Michigan Creek

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodity Gold
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. Nearby scientific data
  9. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  10. Mining district
  11. Links to other databases
  12. Bibliographic references
  13. General comments
  14. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10001706
MRDS ID A012489
Record type Site
Current site name Michigan Creek
Related records 10281791

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -144.62889, 64.1636 (WGS84)
Relative position Michigan Creek drains into the South Fork of the Goodpaster River, approximately 32 miles north-northeast of Big Delta. The creek is approximately 8 miles long and has several small tributaries. The Alaska Division of Mining Kardex file system reports placer mining on Michigan Creek, but it is unclear where mining activity took place. The approximate midpoint of the creek is in SW1/4NW1/4 section 4, T. 9 S., R. 16 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. A winter trail from the South Fork of the Goodpaster River provides access to the Creek. It is locality 18 of Cobb and Eberlein (1980), who summarized relevant references under the name 'Michigan Creek'.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Southeast Fairbanks(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Big Delta A-2(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Big Delta SE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Big Delta(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

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

Nearby scientific data

(1) -144.62889, 64.1636

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The area is characterized by rounded hills and flat-topped ridges (Thomas, 1970). According to Weber and others (1978) the bedrock in the area is composed of gneiss, quartzite, augen gneiss, and some amphibole schist. The gravels on Michigan Creek are 12 to 25 feet thick and contain coarse gold (Brooks, 1916). Eberlein and others (1977) reported that a 1/2 ounce nugget was found on Michigan Creek. Stream-sediment and rock-chip samples collected from unknown locations in the creek drainage contain up to 10 ppb Au (North Star Exploration Inc., unpublished data, 1998).? the first discovery of placer gold in the Goodpaster region was on Michigan Creek in 1915 (Thomas, 1970). However, deposits were low grade, and mining activities soon ended. Before World War I, reports of placer mining deposits in the region were vague (Cobb, 1973; B 1374). Therefore, it is unclear where mining activities on Michigan Creek took place. Cobb (1973; B 1374) reports insignificant placer gold production from the Goodpaster region. It is unclear how much gold was produced from Michigan Creek.
  • 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 Goodpaster

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Cobb (1973; B 1374) reports insignificant placer gold production from the Goodpaster region. It is unclear how much gold was produced from Michigan Creek.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The first discovery of placer gold in the Goodpaster region was on Michigan Creek in 1915 (Thomas, 1970). However, deposits were low grade, and mining activities soon ended. Before World War I, reports from placer mining deposits in the region were vague (Cobb, 1973; B 1374). Therefore, it is unclear where mining activities on Michigan Creek took place.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Thomas, 1970

General comments

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

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 26-APR-1999 Cameron S. Rombach Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys

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.