Tan Creek Ridge

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodity Gold
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 10307240
Record type Site
Current site name Tan Creek Ridge

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -144.7058, 64.40171 (WGS84)
Relative position The Tan Creek Ridge prospect is located on a ridge above the eastern tributary of Sonora Creek, a tributary of Central Creek (BD011). The prospect is part of a 72-square-mile claim block that includes the Pogo deposit (BD033) and parts of Central Creek. The approximate center of the prospect is in SW1/4SE1/4 section 11, T. 6 S., R. 15 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. A winter trail from Big Delta on the Richardson Highway provides access up the Goodpaster River. A 1,500-foot airstrip is also located at the mouth of Pogo Creek, about 7 miles northwest. Tan Creek Ridge was not identified as a separate location by Cobb (1972; MF-388) or by Cobb and Eberlein (1980).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Southeast Fairbanks(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

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

Big Delta SE(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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore

Nearby scientific data

(1) -144.7058, 64.40171

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Tan Creek Ridge prospect is part of a 72-square-mile claim block that includes the Pogo deposit (BD033) and parts of Central Creek (BD011). The regional bedrock is composed of high grade gneisses intruded by Cretaceous granitic bodies. The area is predominantly cut by northwest-trending, high-angle faults. However, there are other high-angle faults with various orientations (Smith, 1998). To the north, the region is intruded by the Cretaceous Goodpaster Batholith (Teck Resources Inc., unpublished report, 1998). . A regional stream-sediment sampling program identified gold, arsenic, and tungsten anomalies of nearby Liese Creek and Pogo Creek in 1981. From 1991 to 1998, exploration of the claim block has included a total of 171,859 feet of drilling and collected 9,641 core samples and 5,508 geochemistry samples (M. Smith, oral communication, 1999). Two rock samples collected during the 1998 field season from Tan Creek Ridge contained 13 ounces/ton Au and 28 ounces/ton Au. Exploration of the claim block identified an 8-mile-long trend of anomalous soil geochemistry extending from the Pogo deposit to the southeast (Teck Resources Inc., unpublished report, 1998).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active

Mining district

District name Goodpaster

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = A regional stream-sediment sampling program identified gold, arsenic, and tungsten anomalies in the nearby Liese Creek and Pogo Creek in 1981. From 1991 to 1998, exploration of the claim block has included a total of 171,859 feet of drilling and collected 9,641 core samples and 5,508 geochemistry samples (M. Smith, oral communication, 1999). Two rock samples collected during the 1998 field season from Tan Creek Ridge contained 13 ounces/ton Au and 28 ounces/ton Au. The exploration program of the claim block identified an 8-mile-long trend of anomalous soil geochemistry extending from the Pogo deposit to the southeast (Teck Resources Inc., unpublished report, 1998).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-388, 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

    Smith, Moira, 1998, 1998 Exploration update on the Pogo property, Goodpaster River district, Alaska [abs.], in Mining, Alaska's State and Native Lands: Anchorage, Alaska: Alaska Miners Association, 1998 Proceedings, p. 65.

  • Deposit

    Teck Resources Inc., 1998, Pogo project advanced exploration program, Stage II application and plan of operations: Teck Resources Inc. report, 75 p.

  • Deposit

    Smith, Moira, 1999, Gold mineralization on the Pogo claims, east-central Alaska [abs.], in Cordilleran Exploration Roundup Proceedings: Vancouver, British Columbia, 16th Cordilleran Exploration Roundup, p. 73.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Teck Resources, 1998

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Plutonic-related mesothermal
Deposit Other Comments = Tan Creek Ridge is part of the Pogo project, a joint venture of Teck Corporation, Sumitomo Metal Mining, and Sumitomo Corporation. The Teck Corporation is the principal operator of the project and can earn a 40% interest in the property.

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.

Authoritative Alaska resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.