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Silver Creek

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, 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. 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 10001148
MRDS ID A011842
Record type Site
Current site name Silver Creek
Related records 10185464

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -144.05762, 62.73274 (WGS84)
Relative position The Silver Creek prospect (Cobb, 1979 [OFR 79-1247]) is at an elevation of about 2,800 feet in Silver Creek about 1/2 mile above its junction with Ahtell Creek . The location is number 8 of Richter (1966; fig. 5), locality 12 of Richter and Matson (1972), and locality 11 of MacKevett and Holloway (1977). The location is accurate to within 500 feet; it is the NW1/4SW1/4, section 14, T. 11 N., R. 7 E., Copper River Meridian.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Valdez-Cordova(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Gulkana C-1(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Gulkana NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Gulkana(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Copper River(hydrologic unit)

Copper River(hydrologic accounting unit)

South Central Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Ahtna, Incorporated(ANCSA Region)

ANCSA Region NTVPIC(Type of land area)

NTVPIC(Federal land areas administered by NTVPIC)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Secondary
Copper Secondary
Lead Secondary
Zinc Critical Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Gangue = Carbonate

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Limonite Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Country rocks near veins are altered to carbonates and are iron-stained; hornfels in the fault zone has been argillized and pyritized.

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 Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Hornfels
    Rock unit name Tetelna Formation
    Rock description Tetelna Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Permian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Permian

Nearby scientific data

(1) -144.05762, 62.73274
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Silver Creek prospect consists of highly altered, pyritic rock and veins that occur along cross-fractures to a major fault zone. The fault zone is 100 or more feet wide, strikes N 10-20 E and dips 65 to 80 degrees to the west. The fault appears to cut and displace a dike-like Jurassic(?) diorite that intrudes sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Pennsylvanian to Permian, Slana Spur Formation (Richter 1964; 1966; Richter, Lanphere, and Matson, 1975; and Kirk Stanley, written communication, 2000).? Rocks within the fault zone are yellowish, carbonate- and gouge-rich hornfels that contain fine-grained disseminated pyrite. Quartz-carbonate veins as much as five-feet thick cross the fault zone; veins locally contain concentrations of galena, tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, and sphalerite. Limonite and malachite are abundant in near surface exposures (Thorne, 1946; Richter, 1966; Kirk Stanley, written communication, 2000).? Individual cross-veins described by Richter (1964; 1966, p. 32-33) strike NW and dip NE. Locally, they are enriched in silver, probably mainly in tetrahedrite. Thorne (1946, p. 8, fig. 4) reported that a one-foot-thick vein from the uppermost workings assayed a trace of gold, 17.5 ounces of silver per ton, some lead, and 1.59 percent copper. Another sample from caved workings contained 0.04 ounce of gold per ton with only a trace of copper. The prospect was reopened and drilled in about 1969-70. Samples collected from small diameter (AX) drill holes locally contained more than 50 ounce of silver per ton. Low-angle BX holes drilled across the veins encountered occasional high silver values, but indicated that the average grade across the fault zone was less than 5 ounces of silver per ton. No substantial work has been done since 1970 (Kirk Stanley, written communication, 2000).
  • Age = Emplaced subseqent to or is related to the border phase of the Pennsylvanian to Permian, Ahtell pluton.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Chistochina

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The prospect has been known since about 1908 (Kirk Stanley, written communication, 2000). When visited by Moffit (1938) and Thorne (1946), most workings were caved. Renewed interest in the prospect began about 1962 and continued until about 1970, the property was trenched beginning in 1962, and drilled by the Ptarmigan Company in 1969 or 1970. It has been inactive since.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Richter, 1966

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Polymetallic vein (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c)
Deposit Other Comments = the most recent exploration data on the property was summarized in: 'Slana Mineral Belt Prospects Review' by Kirk Stanley, a report for Ahtna Minerals Corporation (Wes Nason, Ahtna Minerals, written communication, 2000). Additional information can be obtained from Ahtna Minerals in Anchorage, Alaska.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 05-DEC-00 W.T. Ellis Alaska Earth Sciences
Reporter 05-DEC-00 Hawley, C.C. Hawley Resource Group
Reporter 05-DEC-00 W.J. Nokleberg 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.