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Upper Ophir Creek

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodity Gold
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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 10307282
Record type Site
Current site name Upper Ophir Creek

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -163.69331, 65.05633 (WGS84)
Relative position This is an area of placer gold mining on upper Ophir Creek (BN099). It is about 1,000 feet of the drainage just below the confluence of Ophir Creek and its northeast headwater tributary, Flat Creek. These workings start about 3.4 miles upstream of the confluence of Ophir Creek (BN099) and Crooked Creek. This is just above the section of Ophir Creek that flows through a narrow canyon-like valley. The north side of this canyon marks the southwest limit of the Late Pleistocene terminal moraine complex of the Pargon River valley. This is locality 78 of Cobb (1972; MF 417; 1975; OFR 75-429).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nome(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

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

Bendeleben SE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Bendeleben C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Nome(hydrologic unit)

Norton Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Council Native Corporation(ANCSA Village)

ANCSA Village NTVPIC(Type of land area)

NTVPIC(Federal land areas administered by NTVPIC)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore

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) -163.69331, 65.05633
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Bendeleben A-4 topographic map shows placer mine workings over about 1,000 feet of the Ophir Creek just downstream from its confluence with Flat Creek. This may be the location referred to by Smith and Eakin (1911) as the bench at the head of the canyon that was being mined in 1903. This area is proximal to the Late Pleistocene terminal moraine complex of the Pargon River valley. The possible influence of outwash waters or sediments from this moraine complex on placer deposits of the Ophir Creek drainage is not known. The Ophir Creek (and Crooked Creek) placers were well developed, rich, and the product of more than one cycle of erosion and placer development. Perhaps drainage from the moraine complex did not flow down Ophir Creek.
  • Age = Quaternary

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Council

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The Bendeleben A-4 quadrangle shows placer mine workings over about 1,000 feet of the Ophir Creek just downstream from its confluence with Flat Creek.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S. and Eakin, H.M., 1911, Mineral resources of Alaska 1910: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480, 333 p..

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1975, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bendeleben quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 75-429, 123 p.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Bendeleben quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-417, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Smith and Eakin, 1911

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 15-MAR-99 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.