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Heckla

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Copper, Molybdenum, Lead, Zinc, Gold
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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 10000184
MRDS ID A010220
Record type Site
Current site name Heckla
Alternate or previous names Greenpoint
Related records 10112527

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -130.33065, 56.01171 (WGS84)
Relative position The Heckla prospect, in the southern part of the 12-claim Greenpoint group staked in 1970, is in Section 31 at an elevation of about 4000 feet on the northwest slope of a mountain about 1 mile south-southwest of the confluence of Through and Greenpoint glaciers (Berg and others, 1977, p. 96; Elliott and Koch, 1981, p. 10, loc. 24).

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

Bradfield Canal A-1(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Bradfield Canal SE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Bradfield Canal(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Southern Southeast Alaska(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southeast Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Misty Fiords National Monument Wilderness(Wilderness)

Wilderness FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Tongass National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness(Wilderness)

Wilderness FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Anglesite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Digenite Ore
Galena Ore
Malachite Ore
Molybdenite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Pyrrhotite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Wallrocks adjacent to veins are impregnated with sulfide minerals. Local iron staining. Local oxidation and formation of secondary copper and lead minerals.

Mineral occurrence model information

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

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Rock unit name Hyder
    Rock description Hyder
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock
    Rock unit name Hazelton Group
    Rock description Hazelton Group

Nearby scientific data

(1) -130.33065, 56.01171
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The country rocks in the area of the Heckla prospect are mainly pelitic hornfels of the Jurassic or older Mesozoic Hazelton Group. Near the prospect, graywacke hornfels is cut by dikes of diorite or andesite that may be apophyses of Triassic Texas Creek Granodiorite, and by felsic dikes that may be apophyses of Eocene Hyder Quartz Monzonite (Berg and others, 1977, p. 15-18, 22-23, 96-97; Smith, 1977; Koch, 1996).? the mineral deposit (Berg, and others, 1977, p. 96-100) consists of five principal quartz fissure veins up to about 4 feet thick. The veins cut graywacke hornfels and minor calcareous schist and contain pyrite, galena, and molybdenite, locally abundant sphalerite and pyrrhotite, sporadic chalcopyrite and a little malachite, and microscopic traces of covellite and digenite. Small amounts of anglesite are in some of the more oxidized zones. Some of the quartz is vuggy and locally iron stained. The wallrock adjacent to the main (Heckla) vein is sheared, altered, and impregnated with sulfides over a width of about 3 feet. ? Channel samples of the veins collected in 1972 by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (Berg, 1977, p. 98-99) contain up to 9% Pb, 8.5% Zn, 1% Cu, and 15% Mo; assays also show up to 20 oz of Ag and 0.23 oz of Au per ton. Moffit (1927, p. 30) reports that a one-ton test shipment was made in 1925 by 'Hummel, Blasher, and Moss,' which Buddington (1929, p. 102) indicates came from the Heckla prospect. Buddington (p. 101-102) also reports that a picked sample yielded 0.08 oz of Au and 54.3 oz of Ag per ton, 21.6% Pb, 32.1% Zn, and 4.1% Cu.? Lead-isotope studies of the galena at the Heckla prospect (Maas, 1995, p. 229-248) indicate that the deposit is Eocene in age, contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite.
  • Age = Lead-isotope studies of the galena at the Heckla prospect (Maas, 1995, p. 229-248) indicate that the deposit is Eocene in age, contemporaneous with emplacement of the Hyder Quartz Monzonite.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Hyder

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = One-ton test shipment made in 1925.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Early exploration consisted of a small amount of stripping and excavation of several small, shallow opencuts. Locator of Greenpoint group staked in 1970 explored property by geologic mapping, sampling, some ground geophysics, and shallow diamond drilling.? Early reports describe a picked sample that yielded 0.08 oz of Au and 54.3 oz of Ag per ton, 21.6% Pb, 32.1% Zn, and 4.1% Cu. Channel samples collected by U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1972 contained up to 9% Pb, 8.5% Zn, 1% Cu, and 15% Mo; assays also showed up to 20 oz of Ag and 0.23 oz Au per ton.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Buddington, A.F., 1929, Geology of Hyder and vicinity, southeastern Alaska, with a reconnaissance of Chickamin River: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 807, 124 p.

  • Deposit

    Berg, H.C., Elliott, R.L., Smith, J.G., Pittman, T.L., and Kimball, A. L., 1977, Mineral resources of the Granite Fiords wilderness study area, Alaska, with a section on aeromagnetic data by Andrew Griscom: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1403, 151 p.

  • Deposit

    Smith, J.G., 1977, Geology of the Ketchikan D-1 and Bradfield Canal A-1 quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1425, 49 p.

  • Deposit

    Elliott, R.L., and Koch, R.D., 1981, Mines, prospects, and selected metalliferous mineral occurrences in the Bradfield Canal quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-728-B, 23 p., 1 sheet, scales 1:250,000 and 1:63,360.

  • Deposit

    Maas, K.M., Bittenbender, P E., and Still, J.C., 1995, Mineral investigations in the Ketchikan mining district, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 11-95, 606 p.

  • Deposit

    Koch, R.D., 1996, Reconnaissance geologic map of the Bradfield Canal quadrangle, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-728-A, 35 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Moffit, F.H., 1927, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1925: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 792-A, p. 1-39.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Berg and others, 1977

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Polymetallic veins
Deposit Other Comments = Five claims staked in 1925. Prospect covered by 12-claim Greenpoint group staked in 1970.? Site is in Misty Fiords National Monument.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 17-MAY-1998 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.