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Nome Mining District

Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Antimony, Tin, 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. Alteration
  8. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Links to other databases
  14. Bibliographic references
  15. General comments
  16. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10308962
MRDS ID M047043
Record type Site
Current site name Nome Mining District
Related records 10092551

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -165.39767, 64.57688 (WGS84)
Relative position This record is a summary description of the lode and placer deposits of the Nome mining district. The district has been variously defined. For the purposes of this summary, it comprises all of the Nome B-1 and C-1 quadrangles and parts of the Nome C-2, D-1, and D-2 quadrangles (Bundzten and others, 1994). The region encompassed by these quadrangles includes all the important placer gold deposits in what historically has been called the Nome mining district; it also includes the most important lodes that gave rise to the placer deposits and essentially all the production assigned to the Nome mining district by Bundtzen and others (1994) and Koschmann and Bergendahl (1968). The map location is approximately at the head of the richest alluvial placers and at the south end of the main lode belt that fed the placer deposits. It is in the NW1/4SW1/4 section 36, T. 10 S., R. 33 W., Kateel River Meridian. The district includes the Nome placer field (NM251), an area of composite alluvial and beach placers (NM252), and the main beach and marine abrasion placers (NM253). Specific placer deposits throughout this region are described separately.

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-1(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)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Lead Secondary
Antimony Critical Secondary
Tin Critical Secondary
Tungsten Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Cassiterite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Pyrite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Stibnite Ore
Albite Gangue
Ankerite Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • Extensive alteration, mainly albitization and sulfidization, accompanied early ductile lode mineralization. Arsenopyrite was the main introduced sulfarsenide. Later alteration during the brittle stage includes sericitization, silicification, and ankeritization.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 273
USGS model code 36a
Deposit model name Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
Mark3 model number 27

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Early Cretaceous
    Chronological age 109

Nearby scientific data

(1) DOnx
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The country rocks in the Nome mining district as defined by Bundtzen and others (1994) consist of three main lithostratigraphic units: an upper unit of chlorite- and albite-rich mafic schist, local marble, and calc-schist; a middle unit of massive and platy marble, graphitic mica and quartz schist, felsic schist, and chlorite-rich metaturbidite schist; and a lower unit of garnet and graphitic schist, albite-chlorite schist, quartz schist, paragneiss, and iron-rich biotite schist. These three units are correlated, from the top down, with the Casadepaga Schist of Smith (1910) and Moffit (1913), the 'mixed unit 'of Till and others (1986), and the Solomon Schist of Smith (1910) and Moffitt (1913). The relations of the three units are complex; locally they appear to be in thrust contact with each other; elsewhere, apparently different units may be metamorphic equivalents. In general, however, they form a mappable, apparently stratigraphic, sequence of rocks. For the purpose of describing the dominant type of lode deposit, the apparent stratigraphic sequence can be used. The principal lode gold deposits have a ductile-brittle structural history. The oldest lodes are rich in arsenopyrite and albite; they occur in ductilely deformed, concordant and fold-controlled deposits. These deposits appear to grade into the sheeted-vein deposits that sharply cut metamorphic rocks and that contain most of the lode gold in the district. Structurally, the district is divided into two provinces. The southern and most important province has an antiformal structure modified by relatively late faults that strike north-northeast to northeast. From east to west, the main northeast faults are the composite Anvil Creek fault, the Rodine fault, the Penny River fault, and the Aurora Creek fault (Bundzten and others, 1994). The core of the antiformal structure lies west of Snake River; it trends generally north. As mapped in a more detailed industry study (1:12,000 to 1:24,000 scale), the antiformal axis is displaced by the Rodine and other faults. The apparently oldest rocks are exposed at lower elevations in Boulder Creek, along lower Twin Mountain Creek, and in Bangor Creek. Bundtzen and others (1994) mapped a slightly foliated metadiorite or metagabbro in or near the core of the antiform in Bangor Creek. The northern province includes the Mount Distin area and the area north of Stewart River. There the major structures are aligned more nearly east-west ,subparallel to the uplift axis of the arch of the Kigluaik Mountains to the north (see Hummel, 1962 [MF 247]). The main belt of lode deposits extends north-northwest for about 5 miles from Bonanza Hill through Glacier and Rock Creeks to the Goodluck Gulch deposit (NM202). Within the belt, most of the mineralized structures strike northeast. Placer deposits formed in a complex fluvial and coastal marine environment. High-level placers, such as the High Bench at the Dexter divide (NM246), formed early in the erosional history of the district, perhaps in an early Nome glacial event (Hopkins and others, 1960; Nelson and Hopkins, 1972). Somewhat later, erosion of lodes and older placers formed alluvial deposits, as at Anvil Creek (NM236), in or near the modern drainages. Complex deposits formed where ancient auriferous drainages flowed into ancestral Norton Sound. Beach strand-line and related offshore deposits formed by abrasion and reworking of deposits in the strand and offshore marine environment (Metcalfe and Tuck, 1942). The richest placer gold deposits, including those on the coastal plain, have been reworked extensively, are proximal to their bedrock sources, or both. The development of all placer gold deposits in the region that are at elevations of 250 feet or less was probably influenced by fluctuations in sea level in the late Pliocene and in the Pleistocene.
  • Age = Chron age is for lode gold deposits at Bluff.
  • Age = The lode gold deposits are mid-Cretaceous, and the placer gold deposits are Quaternary. The lode gold deposits at Bluff have been determined to be 109 Ma (Ford and Snee, 1996); more widespread radiometric dating of lode gold deposits is needed.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active

