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Oregon Creek (below Nugget Gulch)

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Bismuth, Tungsten
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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 10307968
Record type Site
Current site name Oregon Creek (below Nugget Gulch)

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -165.68819, 64.68248 (WGS84)
Relative position Oregon Creek is an east tributary to Cripple River; the mouth of Oregon Creek is where the Nome-Teller road crosses Cripple River. This site is 2 to 3 miles below Nugget Gulch (NM147). According to Collier and others (1908, p. 211), a section of ground about a half mile below the mouth of Nugget Creek was particularly productive and is this location. The location is also near six mining claims active between 1926 and 1965 (Heiner and Porter, 1972, Kardex site Kx 52-185; Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 1982). This area was included in locality 71 of Cobb (1972 [MF 463], 1978 [OFR 78-93]).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nome(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Nome C-2(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Solomon NW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Nome(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Nome(hydrologic unit)

Norton Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Sitnasuak 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
Bismuth Critical Secondary
Tungsten Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bismuth Ore
Gold Ore
Hematite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Garnet 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) -165.68819, 64.68248
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Placer mining on Oregon Creek about a half mile below Nugget Gulch was in a gravel from 1.5 to 6 feet thick that consisted of schist, limestone (marble), and granite pebbles. Gold was bright, coarse, and little worn and was produced above a false, yellow-clay bedrock as well as in crevices in marble below the clay. The concentrates were rich in octahedral magnetite and contained some hematite, bismuth, and garnet. Approximately one-quarter mile above this locality, gold occurred mostly in a 2-foot-thick gravel section and in crevices in the underlying bedrock (Collier and others, 1908, p. 211-212).
  • Age = Quaternary.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Probably inactive

Mining district

District name Nome

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Mining started in 1898 and continued intermittantly to 1965.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Gold was discovered in Oregon Creek in the winter of 1898-99. Some ground about a quarter of a mile below Nugget Gulch was worked in 1900. The area was visited by F.L. Hess in 1903 who found production on eight claims along the creek. Parts of Oregon Creek have been worked more recently by mechanical methods. Activity on six claims was reported from 1927 until 1965 on Oregon Creek (Heiner and Porter, 1972, Kardex site Kx 52-185; Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 1982).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Collier, A. J., Hess, F.L., Smith, P.S., and Brooks, A.H., 1908, The gold placers of parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, including the Nome, Council, Kougarok, Port Clarence, and Goodhope precincts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 328, 343 p.

  • Deposit

    Heiner, L.E., and Porter, Eve, 1972, Alaska Mineral Properties, volume 2: University of Alaska, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Report 24, 669 p.

  • Deposit

    Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 1982, Mining claim location maps -- Nome quadrangle: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 8 p., 3 sheets, scales 1:63,360 and 1:250,000.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Collier and others, 1908

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Alluvial placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 12-MAR-00 Hawley, C.C. and Hudson, Travis L. 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.