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Fish Creek

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Copper, Lead, Zinc, 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 10308878
MRDS ID A012281
Record type Site
Current site name Fish Creek
Alternate or previous names Olympia, Starboard, Nevada
Related records 10001534

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -130.04775, 55.99277 (WGS84)
Relative position This site, called 'Fish Creek, lower workings' by Buddington (1929, pl. 2, loc. 5 [B 807]) and by Byers and Sainsbury (1956, pl. 7, loc. 5), represents a group of claims that lie mainly on the ridge between Fish and Skookum creeks, but extend to both sides of the creeks, particularly west of Skookum Creek. The main workings are on the Olympia and Starboard claims, which are at elevations of about 1400-1900 feet. The map coordinates are for the approximate center of the area of these workings. The site is in section 11, T. 68 S., R. 99 E., of the Copper River Meridian. It corresponds to loc. 3 in Elliott and others (1978). The location is accurate within about 0.1 mile. To the north, the claims extend into the Bradfield Canal quadrangle (Berg, 1998, loc. BC078). On the south, they are adjoined by the Mountain View group of claims (KC006), some of which are named 'Fish Creek.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Prince of Wales-Hyder(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Ketchikan D-1(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Ketchikan NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Ketchikan(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Southern Southeast Alaska(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southeast Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Tongass National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Copper Primary
Lead Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Tungsten Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Nearby scientific data

(1) -130.04775, 55.99277
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The country rocks in the area of this site include: pelitic metasedimentary and subordinate andesitic metavolcanic strata of the Jurassic or Triassic Hazelton Group; recrystallized granodiorite of the Triassic Texas Creek Granodiorite, which intrudes the Hazelton rocks; quartz monzonite and granodiorite of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite batholith, which intrudes the Hazelton and Texas Creek rocks; and Tertiary lamprophyre dikes, which intrude all of the foregoing rock units (Buddington, 1929; Smith, 1973, l977; Berg and others, 1988). The deposit consists of sulfide-bearing quartz fissure veins up to 3 feet thick in (Texas Creek) granodiorite near its contact with Hazelton greenstone, graywacke, and slate (Buddington, 1929, p. 68-71; Byers and Sainsbury, 1956, p. 138; Elliott and others, 1978, loc. 3). The sulfide minerals in the veins are chiefly galena, sphalerite, pyrite, tetrahedrite, and chalcopyrite. Locally, the veins contain lenticular masses of pyrrhotite accompanied by minor chalcopyrite, pyrite, and arsenopyrite; some of the veins contain small amounts of scheelite. Samples of ore from the Olympia and Starboard claims assayed 103-706 oz. Ag/ton, 17-39% Pb, trace to 7% Cu, and less than 1.0 oz. Au/ton. Development work in the early 1900s included numerous surface pits, trenches, and opencuts, and several hundred feet of underground workings (Buddington, 1929). Several, probably small, lots of sorted ore were shipped from the Olympia and Starboard claims in 1916 and 1917. Maas and others (1995, p. 254) suggest that the age of the sulfide-bearing quartz fissure vein deposits on the Olympia 4-6 and Starboard claims (p. 261 and fig. 66) is Eocene, based on similarities in mineralogy, structural setting, and hostrock, to lead-isotope-dated Eocene deposits nearby in the Hyder district. If so, the age of the deposit is roughly contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite batholith.
  • Age = Maas and others (1995, p. 254) suggest that the age of the sulfide-bearing quartz fissure vein deposits on the Olympia 4-6 and Starboard claims (p. 261 and fig. 66) is Eocene, based on similarities in mineralogy, structural setting, and hostrock, to lead-isotope-dated Eocene deposits nearby in the Hyder district. If so, the age of the deposit is roughly contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite batholith.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Mining district

District name Hyder

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Several, probably small, lots of sorted ore were shipped from the Olympia and Starboard claims in 1916 and 1917.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Samples of ore from the Olympia and Starboard claims assayed 103-706 oz. Ag/ton, 17-39% Pb, trace to 7% Cu, and less than 1.0 oz. Au/ton. In addition to numerous surface pits, trenches, and opencuts, underground workings in the early 1900s included several adits up to 70 feet long on the Starboard claim; adits, raises, and drifts as long as 360 feet on the Olympia claim; and a 25-foot drift on the Nevada claim (Buddington, 1929; Maas and others, 1995).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Buddington, 1929 (B807)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Polymetallic veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 28-JUN-1999 H.C. Berg 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.