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Gold Run Creek

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodity Gold
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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. 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 10001720
MRDS ID A012504
Record type Site
Current site name Gold Run Creek

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -146.32897, 64.43357 (WGS84)
Relative position Gold Run Creek drains north into McCoy Creek, approximately 12 miles north of the town of Richardson on the Richardson Highway. The creek is approximately 6.5 miles long and has several small tributaries. There are references to placer mining along Gold Run Creek, but it is unclear where. The approximate midpoint of the creek is in SE1/4SE1/4 section 34, T. 5 S., R. 7 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. Several unimproved roads provide access to the lower half, while the Trans-Alaska Pipeline provides access to the upper half of the Gold Run Creek drainage. It is locality 7 of Cobb (1977; OFR 77-168B) who summarized relevant references under the name 'Gold Run Creek'.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Fairbanks North Star(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Big Delta B-5(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Big Delta SW(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) -146.32897, 64.43357
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Richardson area is characterized by gentle slopes and broad, alluvium-filled valleys (Prindle and Katz, 1913, p. 140). The area is unglaciated and largely overlain by windblown silt, sand, and loess, locally up to 50 meters thick (Foster and others, 1979). The bedrock in the region comprises greenschist to amphibolite facies schist, marble, and gneiss that have been intruded by various igneous bodies (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). The schist and marble are probably Paleozoic, and the gneiss has a probable protolith of Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks (Weber and others, 1978). The intrusive bodies in the area range in composition from rhyolite to andesite. Fine-grained rhyolite containing quartz and feldspar phenocrysts is common throughout the area (Olson and others, 1985). At the nearby Democrat Lode (BD014), the rhyolite contains arsenopyrite, gold, and pyrite, and is albitic, clay, and sericite altered (R.J. Newberry, oral communication, 1998). Structurally, the Richardson region is cut by a northwest trending fracture system termed the Richardson Lineament. The lineament appears to correspond to the distribution of the rhyolite and other intrusive bodies and placer gold deposits (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). Also, the lineament tends to separate gneissic rocks to the northeast from schistose rocks to the southwest (Swainbank and others, 1984).? Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and soon expanded to nearby creeks. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). Glover (1920?) reported a range in gold fineness of 694 to 847 for Gold Run Creek. From the investigations during the planning of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline route, Mulligan (1974) reported that Gold Run Creek contained prospect workings, but no mining. Metz (1991) described early drift mine and surface trench tailings in the Gold Run Creek drainage. From 1905 through 1921, production from the Richardson district was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, the district has produced approximately 10,000 additional ounces of gold from intermittent mining (Olson and others, 1985). No production for Gold Run Creek has been reported.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Fairbanks

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = From 1905 through 1921, production for the Richardson district was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, the district has produced approximately 10,000 additional ounces of gold from intermittent mining (Olson and others, 1985). No production for Gold Run Creek has been reported.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek and soon expanded to nearby creeks. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). From the investigations during the planning of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline route, Mulligan (1974) reported that Gold Run Creek contained prospect workings, but no mining. Metz (1991) described early drift mine and surface trench tailings in the Gold Run Creek drainage.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Ellsworth, C.E., 1910, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442, 432 p.

  • Deposit

    Ellsworth, C.E., and Parker, G.L., 1911, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480, 325 p.

  • Deposit

    Prindle, L.M., and Katz, F.J., 1913, Detailed description of the Fairbanks district, in Prindle, L. M., A geologic reconnaissance of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 525, p. 59-152.

  • Deposit

    Saunders, R.H., 1965, A geochemical investigation in the Richardson area, Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals Geochemical Report 3, 11 p.

  • Deposit

    Mulligan, J.J., 1974, Mineral resources of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline corridor: U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 8626, 24 p.

  • Deposit

    Bundtzen, T.K., and Reger, R.D., 1977, The Richardson lineament-a structural control for gold deposits in the Richardson mining district, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geologic Report 55, 46 p.

  • Deposit

    Eberlein, G.D., Chapman, R.M., Foster, H.L., and Gassaway, J.S., 1977, Map and table describing known metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits in central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-168-D, 132 p., 1 map, scale 1:1,000,000.

  • Deposit

    Weber, F.R., Foster, H.L., Keith, T.E.C., Dusel-Bacon, C., 1978, Preliminary geologic map of the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-529A, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Menzie, W.D., and Foster, H.L., 1979, Metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral resource potential in the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-529D, 61 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., and Eberlein, G.D., 1980, Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Big Delta and Tanacross quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-1086, 77 p.

  • Deposit

    Swainbank, R.C., Burton, J.P., and Metz, P.A., 1984, Bedrock geology of the Richardson mining district, Alaska: University of Alaska, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Open-File Report 84-2, 60 p., 8 maps, scale 1:40,000.

  • Deposit

    Olson, B.G., Burton, J., Wolff, E.N., and Swainbank, R.D., 1985, Mining and minerals in the golden heart of Alaska: Fairbanks North Star Borough Publication, 80 p.

  • Deposit

    Metz, P.A., 1991, Metallogeny of the Fairbanks Mining District, Alaska and adjacent areas: London, Royal School of Mines, Ph.D. dissertation, 370 p.

  • Deposit

    Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-J, p. 357-362.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Mulligan, 1974

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.

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