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Tobin Creek

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

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10001772
MRDS ID A012562
Record type Site
Current site name Tobin Creek
Related records 10282112

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -148.30329, 67.52973 (WGS84)
Relative position Tobin Creek is a tributary to Chandalar Lake and heads just to the west of the Chandalar area gold lodes. The placer-mined area as shown on the map by Chipp (1970) is the lower 1/2 to 1/4 mile of the left-limit headwater tributary of Tobin Creek (sec. 6, T. 32 N., R. 3 W., of the Fairbanks Meridian). This branch of the headwaters of Tobin Creek drains directly from the area of the Mikado lode mine (CH045). The location is accurate within a 1/4-mile radius.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Yukon-Koyukuk(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Chandalar C-3(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Chandalar N(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Chandalar C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Lead Secondary
REE Critical Secondary
Tungsten Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Monazite Ore
Scheelite Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

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

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel

Nearby scientific data

(1) DPxacs
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Tobin Creek drains the area of the Mikado mine, one of several gold-quartz lode deposits in the Chandalar district and the Mikado fault, along which the Mikado vein occurs. The stream has probably been one of the principal producers in the Chandalar area, but there is only a modest amount of information about this mine. Initial prospecting began in 1930 and was encouraging. Mining was begun by at least 1934. Concentrates contain hematite, monazite, scheelite, pyrite, magnetite, rutile, and galena in addition to the gold (White, 1952). The pay zone is reported to be more than 100 feet thick in thawed gravel.
  • Age = Quaternary.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active

Mining district

District name Chandalar

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Little production data are available, but the total has probably been significant. Heiner and Wolff (1968) reported that there had been moderate production from 1957 until 1968. Production of 2,129 ounces in 1983, said to be mostly from Tobin Creek but partially from Little Squaw Creek, was said to be more than double the 1982 production, and production in 1984 was expected to double again (Alaska Construction and Oil, 1984). Chandalar Development Corp. mined for two consecutive years on Tobin Creek and was reported to be the largest producer in the northern Alaska region (Bundtzen and others, 1992).

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = Alaska Construction and Oil (1984) reported that Canadian Barranca Ltd., Inc., the operator in 1984, considered placer reserves in Tobin Creek, Little Squaw Creek, and two additional unnamed creeks in the area to be at least 100,000 ounces with potential for as much as 500,000 ounces.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Prospecting with encouraging results began in 1930. Mining was reported sporadically from 1930 through as late as 1991. Bulldozer and hydraulic operations were set up in the 1950s.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Chipp, 1970

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)
Deposit Other Comments = See also: Little Squaw (CH039 ) and Big Creek (CH043) placers. A concentrate sample had a reported eU of 0.020 percent (White, 1952).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 17-NOV-1999 J.M. Britton 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.