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Standard Copper Mines Co.

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Copper, Zinc, Silver, 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 10307357
Record type Site
Current site name Standard Copper Mines Co.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -146.57954, 60.86159 (WGS84)
Relative position This mine is at an elevation of about 1800 feet, about 0.5 mile southeast of Copper Mountain. It is in the NW1/4 sec. 1, T. 12 S., R. 8 W., of the Copper River Meridian. The location of the site is accurate to within 1000 ft. This site is loc. 13 in Cobb (1972: MF-392) and loc. C-77 in Jansons and others (1984).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Valdez-Cordova(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Cordova D-7(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Cordova NW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Cordova(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Eastern Prince William Sound(hydrologic unit)

Prince William Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

South Central Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Chugach National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Silver Secondary
Gold Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 90
USGS model code 24a
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, Cyprus
Mark3 model number 11

Nearby scientific data

(1) -146.57954, 60.86159
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The country rocks at this mine are mafic volcanic rocks and sedimentary rocks of the Tertiary Orca Group (Nelson and others, 1985). The deposit consists of quartz, calcite, and massive sulfides in shear zones cutting the volcanic rocks. A 6 ft. x 32 ft. lens of massive sulfide was observed by Mihelich and Wells (1957), but most of the sulfide bodies are smaller (Jansons and others, 1984). The sulfide minerals are chalcopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, and sphalerite. Chip samples collected in 1955 (Mihelich and Wells,1957) contained 0.07% to 6.1% Cu. Jansons and others (1984) report that three chip samples from the 660-ft.-long adit contained 280 ppm to 0.89% Cu, 200 ppm to 0.9% Zn, 0.01 ppm to 0.11 ppm Au, and 0.5 ppm to 2.5 ppm Ag. Three grab samples from the adit contained 0.70% to 2% Cu, 200 ppm to 2% Zn, 0.08 ppm to 0.19 ppm Au, and 2.3 ppm to 6.1 ppm Ag.
  • Age = Probably Tertiary based on the age of the host rocks.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Copper River

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = 32,000 lbs. Cu, 518 oz. Ag, and 36 oz. Au were recovered from 1,100 tons of ore. However, it is felt that not all the recovered gold and silver were reported (Mihelich and Wells, 1957).

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = Inferred reserves of 4,300 tons @ 2.89% Cu (Jansons and others, 1984).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Grant and Higgins (1909) report five adits on the steep slopes of Copper Mountain and a tram to an ore bunker on the shore of Landlocked Bay. Only three of the adits could be located in the 1980s (Jansons and others, 1984). Chip samples collected in 1955 (Mihelich and Wells,1957) contained 0.07% to 6.1% Cu. Jansons and others (1984) report that three chip samples from the 660-ft.-long adit contained 280 ppm to 0.89% Cu, 200 ppm to 0.9% Zn, 0.01 ppm to 0.11 ppm Au, and 0.5 ppm to 2.5 ppm Ag. Three grab samples from the adit contained 0.70% to 2% Cu, 200 ppm to 2% Zn, 0.08 ppm to 0.19 ppm Au, and 2.3 ppm to 6.1 ppm Ag.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Jansons and others, 1984

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Cyprus massive sulfide (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 24a)
Deposit Other Comments = Nelson and others (1985) interpret the country rocks as accreted ocean crust. Crowe and others (1992; 1993) and Sainsbury (1993) discuss the genesis of the volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in this area.. Chugach Alaska Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska has control of these lands.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 10-JUN-00 S.W. Nelson 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.