Mining district

District name Nome

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = The Nome mining district is the second most important placer district in Alaska. From 1898 to 1993, more than 4,800,000 ounces of gold (150 metric tonnes) were produced, essentially all by placer methods and mostly from complex alluvial deposits or buried beach deposits (Bundtzen and others, 1994, table 4; Metcalfe and Tuck, 1942). This production estimate exceeds the nearly 3,600,000 ounces reported by Koschmann and Bergendahl (1968) for the district through1959 that excludes years 1931 to 1946; the 1930s were important producing years. The district is also estimated to have produced more than 550,000 ounces (17.54 metric tonnes) of silver (Bundtzen and others, 1994, table 4). Very small amounts of stibnite and scheelite were also produced.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = Drill-indicated gold resources, which approximate reserves when gold is about 350 to 400 dollars per ounce in 2000 dollars, are on the order of 2,500,000 ounces including 1 million ounces offshore, 1 million ounces in placers onshore, and more than 500,000 ounces in lodes on shore, mainly at Rock Creek. The onshore placer resources are in several deposits including some amenable to open-pit mining and others that could be dredged if thawing is economic.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Major alluvial placer gold deposits in the Nome mining district were discovered in September and October of 1898 by John Brynteson, Jafet Lindeberg, and Erik O. Lindblom. The men were supported by an active Scandinavian community based at Golovin, who mainly came to the region for the Swedish Covenant Church, and by several Eskimos, including Gabriel Adams and Constantine Uparazuck. A mining district was formed in October, 1898, by Brynteson, Lindeberg, Lindblom, A.N. Kittlesen, Johan Tornensis, a Saami, and Gabe Price, who represented Charles D. Lane, an experienced mining man. Many of the best alluvial placers were located in 1898. In 1899, gold was discovered on Present Beach (NM255) at Nome. A.H. Brooks of the U.S. Geological Survey then predicted that buried beach placer deposits would be found, a prediction that proved accurate when Second Beach (NM256) was discovered in 1902. The Third beach (NM258) was discovered in 1904. The placers were first exploited mainly by hydraulic methods, and major ditches were constructed to support these operations. Some shallow thawed deposits were mined successfully by small dredges. In the 1920's, after invention of the cold-water thawing process, large dredges were brought into the country by Wendell P. Hammon, whose interests were later consolidated by the U.S. Smelting, Refining, and Mining Company. The more important references for the early history of the Nome mining district are Brooks and others, (1901), Collier and others (1908), Moffit (1913), Metcalfe and Tuck (1942), and Spence (1996). Lode exploration began shortly after discovery of the placers, but that was not significant until the 1980's when geologist R.V. Bailey reopened old workings in Rock Creek (NM207) and discovered sheeted veins in upper Snow Gulch (NM223). His work was followed up by Placer Dome, Newmont Mining Company, and Kennecott Exploration Company. In 1999, the assets of the successors to the U.S. Smelting, Refining, and Mining Company were acquired by Novagold Resources. This company is proceeding with hardrock exploration and has plans to continue placer mining.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Collier and others, 1908

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = The principal deposit types in the region are: low-sulfide Au-quartz veins, simple Sb deposits, Kuroko massive sulfide, and alluvial placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; models 36a, 27d, 28a, and 39a).
Deposit Model Number = 36a, 27d, 28a, 39a

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 10-JUL-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.