Unnamed (on Quartz Creek)

Occurrence in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Lead, Zinc, Gold
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. 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 10002533
MRDS ID A013476
Record type Site
Current site name Unnamed (on Quartz Creek)

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -161.47028, 65.5744 (WGS84)
Relative position This occurrence is at an elevation of about 400 feet on the north side of Quartz Creek, approximately 8 miles upstream from its junction with Kiwalik River. The map site is in the SE1/4 of section 11, T. 2 N., R. 14 W., of the Kateel River Meridian. Cobb, 1972 (MF-389), location 3 and Miller and Elliott (1969), figure 2, location 2 and 3.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Northwest Arctic(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Candle C-5(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Candle N(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Candle(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)

Federal lands

LG(Federal land areas administered by LG)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Lead Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Gold Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Material = argentiferous galena

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Silver Ore
Arsenopyrite Ore
Gold Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Galena Ore
Calcite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Hydrothermal.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Ultramafic Intrusive Rock > Hornblendite
    Rock unit name Quartz Creek Pluton
    Rock description Quartz Creek Pluton
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Trachyte

Nearby scientific data

(1) -161.47028, 65.5744

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The country rocks in the area of this occurrence include the Upper Cretaceous Quartz Creek pluton, and Jurassic-Cretaceous andesitic volcanic rocks that are cut by fine-grained dikes less than 30 feet thick. The dikes contain quartz and calcite veins carrying disseminated pyrite, arsenopyrite, argentiferous galena, and sphalerite. The veins occur near the contact with quartz monzonite of the Quartz Creek pluton. Analyses of grab samples by Miller and Elliot (1969) gave the following results: location 2A contained 70 ppm Cu and 700 ppm Pb; location 3B contained 20 ppm Ag, 300 ppm Cu, greater than 2% Pb, and greater than 1 % Zn. The mineral occurrences in the Quartz Creek area are generally anomalous in boron and tin.
  • Age = Late Cretaceous.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Fairhaven

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The area has been mapped and examined by the U.S. Geological Survey and various exploration companies.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Miller and Elliott, 1969

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Sulfides in quartz and calcite veins that cut andesite.
Deposit Other Comments = This site is one of numerous occurrences of argentiferous galena, sphalerite, pyrite and arsenopyrite in an 18-mile-long, 2- to 5-mile-wide zone of altered andesite surrounding the Quartz Creek quartz monzonite pluton. The altered zone trends N 15 W, across the drainage basins of Quartz Creek and the Kiwalik River, parallel to prominent lineaments in the area.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 12-JAN-00 Williams, Anita U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Authoritative Alaska resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.