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Eudialyte

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities REE, Zirconium, Thorium, Uranium
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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. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  11. Mining district
  12. Links to other databases
  13. Bibliographic references
  14. General comments
  15. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10307848
Record type Site
Current site name Eudialyte

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -154.08682, 62.06347 (WGS84)
Relative position The Eudialyte Prospect is located on a steep, northwest-facing promontory within a north flowing unnamed tributary of the Middle Fork of the Kuskokwim River, at an elevation of 3,950 feet (1,204 m) in the SW1/4 sec. 20, T. 23 N., R. 26 W., of the Seward Meridian. The reporter visited the site in 1982.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Yukon-Koyukuk(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

McGrath A-3(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

McGrath SE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

McGrath C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Kuskokwim River(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
REE Critical Primary
Zirconium Critical Primary
Thorium Secondary
Uranium Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Gangue = potassic feldspar

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Eudialyte Ore
Thorite Ore
Hornblende Gangue
Ilmenite Gangue
Feldspar Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) None.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 28
USGS model code 11b
Deposit model name Alkaline margin fluorite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -154.08682, 62.06347
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Eudialyte Prospect consists of thin (3-10 centimeter thick), uranium and thorium-enriched veins in mainly coarse talus of a eudialyte-bearing hornblende diorite dike that intrudes into the contact zone between the Windy Fork peralkaline granite complex and Dillinger subterrane clastic rocks (Gilbert and others, 1988; Bundtzen, Harris, and Gilbert, 1997). The eudialyte-bearing dike averages about one meter thick and can be traced for about 90 meters along strike. The Dillinger subterrane lithologies in the prospect area are Silurian whereas the Windy Fork pluton has been dated at 25 Ma (Solie and others, 1991). Pink eudialyte, a zirconium-enriched REE mineral, and thorite occur as disseminations and blebs in a coarse grained hornblende-rich diorite dike that displays a distinct foliated-flow texture. Reed and Miller (1980) reported values of 33.3 ppm uranium and 46.3 ppm thorium at the Eudialyte prospect.
  • Age = Late Tertiary (25 Ma), based on K-Ar age of Windy Fork pluton.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name McGrath

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Some eudialyte crystals have been collected as mineral specimens by various individuals since 1982.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = Eudialyte-bearing dike is of a small size.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Reed and Miller (1980) first reported the existence of eudialyte, radioactive minerals and anomalous uranium and thorium values near the contact zone of the Windy Fork peralkaline granite complex. The site was later described by Gilbert and others (1988), Gunter and others (1993), and Bundtzen, Harris, and Gilbert (1997), who reported locally abundant pink eudialyte, a zirconium-enriched REE mineral, in foliated hornblende-rich diorite. Reed and Miller (1980) reported values of 33.3 ppm uranium and 46.3 ppm thorium from grab samples at the prospect.

Reference information

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Gunter and others, 1993

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Thorium-Rare Earth Veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 11b).
Deposit Other Comments = the Eudialyte Prospect is a likely area for discovery of specimen-quality, eudialyte and other REE-bearing minerals.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 25-NOV-98 T.K. Bundtzen Pacific Rim Geological Consulting

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.