Curve Creek

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Fluorine-Fluorite, Beryllium
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 10308403
Record type Site
Current site name Curve Creek

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -167.2274, 65.44926 (WGS84)
Relative position Curve Creek is the second tributary entering Lost River from the west, 3 miles upstream from the mouth of Lost River on Bering Sea. It is a southeast-flowing stream draining Ordovician limestones of the York Mountains. The Curve Creek prospect is located on the south side of a small west tributary between elevations of 500 and 1,000 feet. This is locality 4 of Cobb and Sainsbury (1972). Cobb (1975) summarized relevant references under the name 'Curve Cr.'.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nome(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Teller B-5(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Teller SE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Teller(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Imuruk Basin(hydrologic unit)

Norton Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Diomede 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
Fluorine-Fluorite Critical Primary
Beryllium Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Fluorite Ore
Diaspore Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Stibnite Gangue
Silica Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Mass balance calculations show significant SiO2, Al2O3, alkali, and fluorine enrichment with mineralization (Sainsbury, 1968, p. 1567).

Nearby scientific data

(1) -167.2274, 65.44926

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Fluorite and some beryllium (up to 0.15% BeO) mineralization is localized along mafic dikes and fractured Lower Orodvician limestone in the footwall of the Rapid River fault. Sainsbury (1969; 1972) maps the Rapid River fault as a 12-mile long east-west trending thrust fault in the southern part of the York Mountains although stratigraphic relations across the fault suggest normal displacement. Mineralization here is apparently present over about 4,000 feet of east-west strike.
  • Age = the age of the mineralization is assumed to be related to the development of tin systems in the Lost River area and therefore Late Cretaceous, the age of the tin-mineralizing granites there (Hudson and Arth, 1983).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Port Clarence

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = Not defined

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Surface observations and sampling reported by Sainsbury (1969, p. 77-78).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Sainsbury, 1969.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Fluorite- and beryllium-bearing veins and replacements in Ordovician limestone (Sainsbury, 1968)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 10-MAY-98 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.