1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Foster

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Gold, Copper, Lead, Tin, Zinc
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
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 10001930
MRDS ID A012764
Record type Site
Current site name Foster
Related records 10184583

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -162.57329, 65.02936 (WGS84)
Relative position The Foster prospect is in the headwaters of a north tributary of Omilak Creek at an elevation of approximately 1,250 feet. Omilak Creek flows westward from headwaters in the northern Darby Mountains to the Fish River in McCarthy's Marsh. This is locality 15 of Cobb (1972; MF 417; 1975; OFR 75-429) and locality 55 of Gamble (1988).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nome(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

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

Bendeleben SE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Bendeleben(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Nome(hydrologic unit)

Norton Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Anglesite Ore
Cerussite Ore
Galena Ore
Clay Gangue
Goethite Gangue
Limonite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Oxidation, fracturing, and leaching of wall-rock is known to a depth of 430 feet.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 72
USGS model code 19a
Deposit model name Polymetallic replacement
Mark3 model number 47
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 > Metasedimentary Rock > Marble

Nearby scientific data

(1) -162.57329, 65.02936
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Foster prospect is a zone of massive galena-bearing gossan, 700 feet long that is localized along the vertically fractured axis of an anticline. The host rocks are bleached and partly silicified marble that is part of a high grade metasedimentary assemblage of lower Paleozoic or Precambrian age (Till and other, 1986). The deposit is extensively and deeply oxidized and the gossan material is primarily limonite, goethite, cerussite, and anglesite (Herreid, 1965). Nodules of massive galena (to 2 feet across) encased in secondary oxides and carbonates are scattered through the mineralized zone and are residually concentrated at and near the surface (Mulligan, 1962). Dozer trenching has exposed a 12 by 90 foot gossan zone to a depth of 20 feet (Mulligan, 1962). Eight, three-foot long channel samples collected in the surface trench contained a trace to 25.6 % Pb (average 9.8 % P), a trace to 7.6 % Zn (average 1.5 % Zn), 5.7 to 42.5 % Fe (average 22.2 % Fe), a trace Au, 0.14 to 14.90 ounces/ton Ag (average 4.9 ounces/ton Ag), 0.1 to 0.3 % Sn (average 0.16 % Sn) adn 0.1 to 0.3 % Cu (Mulligan, 1962). Diamond drilling showed that extensive oxidation is present to depths greater than 400 feet. This drilling did not encounter massive sulfides, but sixteen assays of mixed core and sludge samples through the oxidized and mineralized zone averaged 4.6 % Pb and 0.95 ounces/ton Ag (Mulligan, 1962).
  • Age = Cretaceous ; Epigenetic mineralization in metamorphic rocks of Seward Peninsula is primarily of Cretaceous age.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Council

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Several tons of hand sorted, high grade ore have been collected and piled near the prospect.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Several trenches and pits were dug in about 1890 when the nearby Omilak mine (BN097) was in operation. Initial dozer trenching took place in 1949 and the U. S. Bureau of Mines later added seven more dozer trenches. The U. S. Bureau of mines also completed 11 diamond drill holes between 201 and 430 feet in length, totalling 3,015 linear feet of drilling (Mulligan, 1962).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Mulligan, J.J., 1962, Lead-silver deposits in the Omilak area, Seard Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 6018, 44 p.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1975, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bendeleben quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 75-429, 123 p.

  • Deposit

    Till, A.B., Dumoulin, J.A., Gamble, B. ., Kaufman, D.S., and Carroll, P.I., 1986, Preliminary geologic map and fossil data, Soloman, Bendeleben, and southern Kotzebue quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 86-276, 10 p., 3 plates, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Gamble, B.M., 1988, Non-placer mineral occurrences in the Solomon, Bendeleben, and southern part of the Kotzebue quadrangles, western Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Map MF-1838-B, 13 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Bendeleben quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-417, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Herried, G.H., 1965, Geology of the Omilak-Otter Creek area, Bendeleben quadrangle, Alaska: Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals Geological Report 11, 12 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Mulligan, 1962

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Polymetallic vein or replacement in marble (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 19a or 22c ?)
Deposit Model Number = 19a (?), 22c (?)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 15-MAR-1999 Travis L. Hudson Applied Geology

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.