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Surprise

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Arsenic, Copper, Mercury, Lead, Zinc
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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 10308692
Record type Site
Current site name Surprise

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -160.65841, 55.18923 (WGS84)
Relative position The map site of the Surprise prospect is at an elevation of 600 feet, about 1,500 feet north-northwest of the center of sec. 3, T. 58 S., R. 75 W., Seward Meridian. The location is accurate to within 1,200 feet.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Aleutians East(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Port Moller A-2(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Unga Island(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Port Moller(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Cold Bay(hydrologic unit)

Aleutian Islands(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Unga 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
Lead Secondary
Zinc Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Pyrite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • The host rocks exhibit propylitic and argillic alteration.

Nearby scientific data

(1) -160.65841, 55.18923
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Surprise vein is approximately 10 feet in width and is composed of massive and comb quartz containing 0.5 to 3.0 percent pyrite. It strikes northeast and can be followed for 1,000 feet as a magnetic low (Trujillo and others, 1981). This previously unknown vein was penetrated in the upper part of a drill hole positioned to test another vein at depth. Host rocks are propylitized and argillized andesite flows of the late Eocene to early Oligocene Popof volcanic rocks (Wilson and others, 1995). The drill hole cut an upper 7.9 feet grading 0.012 ounce of gold and 0.07 ounce of silver per ton. A lower 3.7-foot intercept graded 0.05 ounce of gold and 0.04 ounce of silver per ton. These core intervals also assayed as much as 160 ppm copper, 90 ppm lead, 625 ppm zinc, 100 ppm arsenic, and 0.27 ppm mercury (Trujillo and others, 1981).
  • Age = Eocene of younger.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Alaska Peninsula

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = In 1981, Resource Associates of Alaska explored this prospect by a 255-foot drill hole and several trenches. The best drill intercept was 3.7 feet grading 0.05 ounce of gold and 0.04 ounce of silver per ton (Trujillo and others, 1981).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Trujillo, R.S., Anderson, G., MacLeod, T., Hendrick, K., Farnham, S., Peterson, J., 1981. Exploration and evaluation of the Unga-Popof-Korovan Islands portion of lands leased from Aleut Native Corporation: Resource Associates of Alaska report, 70 p., 38 map sheets, various scales. (Report held by the Aleut Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska.)

  • Deposit

    Wilson, F.H., Detterman, R.L., Miller, J. W., and Case, J.E., 1995, Geologic map of the Port Moller, Stepovak Bay, and Simeonof Island quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigation Series Map I-2272, 1 map sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Trujillo and others, 1981

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Epithermal gold vein
Deposit Other Comments = This prospect is located on land patented by, or interim-conveyed to, the Aleut Corporation.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-FEB-2001 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.