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Yankee 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. 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 10002581
MRDS ID A015018
Record type Site
Current site name Yankee Creek
Related records 10258159

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -156.36824, 63.00861 (WGS84)
Relative position Yankee Creek is a north-northeast-flowing tributary to the upper Innoko River. Only the lower 4.5 miles of Yankee Creek are in the Ophir quadrangle; the rest of it flows through the Iditarod quadrangle. Mining activity occurred in both quadrangles. The junction of Yankee Creek and the Innoko River is approximately 8 miles southeast of the town of Ophir. The coordinates are for the approximate midpoint of mining activity along Yankee Creek in the Ophir quadrangle; it is near a landing strip and cabins marked on the U.S. Geological Survey Ophir A-1 topographic map (1954, minor revisions 1966), in sec. 3, T. 29 S., R. 13 E., Kateel River Meridian. Yankee Creek corresponds to localities 24 and 25 of Cobb (1972 [MF 367]). This location is accurate.

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 A-1(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

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -156.36824, 63.00861
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The bedrock in the vicinity of Yankee Creek is slate, sandstone, and decomposed igneous rock (Mertie, 1936); the area also contains Cretaceous or Tertiary rhyolitic dikes and alkali-calcic monzonite plutons. These intrusive rocks are the likely source of gold in Yankee Creek (Bundtzen and others, 1987). Only the lower 4 1/2 miles of Yankee Creek are in the Ophir quadrangle; extensive mining along Yankee Creek also occurred in the Iditarod quadrangle.? Gold is found in the coarse gravels; in 1911, these gravels were about 8 feet thick and buried under 1 to 3 feet of muck and silt (Maddren, 1911). Bundtzen and others (1987) report that the gold is 849.6 fine, with 129.5 parts silver, and 20.0 parts impurities. Smith (1941) reports an average gold fineness of 882.? Heavy minerals identified in pan concentrates from lower Yankee Creek include magnetite, ilmenite, magnesiochromite, scheelite, and free gold (Bundtzen and others, 1987). Marten Gulch, a locally-named tributary to Yankee Creek in the Ophir quadrangle, contained magnetite, ilmenite, siderite, hornblende, hypersthene, eckermanite, and hidalgoite (a lead- arsenic sulfate) (Bundtzen and others, 1987).? Yankee Creek was first prospected during the winter of 1908-1909, and mining began in 1909 (Maddren, 1910; Maddren, 1911). Mining was nearly continuous from 1910 until 1940 (Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-576]). Williams (1950) and Saunders (1960) report mining along Yankee Creek in 1950 and 1959.? A conservative estimate of production from Yankee Creek between 1909 to 1968 and 1981 to 1986 is 62,500 ounces of gold and 12,650 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and others, 1987).
  • Age = Quaternary. The source(s) of the placer gold probably are the Cretaceous or Tertiary rhyolitic dikes and monzonite plutons in the area (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 = A conservative estimate of production from Yankee Creek between 1909 to 1968 and 1981 to 1986 is 62,500 ounces of gold and 12,650 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and others, 1987).

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)
Deposit Other Comments = Also see the ARDF site for Yankee Creek in the Iditarod quadrangle.

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.