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Walsh Cut (Rock Creek)

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Antimony, 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. 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 10307997
Record type Site
Current site name Walsh Cut (Rock Creek)

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -165.41808, 64.61108 (WGS84)
Relative position This small lode and placer mine is on the east slope of Rock Creek valley at an elevation of about 350 feet and about 4,000 feet due east of the Snake River road. The map loction is in the north-central part of section 23, T. 10 S., R. 34 W., Kateel River Meridian. Hummel (1962 [MF 247, locality 7]) mistakenly called this location Sophie. Sophie Gulch is about 600 feet northwest of the Walsh Cut. This mine is located to within about 250 feet.

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-1(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
Silver Secondary
Lead Secondary
Antimony Critical Secondary
Tungsten Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Pyrite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Stibnite Ore
Scorodite Ore
Albite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Albitization.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 273
USGS model code 36a
Deposit model name Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
Mark3 model number 27

Nearby scientific data

(1) -165.41808, 64.61108
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = A hydraulic pit dating originally from before 1920 mined a residual placer developed on complex gold-arsenic deposits on the side hill above and southeast of Sophie Gulch. A narrow and irregular zone of northeast-trending sheeted quartz veins, subparallel to those of the Rock Creek deposit (NM207), underlies part of the pit. The pit walls also expose early arsenopyrite-albite zones localized by northwest-trending faults (?) and by nearly recumbent isoclinal folds whose axes trend northwest. The general northeasterly trend of the sheeted veins was explored by Placer Dome in 1987 and 1988 for a total strike distance of about 1,000 feet northeast from the hydraulic pit. Placer Dome and Kennecott Exploration Company also explored southwest from the pit. Additional sheeted veins were found, but they did not appear to be continuous with those northeast of Walsh Cut. It appears that residual material mined in the pit was concentrated in a sluice box at the downslope end of the pit. the process was inefficient and low-grade alluvial fan deposits formed below the hydraulic operation (NM215). Material in the fan deposits indicates that arsenopyrite, partly oxidized to scorodite, was abundant in the residual deposit. Galena and stibnite have also been found in quartz below the hydraulic pit. Scheelite was probably recovered in the sluice operation.
  • Age = Mid-Cretaceous; veins cross cut regionally metamorphosed schist; see NM207.

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 = Small production of gold and probably some scheelite by hydraulic methods.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The character of the tailings indicates that there were at least two episodes of placer mining, one pre-1920 and the other possibly after World War II. Sheeted quartz veins projected northeast and southwest of the pit were explored by Placer Dome in 1987 and 1988 and by Kennecott Exploration Company in 1994. The locality was visited and mapped by Newmont Mining Company in about 1991 or 1992. At least 15 holes have been drilled to explore the sheeted vein trend northeast of the pit; in approximate southwest to northeast order, these include Placer Dome reverse circulation holes 88-077 and 083; 88-051, -052, and -067; 88-068, -069, and -070; 88-071, -073, and -074; and 88-089. Placer Dome drilled one core hole (88-039) in the drill fence with 071, 073, and 074. Newmont drilled one core hole adjacent to Placer Dome 88-068.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Hummel, C.L., 1962, Preliminary geologic map of the Nome C-1 quadrangle, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-247, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = This report

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Low-sulfide Au-quartz veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 10-JUL-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.