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Grubstake Creek

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Mercury, 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. Mineral occurrence model information
  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 10308853
MRDS ID A015354
Record type Site
Current site name Grubstake Creek
Related records 10208937, 10002869

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -148.20887, 64.02963 (WGS84)
Relative position The Grubstake Creek mine is loated in sections 19, 20, and 29, T. 10 S., R. 3 W., Fairbanks Meridian. Placer mines on Grubstake Creek are marked in the southeast corner of the Fairbanks A-3 topographic map; the coordinates are the mine marked near the mouth of the creek. The mine is localities 77, 78, and 79 of Cobb (1972 [MF 410].

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Denali(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Fairbanks A-3(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Fairbanks S(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Fairbanks C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Mercury Secondary
Tungsten Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Gold Ore
Scheelite Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 119
USGS model code 39a
Deposit model name Placer Au-PGE
Mark3 model number 54

Nearby scientific data

(1) -148.20887, 64.02963
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The upper half of Grubstake Creek valley is incised into thick Nenana Gravel; the lower half of the creek has eroded through the base of the Nenana Gravel to a depth of 100 feet or more into semiconsolidated sediments composed of interbedded clay, sand, and gravel, and some thin beds of lignite (Maddren, 1918, p. 399). Since its discovery in 1905, Grubstake Creek has been a major producer of placer gold in the Tatlanika basin. Mining began as early as 1905 and continued intermittently until at least 1940 (Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-662, p. 44]). Gold is found as small, worn, flat pieces in the bottom two feet of gravel or on the clay bedrock (Prindle, 1907). The gold varies from 817 to 842 fine (Glover, 1950). The gravels are as much as 6 feet thick and include clasts of schist, quartzite, and vein quartz (Prindle, 1907). Scheelite and cinnabar have been found in placer concentrates (Joesting, 1942 [ATDM Pamph. 1, p. 27]).
  • Age = Quaternary placer.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Bonnifield

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = There is no record of the amount of gold that was produced.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Mining began as early as 1905 and continued intermittently until at least 1940 (Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-662, p. 44]). In 1924, three men mined on the creek with an automatic dam (Wimmler, 1925 [ATDM MR 195-8, p. 43]).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Prindle, L.M., 1907, The Bonnifield and Kantishna regions, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 314-L, p. 205-226.

  • Deposit

    Brooks, A.H., 1910, Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1909: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442, 426 p.

  • Deposit

    Brooks, A.H., 1911, The Mount McKinley region, Alaska, with descriptions of the igneous rocks and of the Bonnifield and Kantishna districts by L.M. Prindle: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 70, 234 p.

  • Deposit

    Capps, S.R., 1911, Mineral resources of the Bonnifield region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480-H, p. 218-235.

  • Deposit

    Maddren, A.G., 1918, Gold placers near the Nenana coal field: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 662, p. 363-402.

  • Deposit

    Brooks, A.H., 1923, The Alaska mining industry in 1921: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 739, p. 1-50.

  • Deposit

    Wimmler, N.L., 1925, Placer mining in Alaska in 1925: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-8, 118 p.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1928: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 813, p. 1-72.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1932, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1929, in Smith, P.S., and others Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1929: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 824-A, p. 1-81.

  • Deposit

    Moffit, F.H., 1933, Mining developments in the Tatlanika and Totatlanika basins: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 836-D, p. 339-345.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1933, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1930: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 836-A, p. 1-83.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1937, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1935: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 880-A, p. 1-95.

  • Deposit

    Joesting, H.R., 1942, Strategic mineral occurences in interior Alaska: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Pamphlet 1, 46 p.

  • Deposit

    Glover, A.E., 1950, Placer gold fineness: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-1, 38 p.

  • Deposit

    Malone, Kevin, 1962, Mercury occurrences in Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Circular 8131, 57 p.

  • Deposit

    Malone, Kevin, 1965, Mercury in Alaska, in Mercury potential of the United States: U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 8252, p. 31-59.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-410, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-662, 174 p.

  • Deposit

    Capps, S.R., 1912, The Bonnifield region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 501, 64 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1975, Mineral resources of Alaska, in Yount, M.E., ed., U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Program, 1975: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 722, p. 37.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1930, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1928: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 813-A, p. 1-72.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1941, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1939: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 926-A, p. 1-106.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1942, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1940: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 933-A, p. 1-102.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Cobb, 1976 (OFR 76-662)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 31-JUL-2001 J.R. Guidetti Schaefer and C.J. Freeman Avalon Development Corporation

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.