large right-limit (north side) bench of Cripple River was reported to be rich enough to hydraulic placer mine (NM152), but water losses in two ditches apparently precluded the mining of the bench deposit. Cripple River is almost continuously covered by patented mining claims from a point about 1 mile above Stella Creek (NM151) downstream to its mouth. There is little information on the distribution of gold along Cripple River itself.
  • Age = Quaternary.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Nome

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Surface workings; there was some production locally on Cripple River and in tributaries before WW I (Brooks, 1904; Brooks,1905; Collier and others, 1908; Smith, 1912; Chapin, 1914 [B 529-L, p. 385-395]).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Brooks, A.H., 1904, Placer mining in Alaska in 1903: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 225, p. 43-59.

  • Deposit

    Brooks, A.H., 1905, Placer mining in Alaska in 1904: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 259, p. 18-31.

  • Deposit

    Collier, A. J., Hess, F.L., Smith, P.S., and Brooks, A.H., 1908, The gold placers of parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, including the Nome, Council, Kougarok, Port Clarence, and Goodhope precincts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 328, 343 p.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1912, Notes on mining in Seward Peninsula, in Brooks, A.H., and others, Mineral resources of Alaska, Report on investigations in 1911: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 520-M, p. 339-344.

  • Deposit

    Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Placer mining on Seward Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-L, p. 385-395.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-463, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Nome quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File report 78-93, 213 p.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Collier and others, 1908

General comments

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

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 12-MAR-00 Hawley, C.C. Hawley Resource Group
Reporter 12-MAR-00 Travis L. Hudson Hawley Resource Group

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.