Little Vein

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Copper
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. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Links to other databases
  14. Bibliographic references
  15. General comments
  16. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10000690
MRDS ID A011318
Record type Site
Current site name Little Vein
Alternate or previous names Little Lead

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -149.64977, 63.21264 (WGS84)
Relative position The Little Vein prospect is at an elevation of about 3,500 feet, on the southeast bank of Bryn Mawr Creek. The site is in sec. 3, T. 20 S., R. 11 W., of the Fairbanks Meridian. The location is accurate to within 500 feet.

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-6(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Healy S(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Healy(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Chulitna River(hydrologic unit)

Susitna River(hydrologic accounting unit)

South Central Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Copper Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Quartz Gangue
Sericite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Sericitization.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Paleocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Rock unit name Golden Zone Stock
    Rock description Golden Zone Stock

Nearby scientific data

(1) -149.64977, 63.21264

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Little Vein prospect is about 200 feet south of the Golden Zone breccia pipe (HE043). It is a quartz-sulfide vein and stringer lode that carries good, but erratic, gold values. The deposit is at the sheared contact of a quartz-biotite porphyry dike that intrudes hornfelsed Triassic sedimentary rocks. The sulfide minerals are arsenopyrite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite. Assay values range from 0.16 to 2.58 ounces of gold per ton, 2.4 to 11.6 ounces of silver per ton , and up to 33.22% arsenic (Ross, 1933). The Little Vein deposit probably is a continuation of the deposit at the Golden Zone mine.
  • Age = Synchronous with the Golden Zone mineralization, dated as Late Cretaceous.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active

Mining district

District name Valdez Creek

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = There has been limited exploration by prospect pits and a short, now caved adit. Assay values range from 0.16 to 2.58 ounces of gold per ton, 2.4 to 11.6 ounces of silver per ton , and up to 33.22% arsenic (Ross, 1933).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Hawley and Clark, 1974

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Polymetallic vein (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c)
Deposit Other Comments = the Little Vein was reached from underground workings at the Golden Zone mine.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 07-APR-2000 N. Van Wyck Stevens Exploration Management Corporation

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Authoritative Alaska resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.