Mount Dixon

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodity Copper
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 10308271
Record type Site
Current site name Mount Dixon

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -164.2493, 64.91732 (WGS84)
Relative position This prospect is at an elevation of about 750 feet in the headwaters of Dixon Creek, 0.6 miles due south of Mount Dixon. This is locality 9 of Cobb (1972, MF 445; 1978, OF 78-181).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nome(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

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

Solomon NW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Solomon(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Nome(hydrologic unit)

Norton Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Azurite Ore
Malachite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silica-rich rocks at or near the the base of Paleozoic marble overlying metapelitic rocks characterizes this type of copper occurrence.

Nearby scientific data

(1) -164.2493, 64.91732

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Malachite and azurite are present along the silicified contact between schist and marble at this and nearby localities (Smith, 1908; Gamble, 1988). The marble is Paleozoic and makes up the main part of the Mount Dixon upland but the underlying pelitic schist is possibly Cambrian or Precambrian in age (Till and others, 1986). This type of copper occurrence is present at several localities in the western Solomon quadrangle and has similarities to several in the Kougarok area of the northeastern Teller quadrangle. In theTeller quadrangle, the Ward mine (TE071) is an example of this type of copper mineral occurrence. The Ward mine has been described as a zone of silicification in marble above a thrust contact with underlying metapelitic schist (Sainsbury and others, 1969; Sainsbury, 1975, p. 90-94). The silica-rich rocks have been metamorphosed and commonly have a laminar fabric. Copper-bearing minerals, mostly malachite but also including azurite and in places chalcopyrite and possibly bornite, are disseminated in the silica-rich rocks. The minor sulfides tend to be along faint laminae and joints (Sainsbury and others, 1969, p. 22). Malachite and azurite also occur in small veins and veinlets in the silica-rich rocks. The summary characterization of this type of Seward Peninsula mineral deposit by Sainsbury (1975, p. 90-94) contains inconsistencies with some descriptions of these deposits. Their origin is uncertain and other possibilities should be considered. One possiblity is that the silica-rich rocks are quartzites and that there is a stratigraphic control to the Ward deposit and similar occurrences elsewhere on Seward Peininsula. Quarzite at the base of the regional carbonate assemblage is recognized elsewhere in the Kougarok Mountain area (Puchner, 1986, p. 1777).
  • Age = Unknown; if stratigraphic controls are important then it is probably Paleozoic in age.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Council

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = No workings are known at this locality.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Smith, 1908

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Copper-bearing mineralization in silica-rich zones at base of marble overlying metapelitic schist.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 19-AUG-99 Travis L. Hudson Applied Geology

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Authoritative Alaska resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.