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Helen S

Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Barium-Barite
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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 10000282
MRDS ID A010326
Record type Site
Current site name Helen S
Alternate or previous names Olympic Mining
Related records 10185581

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -133.06798, 56.56974 (WGS84)
Relative position The coordinates are the center of a patented mining claim bounded on the south by tidal flats. The site is on northwestern Woewodski Island about a half mile northwest of the northwest end of Harvey Lake. Several discrete deposits occur on the claim as described below. The mouth of a small creek flowing north beside the large cabin on the shoreline about 100 yards NW of the mouth of Harvey Creek is a convenient point of reference to the different deposits. A quartz vein that has apparently only been pitted occurs in the creek about 100 feet north of the cabin. The old prospect where massive sulfide mineralization occurs is about 150-200 meters up the creek and about 10 meters to the east of it. It has been dug out in recent years. The gold-quartz vein that was mined prior to WW I is another 100 meters north of the massive-sulfide prospect and about 25 meters east of the creek. In 1996, a good trail was maintained from the cabin to the massive-sulfide pit and the old shaft from which the gold quartz vein was mined prior to WW I.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Wade Hampton(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Petersburg C-4(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Petersburg N(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Petersburg(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Central Southeast Alaska(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southeast Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Tongass National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Copper Primary
Lead Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Barium-Barite Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Sphalerite Ore
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
Model code 184
USGS model code 28a
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, kuroko
Mark3 model number 93
Model code 187
USGS model code 28a.1
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, Sierran kuroko
Mark3 model number 44

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Devonian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metavolcanic Rock > Mafic Metamorphic Rock > Greenstone

Nearby scientific data

(1) Keg
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Located in 1903 or earlier and worked intermittently until at least 1915. A mill was built and at least 650 feet of underground workings were driven on several quartz veins (Buddington, 1923). A small amount of ore with a grade of about 0.177 ounces per ton was milled but total production uncertain and was probably relatively small (from the size of the tailings). Roehm (1945 [IR 195-37]) noted that the ore averaged $3.66 per ton (without specifying in what years). ? There are two distinct type of mineral deposits on the property: auriferous quartz veins and layered massive sulfide mineralization. All the early production was from quartz veins that cut black slate, greenstone, and felsic metavolcanic rocks. At one prospect pit, however, massive sulfides consisting of crudely banded pyrite, pyrrhotite(?), arsenopyrite, sphalerite, and galena are abundant. Berg and Grybeck (1980) interpreted this deposit as part of the Duncan-Zarembo belt of dismembered, upper Triassic volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits. The quartz veins may be remobilized from the massive sulfide deposits. ? Much of the claim consists of Triassic Hyd Group felsic and intermediate flows and breccia and argillite, which has been intruded by Mesozoic gabbro and Cretaceous diorite (Brew, 1997 [OF 97-156-J]).
  • Age = The volcanogenic massive sulfides are Triassic.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active

Mining district

District name Kupreanof

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Some gold production prior to about 1915 that was recovered at a small mill near the shoreline.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Small production from gold quartz vein(s) prior to WW I was from two shafts that connected to more than 750 feet of underground workings. Property abandoned in 1916. In 1996, the owner of the patented claim, Phillip Brease of Petersburg is actively exploring it with ground geophysics and by diamond drilling.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Grybeck, Berg, and Karl, 1984, and this description

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Gold quartz vein ( Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a); and barite facies of a Kuroko massive-sulfide model (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 28a); or alternatively a barite facies of a Sierran Kuroko model (Bliss, 1992; model 28a1)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-98 H.C. Berg U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 01-NOV-98 D.J. Grybeck 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

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