1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Highland Chief

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
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. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  11. Mining district
  12. Links to other databases
  13. Bibliographic references
  14. General comments
  15. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10002254
MRDS ID A013157
Record type Site
Current site name Highland Chief
Alternate or previous names Joe's Dream
Related records 10161255

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -136.85018, 58.83916 (WGS84)
Relative position The Highland Chief prospect area is about 2.1 miles southeast of Mt. Parker at an elevation of about 2700 feet. The coordinate location is of the main and northernmost series of veins that can be traced southeasterly for about 2000 feet. The prospect is in a gully that drains into Reid Glacier. In some years the prospect remains snow-covered. It is location number 24 of Cobb (1972). The location is accurate within 0.1 mile.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Hoonah-Angoon(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Mount Fairweather D-3(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Mount Fairweather NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Mount Fairweather(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Glacier Bay(hydrologic unit)

Northern Southeast Alaska(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southeast Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Glacier Bay National Park(National Park)

National Park NPS(Type of land area)

NPS(Federal land areas administered by NPS)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Lead Secondary
Zinc Critical Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Material = Gold (native)

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Gold Ore
Calcite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

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 Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Marble

Nearby scientific data

(1) -136.85018, 58.83916
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Highland Chief vein area is near the west contact of the same cataclastic-pendant zone that is the host of the LeRoy mine (MF022). Some veins are in the granodiorite of Cretaceous age; others are in amphibolite, graphitic schist, marble, and strongly sheared schistose granodiorite of the pendant (Rossman, 1959, B 1058-B, pl. 4; Kimball and others, 1978, fig. C52) . The vein system is adjacent to and may be part of a north-northwest fault zone that projects under a local glacier and extensive snow field to the main (east) fork of Ptarmigan Creek.? the area contains a complex series of quartz veins of north to north-northwest strike. Maximum thickness of veins is reported to be 6 feet. Rossman (1959, p. 54) thought the veins were thicker and more continuous than those closer to Reid Inlet. He also found widespread visible free gold in the veins of the area. ? Studies of the area have been handicapped by extensive snow cover. In August 1976, the Bureau of Mines found better than usual exposures and were able to map and sample a large part of the area. The Bureau found a maximum gold content of 3. 49 ounces of gold per ton, along with 1.25 ounces of silver per ton, 2700 ppm lead, 980 ppm zinc, and greater than 1 percent arsenic. Of a total of 40 samples (Kimball and others, 1978, fig. C52, table C43), thirteen contained more than 0.1 ounce per ton gold.
  • Age = Late Cretaceous or younger.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Juneau

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = No reserves, but probably one of the best prospects in the district.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The area was discovered by Joe Ibach, probably in 1936. In 1937, the claims were leased by Newmont Mining Co. and explored for several months. 'The company gave up its lease after it was decided that the veins were too inaccessible to permit possible mining'--Rossman ( 1959, p. 38).?In August of 1976 and October of 1977 the area was nearly snow free, and was mapped and sampled by the Bureau of Mines (Kimball and others, 1978, fig. C52, table C43, and p. C222-230). Although the original and largest vein may not have been recovered, forty samples contained from nil to as much as 3.49 ounces per ton gold. The higher grade samples were of selected narrow veins. The veins also contained arsenic to greater than 1 percent; lead and zinc were commonly anomalous. ? In 1976, the area had been restaked as Joe's Dream claims.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Kimball and others, 1978; Rossman, 1959 (B 1058-B)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Low-sulfide gold-quartz vein (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a).
Deposit Other Comments = Prospects are visible, if at all, only late in season in low snow years. The area probably could be drilled from east side of the vein area, with holes directed west-southwest. The area is in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and appears to be inactive.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 08-APR-99 Hawley, C.C. 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.