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Shungnak River

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Jade
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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 10000540
MRDS ID A010738
Record type Site
Current site name Shungnak River

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -157.30845, 66.99564 (WGS84)
Relative position The Shungnak River placer mine is about a mile below the mouth of the river canyon. The deposit probably extends northward into the Ambler river quadrangle. The map site is in the E1/2 section 34, T. 19 N., R. 7 E., of the Kateel River Meridian. Location is accurate to within a radius of 1,000 feet.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Northwest Arctic(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

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

Shungnak NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Shungnak C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle Kobuk River(hydrologic unit)

Kobuk-Selawik Rivers(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Isingnakmeut(ANCSA Village)

ANCSA Village NTVPIC(Type of land area)

NTVPIC(Federal land areas administered by NTVPIC)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Copper Secondary
Jade Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Ore Material = Copper (native)
  • Ore Material = Silver (native)

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Nephrite Ore
Silver Ore
Copper Ore

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 Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel

Nearby scientific data

(1) -157.30845, 66.99564
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Placer gold was first mined from the Shungnak River in 1898. It was mined continuously through 1913, and intermittently on a small scale into the 1950's. Bedrock is predominately lower to mid-Paleozoic black shale and schist; some Jurassic-Cretaceous serpentinite also is in the immediate area. The stream gravels are unfrozen. Typically the top 2 feet of gravel was removed as overburden. The gold is mostly on bedrock, particularly in areas of black shale. The gold is reddish with a dull luster, shaped like flattened shot, and usually in small pieces. Assay value was $16.70 per ounce in 1931. The recovery during 1931 was on the order of $0.90 per cubic yard. Pay streaks were irregular and unpredictable. Magnetite is the most abundant mineral in the concentrates. Occasionally small nuggets of copper and silver were found in the sluice box (Smith, 1913). Some boulders of semiprecious nephrite (jade) were recovered during mining.
  • Age = Quaternary.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Shungnak

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Smith (1913) states that a liberal estimate of total production to 1912 would be less than $50,000.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Gold was first mined from the Shungnak River in 1898. It was mined continuously through 1913, and intermittently on a small scale into the 1950's.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Smith, 1913; Reed, 1931

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).
Deposit Other Comments = Semiprecious quality nephrite (jade) boulders were found during placer mining and in the stream gravels of the Shungnak River (Bernice Sheldon, oral communication, 1991).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 16-DEC-99 Williams, Anita 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.