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  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Bourbon Creek

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 10002089
MRDS ID A012949
Record type Site
Current site name Bourbon Creek
Alternate or previous names Holyoke Creek
Related records 10111849

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -165.38049, 64.52539 (WGS84)
Relative position Bourbon Creek is a stream on the Nome coastal plain that flows south to Snake River at Nome. Holyoke Creek is a tributary to Bourbon Creek. The map location is at about the midpoint of Bourbon Creek on the coastal plain. It is in the NE1/4 section 22, T. 11 S., R. 34 W., Kateel River Meridian. Bourban Creek is locality 128 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)

Federal lands

Sitnasuak 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

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 > Gravel

Nearby scientific data

(1) -165.38049, 64.52539
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Shallow alluvial gold depositsin Bourbon Creek and its tributary Holyoke Creek were discovered in 1900 (Brooks and others, 1901, p. 69, 83-84) and mining began soon afterward. Total production in 1900 was about 5,000 dollars (approximately 250 ounces of gold). Total production to 1903 on both Bourbon and Holyoke Creeks was about 100,000 dollars or 5,000 ounces of gold (Collier and others, 1908, p. 167). This production was entirely from shallow deposits derived by reworking gravel of the coastal plain. The trench occupied by Bourbon Creek was about 15 feet deep and about 500 feet wide; pay was shallow; Collier and others cite two sections, one about 6 feet deep, the second about 10 feet. Gradient of the creek was low, and only a few of the deposits were rich enough to work by shovel-in methods; one successful placer mine averaged 4 dollars per cubic yard. Early attempts at dredging the shallow ground failed because of inadequate dredges. Later attempts at dredging were stopped because much of the ground was frozen. By about 1906, drilling and shafts showed that Bourbon and Holyoke Creeks concealed local valuable paystreaks that had formed during marine transgression toward Third Beach. Depths to bedrock ranged from about of 17 to 120 feet.

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 = The deposits were discovered in 1900. About 5,000 ounces of gold had been mined from shallow alluvial deposits by the end of 1903 (Collier and others, 1908). By 1906, drilling and shafts had been extensive enough to delineate buried marine deposits near the base of the coastal plain section.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Brooks, A.H., Richardson, G. B., and Collier, A. J., 1901, Reconnaissance in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900: U.S. Geological Survey Special Publication, p. 1-180.

  • 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

    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.

  • Deposit

    Metcalfe, J.B., and Tuck, Ralph, 1942, Placer gold deposits of the Nome district, Alaska: Report for U.S. Smelting, Refining, and Mining Co., 175 p.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Collier and others, 1908

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Shallow alluvial placer gold deposits formed by reworking low-grade gravel deposits of the coastal plain along Bourbon and Holyoke Creeks (Moffit, 1913; Metcalfe and Tuck, 1942) (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.