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Unnamed (west of Mt. Fairweather)

Occurrence in Alaska, United States with commodities Copper, Nickel, Cobalt, Chromium, PGE, Titanium
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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. Alteration
  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 10307811
Record type Site
Current site name Unnamed (west of Mt. Fairweather)

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -137.63214, 58.89971 (WGS84)
Relative position The occurrence is on the west contact of the Mt. Fairweather mafic intrusion about 3.7 miles bearing about 263 degrees (true azimuth) from the top of Mt. Fairweather.. The location has not been occupied, but there are conspicuous copper (malachite?) stains both in the intrusion and the country rocks in the contact zone. The mineralization may extend north along the contact, because sulfide boulders were found on Sea Otter Glacier to the north, as well as on the glacier between Sea Otter and Fairweather Glaciers.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Yakutat(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Mount Fairweather D-5(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Mount Fairweather NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Mount Fairweather(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Dezadeash River(hydrologic unit)

Gulf of Alaska(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southeast Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Glacier Bay National Park(National Park)

National Park NPS(Type of land area)

NPS(Federal land areas administered by NPS)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Nickel Critical Primary
Cobalt Critical Secondary
Chromium Critical Secondary
PGE Critical Secondary
Titanium Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Cubanite Ore
Malachite Ore
Pentlandite Ore
Nickel Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Local secondary alteration of copper-bearing minerals.

Nearby scientific data

(1) -137.63214, 58.89971
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = This occurrence, and the occurrence of detrital mineralized mafic rocks in nearby glacial moraine (MF016 and MF017), suggests that there may be (a) Brady Glacier-type nickel-copper deposits in the Mount Fairweather layered mafic-ultramafic intrusion and (b) contact-type copper deposits in the schist country rocks. The inferred mineral deposits are in or at the contact of the Mt. Fairweather layered mafic intrusion, the northern-most of four layered mafic complexes of the Fairweather Range (Brew and others, 1978). The primary copper sulfides exposed at or near the contact have locally been oxidized to malachite, forming copper-stained zones visible from aircraft fly-by. The sites have not been occupied.
  • Age = Tertiary.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence

Mining district

District name Yakutat

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Helicopter reconnaissance reported in Kimball and others (1978, Fig. C-34, p. C117-C118) found conspicuous copper staining near the western contact of the Mt. Fairweather intrusion. No landings were possible.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Brew, D.A., Johnson, B.R., Grybeck, D., Griscom, A., Barnes, D.F., Kimball, A.L., Still, J.C., and Rataj, J.L., 1978, Mineral resources of the Glacier Bay National Monument Wilderness Study Area, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-494, 670 p.

  • Deposit

    Kimball, A.L., Still, J.C., and Rataj, J.L., 1978, Mineral resources, in Brew, D. A., and others, Mineral resources of the Glacier Bay National Monument wilderness study area, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-494, p. C1-C375.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Kimball and others, 1978

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Cumulate or sulfide segregations in layered-mafic intrusions. Contact deposits in schist. Partly oxidized.
Deposit Other Comments = the site is in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Further exploration would need mountaineering support.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 06-APR-99 Hawley, C.C. Hawley Resource Group

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.