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Last Chance Creek

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, 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 10308936
MRDS ID A012887
Record type Site
Current site name Last Chance Creek
Related records 10097529, 10135782

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -165.50359, 64.72328 (WGS84)
Relative position Last Chance Creek is in the northeast corner of the Nome C-2 quadrangle and adjacent parts of the Nome C-1 quadrangle; it was placer mined for gold from the headwaters (NM142) downstream to near Hazel Gulch in the Nome C-1 quadrangle. The location used is the boundary of the C-1 and C-2 quadrangles, which is the approximate mid-point between the head of pay at the Last Chance lode (NM142) and Hazel Gulch, which is partly on U.S. Mineral Survey No. 1839. This is locality 89 of Cobb (1972 [MF 463], 1978 [OFR 78-93]) although he used a location farther downstream in the Nome C-1 quadrangle for the mine.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nome(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Nome C-2(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Solomon NW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Nome(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Nome(hydrologic unit)

Norton Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Sitnasuak 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
Gold Primary
Tungsten Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Hematite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Stibnite 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) -165.50359, 64.72328
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Placer gold was discovered in Last Chance Creek in or before 1900 and some sluicing was reported in 1900 (Brooks and others, 1901, p. 80). Reportedly the creek was prospected extensively in 1901, but probably with poor results because the prospect was abandoned (Collier and others, 1908, p. 197). Some mining was reported in 1903. Gold was reported as coarse and rough, as well as bright (Collier and others, 1908) and iron-stained (Moffit, 1913, p. 87). Moffit also reported that mining near Dewey Creek (not currently named) recovered gold from heavy concentrate that also contained scheelite, pyrite, hematite, and magnetite. Coats (1944) confirmed minor amounts of scheelite. Sainsbury and others (1972 [OFR 72-321]) showed placer mine workings to be present downstream from the headwaters almost to the edge of the Nome C-2 quadrangle. Mining, at least partly by mechanical methods, has taken place from at least one-half mile above Hazel Creek to the mouth of the creek on the north fork of Snake River in the Nome C-1 quadrangle. Sampling by Kennecott Exploration Company in 1990 found more than 4,000 ppb gold in a panned concentrate from the mouth of Waterfall Creek and more than 9,000 ppb gold from a point about one-half mile below Waterfall and about a mile above Hazel Gulch (C.C. Hawley, Cindy Buxton, and D.L. Olson, written communication, 1992). Bedrock along Last Chance Creek is mostly the chlorite-rich metaturbidite and marble unit of Bundtzen and others (1994).
  • Age = Quaternary.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Nome

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Hand and small-scale mechanical operations occurred on Last Chance Creek. Mining was reported in 1900, 1903, and as recently as 1924 (Smith, 1926). Some of the tailings below Hazel Gulch could have been processed by small-scale mechanical operations after 1924.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Moffit, 1913

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Alluvial placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; 39a).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 12-MAR-00 Hawley, C.C. and Hudson, Travis L. Hawley Resource Group

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.