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Yakataga (west of Cape Yakataga)

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Titanium, Chromium
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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. Nearby scientific data
  9. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  10. Mining district
  11. Links to other databases
  12. Bibliographic references
  13. General comments
  14. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10307244
Record type Site
Current site name Yakataga (west of Cape Yakataga)

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -142.45847, 60.07435 (WGS84)
Relative position This beach placer mine area is the first 2 miles of the present Gulf of Alaska beach west of Cape Yakataga. The coordinate location is the approximate midpoint of this beach segment. The location is accurate. It is included in locality 5 of Cobb (1972 [MF 373]; 1979 [OF 79-1246]).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Valdez-Cordova(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Bering Glacier A-4(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Bering Glacier SE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Bering Glacier C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Bering Glacier(hydrologic unit)

Gulf of Alaska(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southeast Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Titanium Critical Primary
Chromium Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chromite Ore
Gold Ore
Hematite Ore
Ilmenite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Rutile Ore
Copper Ore
Amphibole Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Monazite Gangue
Pyroxene Gangue
Sphene Gangue
Zircon Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 119
USGS model code 39a
Deposit model name Placer Au-PGE
Mark3 model number 54

Nearby scientific data

(1) -142.45847, 60.07435
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The placer gold in Yakataga-area beaches was discovered in 1897 or 1898,and small-scale mining started in 1899 (Maddren, 1914). Rocker and sluice operations continued to WW II. Drill prospecting of raised beaches occurred after WW II (Thomas and Berryhill, 1962), as did sporadic attempts at small-scale mining. Most of the post-WW II mining was west of Cape Yakataga on this segment of the beach (Miller, 1971). The gold in the Yakataga area, naturally concentrated in heavy-mineral accumulations by storm waves, is fine and flat. The other heavy minerals include amphibole, garnet, chromite, native copper, hematite, magnetite, pyroxene, rutile, sphene, ilmenite, zircon, and probably some monazite (Maddren, 1914; Thomas and Berryhill, 1962; Foley and others, 1995). The iron and titanium oxide contents of reconnaissance samples of beach sand from the Yakataga area were reported by Thomas and Berryhill (1962). These samples contained as much as 6.2 pounds of iron per ton but mostly less than 2 pounds of iron per ton. Their titanium oxide content was less than 2 pounds per ton in the magnetic fraction and as much as 7.3 pounds, but mostly less than 2 pounds per ton in the non-magnetic fraction. Foley and others (1995) collected 32 samples at 18 locations, including some raised beaches, along this segment of the Yakataga shoreline. Spiral concentrates from these samples contained less than 0.028 grams (16 samples) to 0.903 grams of gold per ton, 0.52 to 2.32 percent Ti, and 243 to 7683 ppm Zr. A heavy-mineral concentrate from one of these samples (4.79 weight percent of the original samples) contained 0.51 percent magnetite, 0.230 percent ilmenite, 2.519 percent garnet, 0.053 percent rutile, and 1.90 percent other minerals. Flotation concentrates from two samples contained 0.198 and 14.787 grams of gold per ton, 0.056 and less than 0.003 gram platinum per ton, and 0.037 and 0.042 gram palladium per ton. The placer gold in the Yakataga beaches may be derived from reworking of marine-glacial deposits of the Cenozoic Yakataga Formation (Reimnitz and Plafker, 1976).
  • Age = Quaternary.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Probably inactive

Mining district

District name Yakataga

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = A part of the 15,000 to 16,000 total ounces of gold produced in the Yakataga district was recovered from this area. Mining after WW II produced a small amount of gold, perhaps less than 100 ounces, from this segment of the Yakataga beach.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Small-scale rocker and sluice operations took place from 1899 to WW II. Drill prospecting of raised beaches occurred after WW II (Thomas and Berryhill, 1962), as did sporadic attempts at small-scale mining. Most of the post-WW II mining was west of Cape Yakataga on this segment of the beach (Miller, 1971).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Maddren, A.G., 1914, Mineral deposits of the Yakataga district: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-E, p. 119-153.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1979, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bering Glacier, Icy Bay, Middleton Island, and Yakutat quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 79-1246, 41 p.

  • Deposit

    Thomas, B.I., and Berryhill, R. V., 1962, Reconnaissance studies of Alaskan beach sands, eastern Gulf of Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 5986, 40 p.

  • Deposit

    Miller, D.J., 1971, Geologic map of the Yakataga district, Gulf of Alaska Tertiary Province, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map I-610, scale 1:125,000.

  • Deposit

    Reimnitz, Erk, and Plafker, George, 1976, Marine gold placers along the Gulf of Alaska margin: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1415, 16 p.

  • Deposit

    Foley, J.Y., La Berge, R.D., Grosz, A.E., Oliver, F.S., and Hirt, W.C., 1995, Onshore titanium and related heavy mineral investigations in the eastern Gulf of Alaska region, southern Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 10-95, 125 p.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Bering Glacier quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-373, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Foley and others, 1995

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986, model 39a)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 12-DEC-01 Travis L. Hudson Applied Geology

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.