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Willow Creek Gold Placer Mine

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, PGE
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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. Ore body information
  10. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  11. Links to other databases
  12. Bibliographic references
  13. General comments
  14. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10101002
MRDS ID A013407
Record type Site
Current site name Willow Creek Gold Placer Mine
Related records 10136634

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -161.90515, 61.80708 (WGS84)
Elevation 91
Relative position ABOUT 500 FT. E OF WILLOW CREEK VILLAGE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Russian Mission D-8(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Russian Mission NW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Russian Mission(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Calista Corporation(ANCSA Region)

ANCSA Region NTVPIC(Type of land area)

NTVPIC(Federal land areas administered by NTVPIC)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Comments on the location information

  • USGS MF-444, LOC. 7. LOCATION IS IN CENTER OF TAILINGS ON W FORK OF WILLOW CREEK, AT END OF ROAD IN WILLOW CREEK VILLAGE. PLACER EXTENDS AT LEAST 2 MI. DOWNSTREAM FROM HEAD OF W FORK. 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
Silver Secondary
PGE Critical Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • A FEW GRAINS OF PLATINUM OCCUR IN CONCENTRATES.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Silver Ore
Gold Gangue
Hematite Gangue
Ilmenite Gangue
Platinum Gangue

Analytical data

Result PLACER GOLD (MIXTURE OF AU AND AG) ASSAYS UP TO $18.30/OZ, AVERAGE OF $17/OZ IN 1918. PLACER GOLD RECOVERY RECOVERY OF $4-$6/CY (0.24-0.35 OZ/CY) AU AND AG (USGS B 683, P. 62 AND USGS OF 77-156, P. 81)

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Clay, Mud
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Holocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metavolcanic Rock > Mafic Metamorphic Rock > Greenstone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -161.90515, 61.80708
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • Thickness 0.91M
    Length 3218.6M
    Depth to top 4.88M

Comments on the geologic information

  • MAJOR.UNITS: BEDROCK CONSISTS OF CARBONIFEROUS GREENSTONE OF GEMUK GROUP WITH TERTIARY GRANITIC INTRUSIONS. ; REG.COM: SOURCE OF PLACER GOLD IS QUARTZ VEINS AT ARNOLD PROSPECT AT HEAD OF WILLOW CREEK (RM-1).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1914
Discoverer W.C. And Ben Blanker, Robert Barr
Year of first production 1914
Year of last production 1959

Comments on the workings information

  • SLUICE BOXES AND SLACK-LINE SCRAPER USED IN EARLY MINING. DITCH BUILT IN 1917 TO DIVERT WATER FROM SLOPE CREEK TO WILLOW CREEK, FOR USE IN HYDRAULIC METHODS. HYDRAULIC PLANTS INSTALLED.

Comments on development

  • CLAIMS LOCATED 1914. PRODUCTION BEGAN IN 1915, USING SLUICE BOXES AND A SLACK-LINE SCRAPER. WATER DIVERTED BY DITCH FROM SLOPE CREEK IN 1916. PRODUCTION CONTINUED UNTIL AT LEAST 1959.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit DEPTH OF PLACER TO BEDROCK RANGES FROM 6-16 FT.. UPPER HALF OF DEPOSIT CONSISTS OF SOIL AND ANGULAR ROCK FRAGMENTS WITH LITTLE ROUNDED GRAVEL. GOLD IS FOUND ABOVE AND BELOW A CLAY SEAM 2 FT. ABOVE BEDROCK, WITH COARSEST GOLD JUST ABOVE SEAM. BEDROCK EXTREMELY ROUGH AND BLOCKY, WITH LARGE ANGULAR BOULDERS JUST ABOVE. MORE ROUNDED GRAVELS ARE PRESENT ON LOWER CREEK.
Deposit STREAM GRADIENT 300 FT/MI. ; 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-JUL-1987 Niles, L.P. (Huber, D.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.