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Kennicott Mine

Unknown in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Copper, Lead, Zinc
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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. 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 10000514
MRDS ID A010706
Record type Site
Current site name Kennicott Mine
Alternate or previous names Erie, Jumbo, Bonanza, Mother Lode
Related records 10112651

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -142.84638, 61.52745 (WGS84)
Relative position SEE LOCATION COMMENTS

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Valdez-Cordova(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

McCarthy C-5(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

McCarthy NW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

McCarthy C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Chitina River(hydrologic unit)

Copper River(hydrologic accounting unit)

South Central Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Comments on the location information

  • THREE MILES NORTHWEST OF TOWN OF KENNICOTT. COORDINATES ARE FOR POINT AT JUMBO, LARGEST PRODUCER OF KENNICOTT MINES. OTHER MINES OF KENNICOTT COMPLEX ARE WITHIN 2 MI. OF JUMBO AND ALL ARE CONNECTED UNDERGROUND. BEST LOCATION: MACKEVETT, 1970.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Copper Primary
Lead Primary
Zinc Critical Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bornite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Enargite Ore
Galena Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tennantite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Oxidation Of Deposits Which Is Not Related To Present Land Surface.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metavolcanic Rock > Mafic Metamorphic Rock > Greenstone
    Rock unit name Nikoli Greenstone
    Rock description Nikoli Greenstone
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Triassic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Chitistone Limestone (Lower Dolomitic Parts);Chitistone Limestone (Lower Dolomitic Parts)
    Rock description Chitistone Limestone (Lower Dolomitic Parts);Chitistone Limestone (Lower Dolomitic Parts)

Nearby scientific data

(1) -142.84638, 61.52745
ListMap

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Commodity type Metallic
Significant No

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Nizina

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCED ABOUT 544 MILLION KG CU AND 280 MILLION G AG FROM 4.3 MILLION TONNES ORE BETWEEN 1913 AND 1938. ABOUT 75 PERCENT OF ORE MINED WAS SULFIDE MINERALS OF WHICH 95 PERCENT WAS CHALCOCITE.

Comments on the workings information

  • MINES LOCATED 4,000-6,000 FT ELEVATION WITH OVER 700 MI IN UNDERGROUND WORKINGS; LOWEST WORKINGS REACHED 2,800 FT ELEVATION. SURFACE AND UNDERGROUND WORKINGS.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit KENNICOTT MINES WERE RENOWNED FOR THE SIZE AND RICHNESS OF THEIR COPPER SULFIDE LODES. THE LARGEST KNOWN ORE BODY (JUMBO MINE) CONSISTING OF ALMOST PURE CHALCOCITE AND COVELLITE AVERAGED 360 FT IN HEIGHT, WAS BETWEEN 2 FT AND 60 FT WIDE, AND EXTENDED ALONG ITS NORTHEASTERLY PLUNGE FOR 1,500 FT. ORIGIN AND GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF DEPOSITS IS COMPLEX, OBSCURE, AND MULTIPLE HYPOTHESES ARE STILL DEBATED. MAINLY CHALCOCITE AND COVELLITE, WITH MINOR ENARGITE, BORNITE, CHALCOPYRITE, LUZONITE, AND PYRITE. TENNANTITE, SPHALERITE, AND GALENA EXTREMELY RARE. LOCAL SURFACE OXIDATION OF SULFIDES TO MALACHITE AND AZURITE. SULFIDES OCCUR MAINLY AS LARGE, IRREGULAR, MASSIVE, WEDGE-SHAPED BODIES, MAINLY IN DOLOMITIC PARTS OF THE UPPER TRIASSIC CHITISTONE OR NIZINA LIMESTONE. GENERALLY LESS THAN 100 M ABOVE THE MIDDLE AND(OR) UPPER TRIASSIC NIKOLAI GREENSTONE. ONE OF THE MOST PRODUCTIVE GROUP OF MINES IN ALASKA FROM 1913 UNTIL 1938 WHEN THE ORE WAS EXHAUSTED. MORE THAN 96 KM OF UNDERGROUND
Deposit WORKINGS. DEPOSITS INTERPRETED BY ARMSTRONG AND MACKEVETT (1982) AS HAVING FORMED BY MOBILIZATION OF CU FROM THE UNDERLYING NIKOLAI GREENSTONE AND DEPOSITED BY OXYGENATED GROUNDWATER AND DEPOSITION IN FOSSIL KARSTS OF A DOLOMITIC SABKHA INTERFACE IN OVERLYING LIMESTONE. AGE OF DEPOSITION INTERPRETED AS CRETACEOUS(?) WITH FORMATION DURING REGIONAL LOW-GRADE METAMORPHISM.
Deposit MINOR PRODUCTION IN LATE 1960'S FROM SURFACE TALUS DEPOSITS.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1984 Elliott, R. L. U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 13-APR-1994 Mosier, Dan U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JUL-1997 Elliott, R. L. (Nokleberg, Warren J.) 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.