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Grass Gulch

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. 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 10002081
MRDS ID A012938
Record type Site
Current site name Grass Gulch
Related records 10233245

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -165.35244, 64.57706 (WGS84)
Relative position This alluvial placer gold mine is in Grass Gulch, a west headwater tributary to Dexter Creek (NM303). The map location is at an elevation of about 450 feet in the SW1/4 section 31, T. 10 S., R. 33 W., Kateel River Meridian. Grass Gulch is included in locality 118 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-1(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

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Clay, Mud
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -165.35244, 64.57706
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Grass Gulch is one of several small headwater tributaries of Dexter Creek (NM303) that head in areas where high-level auriferous gravels have been mined (for example, NM246 and NM247). The Grass Gulch placer was small but very rich, and the entire 15 feet of rounded-pebble gravel and some clay was gold-bearing. The deposit apparently was worked out by 1903 from a 150-foot by 300- or 400-foot pit (Collier and others, 1908). Gold was also recovered from fractured and creviced marble bedrock. Overburden was only 2 feet of moss and soil, some of the gravel was frozen, and granite clasts were uncommon in the gravel (Collier and others, 1908; Moffit, 1913). Much of the placer gold in the headwaters of Dexter Creek, including Grass Gulch, is probably derived from reworking of the high-level gravels.
  • Age = Quaternary.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Probably inactive

Mining district

District name Nome

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = A 150-foot by 300- or 400-foot pit removed the main deposit by 1903 and most of the rest of the deposit was mined out by 1909 (Collier and others, 1908; Henshaw, 1910).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • 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

    Henshaw, F.F., 1910, Mining in Seward Peninsula: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442, p. 353-371.

  • Deposit

    Moffit, F.H., 1913, Geology of the Nome and Grand Central quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 533, 140 p.

  • 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 10-JUL-00 Hawley, C.C. Hawley Resource Group
Reporter 10-JUL-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.