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Esperanto Creek

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver
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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 10002569
MRDS ID A015004
Record type Site
Current site name Esperanto Creek
Alternate or previous names Keating Gulch
Related records 10281719

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -156.76384, 63.42666 (WGS84)
Relative position Esperanto Creek is a northwest-flowing tributary to Madison Creek. Mining took place for nearly 2 miles along and near the head of Esperanto Creek. The head of Esperanto Creek is also called Keating Gulch. The coordinates are for the approximate midpoint of mining, in sec. 9, T. 24 S., R. 11 E., Kateel River Meridian. This point coincides with the location of the Esperanto placer mine, marked on the U.S. Geological Survey Ophir B-2 topographic map. The location is accurate within 500 feet. Esperanto Creek is location 5 of Cobb (1972 [MF 367]).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Yukon-Koyukuk(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Ophir B-2(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Ophir SE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Ophir(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary

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) -156.76384, 63.42666
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The rocks at the head of Esperanto Creek are Tertiary chert, argillite, and volcaniclastic rocks in thrust contact with Paleozoic carbonate rocks (Chapman and others, 1985). A Cretaceous or Tertiary monzonite pluton cuts this fault near the headwaters of Esperanto Creek. The monzonite is heavily weathered and contains large feldspar phenocrysts and quartz stockwork veins. Most of the mine tailings seem to be composed of quartz and feldspar from the weathered monzonite (Dashevsky, 2001).? Placer gold on Esperanto Creek was found in gravels 1 foot thick (Mertie, 1936). The gold averages about 869 fine (Smith, 1941; Metz and Hawkins, 1981). The source of gold at Esperanto Creek may be the Cretaceous or Tertiary monzonite pluton at the head of the creek (Bundtzen and others, 1987).? Gold mining along Esperanto Creek began in 1922 and continued intermittently until at least 1962 (Brooks and Capps, 1924; Bundtzen and others, 1987). Continuous, mechanized mining took place from 1935 to 1940 (Smith, 1937; Smith, 1938; Smith, 1939 [B 910-A]; Smith, 1939 [B 917-A]; Smith, 1941; Smith, 1942). Production from 1922 - 1962 was 4,429 ounces of gold and 699 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and others, 1987).
  • Age = Quaternary. The placer gold is probably derived from a Cretaceous or Tertiary monzonite pluton at the head of Esperanto Creek (Bundtzen and others, 1987).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Mining district

District name Innoko

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = The production from 1922 to 1962 was 4,429 ounces of gold and 699 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and others, 1987).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Gold mining along Esperanto Creek began in 1922 and continued intermittently until at least 1962 (Brooks and Capps, 1924; Bundtzen and others, 1987). Continuous, mechanized mining took place from 1935 to 1940 (Smith, 1937; Smith, 1938; Smith, 1939 [B 910-A]; Smith, 1939 [B 917-A]; Smith, 1941; Smith, 1942).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Cobb, 1976 (OFR 76-576)

General comments

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

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 07-AUG-01 Cameron, C.E. Northern Associates Inc.

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.