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Hidden Creek: Grable and Blackburn Mine

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Bismuth, Tin, Thorium, Tungsten
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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 10001655
MRDS ID A012430
Record type Site
Current site name Hidden Creek: Grable and Blackburn Mine
Related records 10112589, 10308503

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -154.74988, 63.21448 (WGS84)
Relative position The well known Hidden Creek placer gold deposit is located on Hidden Creek, a stream that flows south-southwest from Encio Gulch area near Nixon Fork lode mine to the Nixon Fork of the Kuskokwim River. The Hidden Creek placer gold deposit extends from the mouth of Encio (Riddle) Gulch downstream to the confluence of Birch Gulch and Hidden Creek, a distance of approximately 1.5 mile (2.4 km).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Yukon-Koyukuk(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Medfra A-4(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Medfra S(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Medfra C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Takotna River(hydrologic unit)

Upper Kuskokwim River(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Doyon, Limited(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 Primary
Bismuth Critical Secondary
Tin Critical Secondary
Thorium Secondary
Tungsten Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bismuth Ore
Cassiterite Ore
Gold Ore
Scheelite Ore
Thorianite Ore
Hematite Gangue
Ilmenite Gangue
Magnetite Gangue
Zircon Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Sericite and tourmaline.
  • (Local) Auriferous gravels partially cemented with ferricrete, due to ground water oxidation.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 77
USGS model code 20b
Deposit model name Sn-polymetallic vein

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Monzonite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Slate

Nearby scientific data

(1) -154.74988, 63.21448
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The productive portion of Hidden Creek lies along a third order stream with an average gradient of 120 feet/mile. Bedrock in most of the area that was placer mined is part of the Nixon Fork monzonite pluton which has yielded a K-Ar age of 68.0 Ma (Bundtzen and Miller, 1997). Most of the stream gravels consisted of monzonite float. Limestone underlies Hidden Creek Valley about 2 miles downstream from the head of the drainage. A copper-bearing pyroxenite dike that intrudes the limestone was found in one placer mine cut, which was thought to be a local source for placer gold. (Cobb, 1978; Herreid, 1966). ? Unconsolidated overburden above monzonite bedrock was 10-12 feet (3.0-3.7 m) thick, and auriferous gravels averaged about 4 feet (1.2 m) thick. The paystreak width varied from 75 to 125 feet (23 to 38 m) wide and averaged about 60 feet (18 m) in width. Below Birch Gulch, the Quaternary fill quickly thickens to as much as 200 feet (60 m); this abrupt thickening of Quaternary valley fill is probably related to the change of underlying bedrock from monzonite to limestone; chemical weathering, karsting, and cavern formation in the limestone was noted by Brown (1926).? Fourteen gold fineness determinations from placer gold mined in Hidden Creek ranged from 912 to 962 and averaged 928 (Mertie, 1936; Smith, 1941; Glover, 1942). Silver was the major impurity in the placer gold, which exhibits some of the highest fineness values of any Alaskan placer gold. In addition, substantial quantities of native bismuth occurs, frequently intergrown with native gold, magnetite, ilmenite, and brown scheelite. Minor to trace amounts of barite, cassiterite, zircon, and thorianite were found in heavy mineral concentrates during mine production, however, no other minerals other than placer gold were commercially recovered. Other placer streams such as Holmes, Riddle, and Birch Gulches, which presumably have similar if not identical lode sources for the placer gold, yield significantly different fineness values, which has mystified previous workers (i.e., Smith, 1941). Such data suggests significantly different lode sources for the placer gold in these areas.
  • Age = Quaternary
  • Age = Age of mineralization is probably Upper Cretaceous, based on isotopic age of Nixon Fork pluton (Moll and others, 1981).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name McGrath

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Hidden Creek contributed about 50 percent of the placer gold production from the Nixon Fork area. Placer gold was first discovered on Hidden Creek in 1917 (Herreid, 1966). In 1922, F.A. Matthews and Louis Blackburn initiated placer gold production, which continued every season until 1932. Production resumed in 1935 and continued until 1938. Total production from 1922 to 1938 is estimated to be 4,435 ounces (138 kg) of gold and 230 ounces (7 kg) of silver. Production on Hidden Creek from 1938 to 1960 has not been accurately determined, but is not thought to be significant (Ted Almasy and Margaret Mespelt, personal communication, 1998).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = From 1922 to 1932, placer deposits were developed with hydraulic mine methods. A scraper was used to move large monzonite boulders in the mine cuts; these boulders frequently ranged from 2 to 6 feet (0.6-2 m) in diameter. In 1922 , 274 ounces of placer gold were recovered from 4,000 cubic yards of pay; i.e., this mine cut contained a recovered grade of 0.06 oz/cubic yard (2.78 g/ cubic meter) gold. A dragline was first used in 1935 and was used until mine shutdown in 1938. After World War II, Birch Creek and its tributaries continued to produce on a small scale until about 1960.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Brown, 1926

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model no. 39c)
Deposit Other Comments = See also Encio (Riddle) Gulch (MD063) Birch Gulch (MD073), and Holmes Gulch (MD072). The Hidden Creek: Grable and Blackburn Mine is on land selected or conveyed to Doyon Ltd. For further information, contact Doyon Ltd. at 210 1st Ave., Fairbanks, Alaska, 99701.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 04-MAY-98 Bundtzen, T.K. Pacific Rim Geological Consulting

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.