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Ganes Creek

Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver
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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 10308977
MRDS ID A015017
Record type Site
Current site name Ganes Creek
Related records 10209063

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -156.43287, 63.09104 (WGS84)
Relative position Ganes Creek is a northeast-flowing tributary to the Innoko River. The junction of Ganes Creek and the Innoko River is approximately 5 miles southeast of the town of Ophir. Extensive early and modern mining has occurred along the length of Ganes Creek; only operations in the lower part of Ganes Creek and at the mouth of Ganes Creek are in the Ophir quadrangle; many operations on upper Ganes Creek are in the Iditarod quadrangle. The coordinates are at the mine approximately 1/2 mile north of the mouth of Ganes Creek, although mining has occurred at various points along the creek. The location is accurate. The site corresponds to locations 22 and 23 of Cobb (1972 [MF 367]).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Yukon-Koyukuk(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Ophir A-1(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Ophir SE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Ophir(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

BLM(Federal land areas administered by BLM)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Ilmenite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Quartz Gangue

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) -156.43287, 63.09104
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Ganes Creek area is underlain by undivided clastic sedimentary rocks that are cut by quartz veins and by sets of northeast-trending, Cretaceous or Tertiary dikes ranging in composition from rhyolite to andesite (Maddren, 1910; Mertie, 1936; Chapman and others, 1985; Dashevsky, 2000). The Yankee-Ganes Creek fault trends northeast between Yankee Creek (OP021) and Ganes Creek and may be a splay of the Iditarod-Nixon Fork fault. Placer mining has occurred at various points along Ganes Creek: very close to its mouth; about 7 miles upstream; and at several locations in the Iditarod quadrangle. For more information, see the Ganes Creek record for the Iditarod quadrangle. The gold in Ganes Creek is coarse, and sometimes attached to quartz (Maddren, 1910). Five gold nuggets have been found that weigh more than 20 ounces; the largest weighed 122 ounces. The gold averages 846 fine (Smith, 1941). Minerals in pan concentrates from the lower portion of Ganes Creek include magnetite, ilmenite, enstatite, and eckermanite (Bundtzen and others, 1987). Gold is present in benches, alluvial gravel, and in the fractured top few feet of bedrock (Maddren, 1911). The likely sources of the gold are the rhyolite dikes, possibly along with some contribution from monzonite dikes and small intrusive bodies (Bundtzen and others, 1987). Gold was discovered on Ganes Creek during the winter of 1906-1907 (Brooks, 1908); mining was continuous from 1907 until 1946 (Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-576]). Dredging was intermittent until at least 1965 (Cobb, 1973 [B 1374]). Large-scale, mechanized mining has occurred intermittently from 1965 until the present (2001). A conservative estimate of production from Ganes Creek between 1907 to 1986, including the portion in the Iditarod quadrangle, is 103,000 ounces of gold and 15,420 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and others, 1987). Also see OP019 and OP021.
  • Age = Quaternary. The likely sources of the gold in Ganes Creek are the Cretaceous or Tertiary rhyolite dikes, possibly along with some contribution from monzonite dikes and small intrusive bodies (Bundtzen and others, 1987).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active

Mining district

District name Innoko

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = A conservative estimate of production from Ganes Creek between 1907 to 1986, including the portion in the Iditarod quadrangle, is 103,000 ounces of gold and 15,420 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and others, 1987).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Gold was discovered on Ganes Creek during the winter of 1906-1907, and $10,000 to $20,000 in coarse gold was mined that winter (Brooks, 1908). Mining was continuous from 1907 until 1946; from 1923 until 1940 dredges were used (Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-576]). Eakin (1941) reports that most of the bench placer ground along Ganes Creek was mined out by the end of 1912. Dredges were active intermittently from 1940 until at least 1965 (Cobb, 1973 [B 1374]). Large-scale, mechanical mining has occurred intermittently along Ganes Creek from 1965 to the present (2001).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Cobb, 1976 (OFR 76-576)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)
Deposit Other Comments = The upper portion of Ganes Creek, which has also been mined, is in the Iditarod quadrangle.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 07-AUG-01 Cameron, C.E. Northern Associates Inc.

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.