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Misheguk Mountain--west

Occurrence in Alaska, United States with commodities Chromium, PGE, Nickel
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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 10003143
MRDS ID A015675
Record type Site
Current site name Misheguk Mountain--west
Related records 10282305

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -161.06372, 68.24948 (WGS84)
Relative position Location plotted is midway between localities 229 and 231 of Degenhart and others (1978, fig. 8); about 1 mi (1.6 km) northeast of Misheguk Mountain summit; located to within 1 mi (1.6 km). ??

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

North Slope(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Misheguk Mountain A-4(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Misheguk Mountain S(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Misheguk Mountain(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Lower Noatak River(hydrologic unit)

Noatak River-Lisburne Peninsula(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Noatak National Preserve(National Preserve)

National Preserve NPS(Type of land area)

NPS(Federal land areas administered by NPS)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Chromium Critical Primary
PGE Critical Primary
Nickel Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chromite Ore
Garnierite Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 15
USGS model code 8a
Deposit model name Podiform chromite (minor)
Mark3 model number none

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Serpentinite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -161.06372, 68.24948
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Chromite, along with a greenish mineral tentatively identified as garnierite, occurs in discontinuous bands less than an inch (25.4 mm) wide, small pods, and disseminations in part of a large serpentinized dunite-peridotite body. Misheguk Mountain is part of an ultramafic body approximately 32 miles long in a northeastern direction and about 13 miles wide. It is part of an ophiolite complex composed of a central core of the serpentinized ultramafic and gabbroic rocks flanked on three sides by mafic volcanic and intrusive rocks of Jurassic, Triassic, and(or) Permian age.
  • Age = Jurassic

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Noatak

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = Chromium reserve estimates include 117,000-349,000 st Cr2O3 in 9 low-grade banded zones in dunite with associated peridotite, pyroxenite, and gabbro; the largest of these zones contains between 78,000 and 261,000 st Cr2O3. At least 30 additional unmeasured chromite occurrences plus chromite and PGE placer potential are present (Degenhart and others, 1978, p. 232-240, 491).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Assay values of 4.3% Cr and 0.22% Ni were obtained by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (Degenhart and others, 1978, p. 126, 232-40, 491) over a 50 ft. sample length. Also, chromite pods in dunite and pyroxenite contained up to 0.123 troy oz/st (4200 ppb) Pt, 0.137 troy oz/st (4700 ppb) Pd, 140 ppb Ir, 45 ppb Os, 360 ppb Rh, 98 ppb Ru, and 14 ppb Au. Plagioclase peridotite containing accessory pyrrhotite assayed up to 0.004 troy oz/st Pd and 0.005 troy oz/st Pt, and dunite contained 0.001 troy oz/st (42 ppb) Pt, 22 ppb Pd, 1 ppb Ir, and 6 ppb Rh . Sperrylite and argentite were identified by Scanning Electron Microscope analysis of a PGE-rich iron-rich chromian spinel sample.? ???

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Degenhart, C.E., Griffis, R.J., McQuat, J.F., and Bigelow, C.G., 1978, Mineral studies of the western Brooks Range performed under contract to the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Contract #JO155089: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 103-78, 529 p., 11 sheets.

  • Deposit

    Grybeck, D.J., 1977, Known mineral deposits of the Brooks Range, Alaska: US Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-166C, 41 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.

  • Deposit

    Green, C.B., Bundtzen, T.K., Peterson, R.J., Seward, A.F., Deagen, J.R., and Burton, J.E., 1989, Alaska's mineral industry 1988: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Special Report 43, 79 p.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., Mayfield, C.F., and Brosge, W.P., 1981, Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral occurrences in eleven quadrangles in northern Alaska (Arctic, Baird Mountains, Chandler Lake, DeLong Mountains, Demarcation Point, Howard Pass, Misheguk Mountain, Mount Michelson, Noatak, Point Lay, and Table Mountain); Supplement to Open-File Report 75-628; Part A, Summaries of data to January 1, 1981: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-767-A, 25 p.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Degenhart and others (1978)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Lode; podiform chromite
Deposit Other Comments = Additional work is required to test the entire ultramafic body for significant occurrences of chromium, nickel, asbestos, and platinum.??See MAS/MILS Sequence # 0020190022 (USBM, 1995)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 24-SEP-1996 M.T. Powers U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 24-SEP-1996 D.F. Huber U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 24-SEP-1996 J.M. Schmidt U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 24-SEP-1996 J.H. Dover 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.