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Pacific Beach Sands Gold-Platinum-Titanium Placer

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Platinum, Titanium, Metal
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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. Host and associated rocks
  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 10002225
MRDS ID A013127
Record type Site
Current site name Pacific Beach Sands Gold-Platinum-Titanium Placer
Alternate or previous names Lituya Bay, Mf-436

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -137.6963, 58.67164 (WGS84)
Relative position AT MOUTH OF ECHO CREEK. DEPOSIT EXTENDS NW FROM LITUYA BAY TO SEA OTHER CREEK

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Hoonah-Angoon(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Mount Fairweather C-6(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Mount Fairweather NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Mount Fairweather(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Glacier Bay(hydrologic unit)

Northern Southeast Alaska(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southeast Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Glacier Bay National Park(National Park)

National Park NPS(Type of land area)

NPS(Federal land areas administered by NPS)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Comments on the location information

  • USGS MF-436, LOC. 65; USGS OF 78-494, FIG. C-3, 4, 5. LOCATION IS AT MOUTH OF ECHO CREEK, THE SITE OF GREATEST PRODUCTION. DEPOSIT EXTENDS FROM MOUTH OF SEA OTTER CREEK SOUTH 20 MI TO MOUTH OF EAGLE CREEK. LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2,500,000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Platinum Critical Secondary
Titanium, Metal Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Ilmenite Ore
Platinum Ore
Andesine Gangue
Augite Gangue
Biotite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Epidote Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Hornblende Gangue
Labradorite Gangue
Magnetite Gangue
Oligoclase Gangue
Olivine Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Silt
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Holocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Sand and Gravel
    Rock unit name Yakutat Group;Yakataga Formation
    Rock description Yakutat Group;Yakataga Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -137.6963, 58.67164
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • WELL SORTED MODERN ACTIVE BEACH SANDS, WITH SOIL-COVERED INACTIVE BEACH SANDS FARTHER INLAND, MARINE TERRACES UP TO 750 FT ELEVATION. ; MAJOR.UNITS: BEDROCK CONSISTS OF CRET GRAYWACKE, ARGILLITE, SLATE, PHYLLITE, AND GREENSTONE OF YAKUTAT GROUP. ALSO CRET GRANITIC ROCKS IN SMALL STOCKS AND PLUTONS, AND TERT SILTSTONE AND SANDSTONE OF YAKATAGA FORMATION. ; REG.COM: SOURCE OF PLACER GOLD BELIEVED TO BE LAYERED MAFIC AND ULTRAMAFIC PLUTONS IN FAIRWEATHER RANGE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1867
Discoverer Russians
Year of first production 1894
Year of last production 1940

Mining district

District name Yakutat/Glacier Bay N.M.

Comments on the workings information

  • SLUICE BOX AND LONG TOM METHODS USED, SLUICE PLANT OPERATED 1901-1903 AT ECHO CREEK. EXTENSIVELY SAMPLED BY USBM IN 1977.

Comments on development

  • DISCOVERED AND MINED BY RUSSIANS BEFORE 1867. FIRST AMERICAN PRODUCTION 1894. WORKED 1894-1917 BY SLUICE AND LONG TOM METHODS. MINOR PRODUCTION UNTIL ABOUT 1940. 105 ACTIVE CLAIMS HELD IN 1978 BY GOLD RESERVE MINING CO..

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    USGS MF-436, LOC. 65 (1972)

  • Deposit

    USGS OF 78-494, P. C-28-91, TABLES C-4-24, FIGS. C-3-30, PLATES IA, PLATES IA, III (1978)

  • Deposit

    USGS OF 78-316, P. 32, 33 (1978)

  • Deposit

    USGS B 836, P. 133-135 (1933)

  • Other Database

    BAG-MF-436-65

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit BEACH SAND DEPOSITS EXTEND FROM MOUTH OF SEA OTTER CREEK SOUTH AT LEAST 20 MI TO MOUTH OF EAGLE CREEK 2 MI NORTH OF LITUYA BAY. ACTIVE BEACH SANDS AVERAGE 500 FT WIDE, BACK BEACH UP TO 1.300 FT WIDE, WITH MARINE TERRACES AT ELEVATIONS UP TO 750 FT IN COASTAL FOOTHILLS. TERRACES ARE UP TO 100 FT THICK. 1-2 IN THICK LAYER OF FINE, GARNET-RICH SAND CARRIES MOST GOLD AND PLATINUM. ESTIMATED RESOURCE OF 1 SQ MI OF BEACH SAND SAMPLED IS 120,000 TONS ILMENITE, AND 1,200 TROY OZ GOLD, WITH ADDITIONAL 7 SQ MI OF BEACH NOT SAMPLED, ACCORDING TO USGS OF 78-494, P.C-30,31.
Deposit TOTAL HYPOTHETICAL RESOURCE IS 8 SQ MI OF BEACH AREA TOTALING 90 MILLION CUBIC YARDS OF MATERIAL AT AN AVERAGE GRADE OF 1% ILMENITE AND LESS THAN 0.00001 OZ/CY OF GOLD. NO LARGE TONNAGES OF HIGH GRADE PLACER GOLD FOUND IN NEAR-SURFACE BEACH SANDS. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Deposit THIS SITE NAME WAS CREATED BY THE REPORTER OR OTHER USGS EMPLOYEE BASED ON PROXIMITY TO SOME MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-1987 Leonard, Kenneth R. (Huber, Donald F.) U.S. Geological Survey

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.