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  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Holmes Gulch

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Bismuth
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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. 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 10100970
MRDS ID A012428
Record type Site
Current site name Holmes Gulch
Related records 10137069

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -154.78406, 63.21254 (WGS84)
Relative position The Holmes Gulch placer mine is located at an elevation of 750 feet (228 m) in Section 25, T. 26 S., R. 21 E., of the Kateel River Meridian. Location is known to within 250 feet (76 m).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Yukon-Koyukuk(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Medfra A-4(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Medfra S(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Medfra C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Takotna River(hydrologic unit)

Upper Kuskokwim River(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

BLM(Federal land areas administered by BLM)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Bismuth Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bismuth Ore
Gold Ore
Magnetite Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 121
USGS model code 39c
Deposit model name Shoreline placer Ti

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -154.78406, 63.21254
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Holmes Gulch placer deposit is in a steep first order stream that can be traced for about one mile (1.6 km). Gravels in Holmes Gulch were 11 ft (3.3 m) deep, and can be traced upstream 4000 ft (1,219 m) toward the Whalen shaft (MD071). Most of the mining took place at the intersection of Holmes Gulch and Hidden Creek. Boulders up to 4 ft in diameter encountered during mining. Age of mineralization is unknown, but is probably Quaternary, based on correlative geomorphological features with other dated placer deposits nearby (Bundtzen and Miller, 1997).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name McGrath

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = The first recorded production from Holmes Gulch took place in 1919; mining continued intermittently until 1938. The production total for Holmes Gulch was 1,065 ounces (33 kg) gold and an unknown amount of silver.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Small-scale, surface-hydraulic sluicing predominated. There is no evidence that heavy machinery was employed in Holmes Gulch (Mertie, 1936). Most mining took place at the intersection of Holmes Gulch and Hidden Creek.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Mertie, 1936

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model no. 39c)
Deposit Other Comments = See Hidden Creek (MD066).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 07-JUN-98 Bundtzen, T.K. Pacific Rim Geological Consulting

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.