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Rain

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Arsenic, Copper, Mercury, Molybdenum
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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. 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 10308471
Record type Site
Current site name Rain
Alternate or previous names Steeple Mountain

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -168.28237, 53.24907 (WGS84)
Relative position The Rain prospect is located approximately 2 miles due south of VABM Ande and corresponds to Christie's (1974) color anomaly 28. The site is part of the Steeple Mountain prospect of Kennecott (Simpson, 1985; Bundtzen and others, 1990, locality 25). The site location is accurate to within 1/2 mile.. This site is one of many occurrences or prospects that occur within a 5 square-mile area, mostly within T. 80 S., R.131 W., of the Seward Meridian. The center of this area is approximately located at VABM Ande.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Aleutians West(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Umnak A-1(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Umnak Island(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Umnak(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Fox Islands(hydrologic unit)

Aleutian Islands(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

St. George Tanaq 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
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Arsenic Critical Secondary
Copper Secondary
Mercury Secondary
Molybdenum Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Gold Ore
Molybdenite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) The volcanic rocks exhibit regional propylitization, localized silicification, and potassium flooding or secondary growth on primary feldspars. Wall rock adjacent to quartz veins has been silicified and pyritized. No argillic alteration has been recognized.

Nearby scientific data

(1) -168.28237, 53.24907
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = This site is similar in character to the Wind and Fog prospects (ARDF numbers UK007 and UK008). However, the metal values at this site are considerably lower. The site is marked by a color anomaly about 7,000 by 5,000 feet in extent. Propylitically altered Tertiary andesites overlie an argillite and diorite basement complex. The volcanic rocks exhibit quartz veining and local silicification. The quartz is usually white and contains few visible sulfides. The veins are somewhat enriched in arsenic, copper, mercury, and molybdenum and locally in gold and silver. The highest metal values obtained are: 67 ppm arsenic, 200 ppm copper, 201 ppb gold, 125 ppb mercury, 36 ppm molybdenum, 2.1ppm silver, and 138 ppm zinc (Christie, 1974; Randolph and Ellis, 1989).
  • Age = Late Tertiary or younger.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Aleutian Islands

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = In 1975 the Aleut-Quintana-Duval JV did sampling at this site as a followup of the discovery of numerous color anomalies in the area. Analyses of 18 rock samples indicated metal values of up to 200 ppm copper, 0.05 ppm gold, 36 ppm molybdenum, 2.1ppm silver, and 138 ppm zinc (Christie, 1974). Kennecott mapped and sampled this general area in 1985 (Simpson, 1985). Battle Mountain Exploration in 1989 did detailed sampling and mapping at this site. The sampling (56 rock) gave metal values of up to 67 ppm arsenic, 201 ppb gold, 125 ppb mercury, 34 ppm molybdenum, and 0.8 ppm silver (Randolph and Ellis, 1989).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Christie, J.S., 1974, Aleut-Quintana-Duval 1974 joint venture, final report: Unpublished Quintana Minerals Corporation report, 24 p., 3 appendices, 2 maps. (Report held by the Aleut Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska.)

  • Deposit

    Randolph, D.B., and Ellis, W.T., 1989, Unalaska project, 1989 final report: Battle Mountain Exploration Company, Alaska District, 41 p., 5 appendices, 11 plates, various scales. (Report held by the Aleut Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska.)

  • Deposit

    Bundtzen, T.K., Swainbank, R.C., Deagen, J.R. and Moore, J.L., 1990, Alaska's mineral industry 1989: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 44, 100 p.

  • Deposit

    Simpson, D.F., 1986, Aleutian Islands project, 1985 final report: Kennecott-Alaska Exploration Company, 54 p. (Report held by the Aleut Native Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska).

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Randolph and Ellis, 1989

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Epithermal gold quartz vein?
Deposit Other Comments = This site is on land conveyed, patented, or selected by the Aleut Native Corporation.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 27-JAN-00 S.H. Pilcher U.S. Geological Survey

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.