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

Valdez Creek area

Producer in Alaska, United States with commodity 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. 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. Reserves and resources
  13. Links to other databases
  14. Bibliographic references
  15. General comments
  16. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10000535
MRDS ID A010732
Record type Site
Current site name Valdez Creek area
Alternate or previous names Valdez Creek Mining Co.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -147.47582, 63.17462 (WGS84)
Relative position This site represents an area of placer gold mining that extends from near the mouth of Valdez Creek, upstream at least as far as White Creek and Lucky Gulch. The map site is on lower Valdez Creek, about a half-mile downstream from the historic mining town of Denali. The site is in the NW1/4 of sec. 24, T. 20 S., R 1 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. This location is accurate to within a quarter mile.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Matanuska-Susitna(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Healy A-1(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Mount Hayes SW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Healy(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Susitna River(hydrologic unit)

Susitna River(hydrologic accounting unit)

South Central Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

BLM(Federal land areas administered by BLM)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Hessite Ore
Magnetite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 119
USGS model code 39a
Deposit model name Placer Au-PGE
Mark3 model number 54

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel

Nearby scientific data

(1) -147.47582, 63.17462
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Valdez Creek drains an area underlain mostly by pelitic metasedimentary rocks of probable Jurassic age (Smith, 1981). The sedimentary sequence was regionally metamorphosed during the Cretaceous to pumpellyite-prehnite grade on the southeast, through greenschist grade, to amphibolite grade on the northwest. The metamorphic sequence appears to be telescoped, possibly by northward-dipping thrust faults. An east-trending strike-slip fault zone south of, and approximately parallel to, Valdez Creek appears to be important to the distribution of the origin of the placer gold. The fault zone has controlled the emplacement of many small intrusives of intermediate composition, and of quartz vein swarms, some of which are auriferous.? the genesis and distribution of the placer gold deposits are linked to the complex glacial history of the drainage. Near the lower end of Valdez Creek, at least three superimposed, gold-bearing paleochannels were cut into bedrock (Reger and Bundtzen, 1990). Each paleochannel is at a specific elevation and gradient, and the younger paleochannels cut the older paleochannels, thereby redistributing the gold. Gold concentrations are highest in the lowest portions of the paleochannels. ? the paleochannels become less incised upstream and eventually are not found. The pay streaks merge into a large volume of lower grade auriferous gravel from the upper limit of mining by Valdez Creek Mining Company, apparently up into the White Creek drainage. ? the fineness of the gold runs about 852 with only minor variations. The gold itself showed several different varieties. Most of the gold is 'oatmeal' sized and shaped; other varieties include well-polished and rounded grains, rough, angular, and quartz-rich grains, and rough, angular, and oxide-coated grains.
  • Age = Paleochannel A is probably Sangamon in age, the Tammany channel is probably mid-Wisconsin in age, and Paleochannel B was probably deposited during the late Illinoian interstade (Reger and Bundtzen, 1990). The pay streaks and low-grade gravels in the White Creek drainage and Lucky Gulch are probably younger.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active

Mining district

District name Valdez Creek

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Recorded production for the Valdez Creek drainage and its tributaries is about 650,000 ounces.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1983
    Total resources 141360000mt ore
    Remarks Entry carried over from Old MRDS or added later (i.e. it did not originate in ARDF)
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 6.522 g/mt Gold Major 1983

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = Proven reserves are small because of a lack of detailed drilling. A very large quantity of gold remains but is not economic to mine at this time (1999). Detailed drilling in the most promising areas could reveal as much as 100,000 ounces of proven reserves.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Lower Valdez Creek was mined by hand methods after discovery in 1903. The Tammany Channel was mined by underground methods for a distance of about 3,500 feet from the confluence of the channel with Valdez Creek. The Dry Creek cut was mined by hand methods and hydraulicked. The lower portion of the Tammany Channel was hydraulicked. Channels A and B were mined by large-scale, open-pit methods for a distance of several miles upstream after have been thoroughly explored by reverse-circulation drilling during the period 1984 through 1994. ? White Creek has been mined by small-scale methods below the west slope of Gold Hill and by open-pit methods just above its confluence with Valdez Creek. Lucky Gulch and its downstream extension has been mined by hand and by small-scale mechanical methods.? Timberline Creek was mined for several years where the creek enters Valdez Creek valley.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Reger and Bundtzen, 1994

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and singer, 1986; model 39a)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 07-APR-2000 D.L. Stevens Stevens Exploration Management Corporation

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.