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Buckeye Zone

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Arsenic, Bismuth, Lead, Antimony, Tellurium
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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. Nearby scientific data
  8. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  9. Mining district
  10. Links to other databases
  11. Bibliographic references
  12. General comments
  13. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10307236
Record type Site
Current site name Buckeye Zone

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -146.25584, 64.33368 (WGS84)
Relative position The Buckeye Zone is situated in the Buckeye Creek (BD005) drainage approximately 3.5 miles northeast of the town of Richardson on the Richardson Highway. The exact location and extent of the Buckeye Zone is not well defined. It is situated approximately 3 miles east of the Banner Dike Zone (BD046) and roughly 3.5 miles east of the Democrat Lode (BD014). The approximate center of the zone is in NE1/4SE1/4 section 1, T. 7 S., R. 7 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. Numerous unimproved roads provide access to the Buckeye Creek drainage. It was not identified as a separate location by Cobb (1972) or by Cobb and Eberlein (1980).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Fairbanks North Star(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Big Delta B-5(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Big Delta SW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Big Delta(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
Arsenic Critical Secondary
Bismuth Critical Secondary
Lead Secondary
Antimony Critical Secondary
Tellurium Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Bismuth Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Stibnite Ore
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Nearby scientific data

(1) -146.25584, 64.33368
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Richardson area is characterized by gentle slopes and broad, alluvium-filled valleys (Prindle and Katz, 1913, p. 140). The area is unglaciated and largely overlain by windblown silt, sand, and loess, locally up to 50 meters thick (Foster and others, 1979). The bedrock in the region comprises greenschist to amphibolite facies schist, marble, and gneiss that have been intruded by various igneous bodies (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). The schist and marble are probably Paleozoic, and the gneiss has a probable protolith of Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks (Weber and others, 1978). The intrusive bodies in the area range in composition from rhyolite to andesite. Fine-grained rhyolite containing quartz and feldspar phenocrysts is common throughout the area (Olson and others, 1985). At the nearby Democrat Lode (BD014), the rhyolite contains arsenopyrite, gold, and pyrite, and is albitic, clay, and sericite altered (R.J. Newberry, oral communication, 1998). Structurally, the Richardson region is cut by a northwest-trending fracture system termed the Richardson Lineament. The lineament appears to correspond to the distribution of the rhyolite and other intrusive bodies and placer gold deposits (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). Also, the lineament tends to separate gneissic rocks to the northeast from schistose rocks to the southwest (Swainbank and others, 1984). . The location and extent of the Buckeye Zone is poorly defined, but it appears to be situated in a narrow north-trending tributary of Buckeye Creek at the approximate intersection of the northwest-trending Richardson Lineament and a northeast-trending structural zone that confines Buckeye Creek. The zone is defined by mineralized areas of variably fractured, limonite-stained, massive quartz veins. Gold mineralization of the Buckeye Zone is characterized by high gold-bismuth-tellurium values. The best assay results are as high as 53 ppm Au, 846 ppm Bi, and 127 ppm Te (F.L. Blystone, press release, 1998). Sulfide assemblages include variable combinations of arsenopyrite, galena, pyrite, stibnite, and Pb-Sb sulfosalts (K. Ausburn, oral communication, 1998). Based on prospect-pit observations, the host rock appears to be predominantly biotite gneiss, amphibolite, and quartzite containing fine grained pyrrhotite. Prospect pits approximately 5,800 feet north-northeast and 750 feet southeast of the zone contain similar zones of mineralization and lithologies (F.L. Blystone, press release, 1998). Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and expanded to Banner Creek and associated tributaries. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). In 1998, an exploration program consisting of reconnaissance mapping, stream-sediment, heavy-mineral concentrate, and rock-chip sampling was conducted in the Richardson area. A total of 182 rock-chip samples were collected from 38 prospect pits and 109 pan concentrates from local streams (F.L. Blystone, press release, 1998). There has been no gold production from the Banner Dike Zone prospect.
  • Ore Material = lead-antimony sulfosalts

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active

Mining district

District name Fairbanks

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = There has been no gold production from the Banner Dike Zone prospect.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson area in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and expanded to Buckeye Creek. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). In 1998, an exploration program consisting of reconnaissance mapping, stream-sediment, heavy-mineral concentrate, and rock-chip sampling was conducted in the Richardson area. A total of 182 rock-chip samples were collected from 38 prospect pits and 109 pan concentrates from local streams (F.L. Blystone, press release, 1998).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Prindle, L.M., and Katz, F.J., 1913, Detailed description of the Fairbanks district, in Prindle, L. M., A geologic reconnaissance of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 525, p. 59-152.

  • Deposit

    Bundtzen, T.K., and Reger, R.D., 1977, The Richardson lineament-a structural control for gold deposits in the Richardson mining district, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geologic Report 55, 46 p.

  • Deposit

    Eberlein, G.D., Chapman, R.M., Foster, H.L., and Gassaway, J.S., 1977, Map and table describing known metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits in central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-168-D, 132 p., 1 map, scale 1:1,000,000.

  • Deposit

    Weber, F.R., Foster, H.L., Keith, T.E.C., Dusel-Bacon, C., 1978, Preliminary geologic map of the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-529A, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Menzie, W.D., and Foster, H.L., 1979, Metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral resource potential in the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-529D, 61 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., and Eberlein, G.D., 1980, Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Big Delta and Tanacross quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-1086, 77 p.

  • Deposit

    Metz, P.A., and Hawkins, D.B., 1981, A summary of gold fineness values from Alaska placer deposits: University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Report No. 45, 63 p.

  • Deposit

    Swainbank, R.C., Burton, J.P., and Metz, P.A., 1984, Bedrock geology of the Richardson mining district, Alaska: University of Alaska, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Open-File Report 84-2, 60 p., 8 maps, scale 1:40,000.

  • Deposit

    Olson, B.G., Burton, J., Wolff, E.N., and Swainbank, R.D., 1985, Mining and minerals in the golden heart of Alaska: Fairbanks North Star Borough Publication, 80 p.

  • Deposit

    Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-J, p. 357-362.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Swainbank and others, 1984

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Plutonic-related mesothermal, shear hosted deposit

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 26-APR-99 Cameron S. Rombach Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys

Beyond USGS

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

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Authoritative Alaska resources

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