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Porcupine Creek Placer

Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, Copper
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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. Host and associated rocks
  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 10002182
MRDS ID A013079
Record type Site
Current site name Porcupine Creek Placer
Related records 10112488

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -136.24296, 59.40557 (WGS84)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Haines(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Skagway B-4(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Skagway SE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Skagway C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Chilkat-Skagway Rivers(hydrologic unit)

Northern Southeast Alaska(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southeast Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Comments on the location information

  • USGS MF-424, LOCATION 26; PLACER DEPOSIT EXTENDS FROM MOUTH OF PORCUPINE CREEK IN KLEHINI RIVER TO APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES UPSTREAM JUST ABOVE JUNCTION WITH MCKINLEY CREEK LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2,500,000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Lead Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Copper Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • PLACER GOLD FINENESS: 841-909, 866 AVG.; USBM OF 89-86, P. 15

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Garnet Gangue
Scheelite Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock > Diorite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Holocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Glacial Sediment

Nearby scientific data

(1) Pzce
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • LARGE DIORITE BOULDERS PRESENT, MODERATE TO WELL SORTED SAND AND GRAVEL BENCH ALLUVIUM; UNCONSOLIDATED SILT, SAND, AND GRAVEL STREAM ALLUVIUM; UNSORTED GLACIAL DRIFT. ; MAJOR.UNITS: M-L PAL PORCUPINE LIMESTONE OR MARBLE; MISS-PENN PORCUPINE SLATE; TERT VOLCANIC INTRUSIONS. ; REG.COM: SOURCE OF PORCUPINE CREEK PLACER GOLD IS BELIEVED TO BE MCKINLEY CREEK, AS LITTLE GOLD IS FOUND ABOVE JUNCTION OF PORCUPINE AND MCKINLEY CREEKS. PYRITIFEROUS ZONES IN PORCUPINE SLATE CONTAIN 1-2 PPM GOLD (USBM OF 89-86, P. 15). SAMPLES TAKEN NEAR THE HEAD OF PORCUPINE CREEK YIELD 0.148 PPM GOLD IN SLATE HOSTED QUARTZ VEINS, AND 49 PPM GOLD IN ISOLATED SAMPLE OF CHALCOPYRITE-BEARING QUARTZ FLOAT (USBM OF 173-84, P. 3, SAMPLES 132-141)

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1898
Year of first production 1898
Year of last production 1985

Mining district

District name Juneau/Porcupine

Comments on the production information

  • TOTAL PRODUCTION 1898-1985 FOR PORCUPINE, CAHOON, AND MCKINELY CREEKS: 79,000 TROY OZ. PLACER GOLD

Comments on the workings information

  • SEVERAL FLUMES AND TUNNELS BUILT IN EARLY 1900'S TO DIVERT CREEK, SUPPLY WATER FOR HYDRAULIC METHODS. HAND METHODS, SLUICES, ROCKERS, TROLLEY LIFT USED IN EARLY 1900'S. RESURGENCE OF ACTIVITY IN 1970'S AND 1980'S SAW USE OF MECHANIZED PLACER METHODS, PAN METHODS.

Comments on development

  • DISCOVERED IN 1898, MINED EXTENSIVELY FROM 1898-1917, INTERMITTENTLY SINCE THEN.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    USGS MF-424, LOCATION 26 (1972)

  • Deposit

    USBM OF 89-86 (1986)

  • Deposit

    USGS OF 78-316, P. 102, 103 (1978)

  • Deposit

    USBM OF 173-84, P. 3, SAMPLES 132-141 (1984)

  • Deposit

    USGS P 832, P. 20, 21 (1974)

  • Deposit

    USGS OF 406, P. 6 (1970)

  • Deposit

    USGS P. 610, P. 22 (1968)

  • Other Database

    BAG-MF-424-26

  • Production

    USBM OF 89-86, P. 6, TABLE 1

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit STREAM GRADIENT 350 FT/MI. TOTAL OF 652,000 CY MEDIUM TO HIGH POTENTIAL STREAM, ABANDONED CHANNEL AND BENCH GRAVELS. ALSO 6,000,000 CY OF UNKNOWN (PROBABLY LOW GRADE) ALLUVIAL FAN GRAVELS. LARGEST PLACER DEPOSIT IN SE ALASKA. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Deposit THIS SITE NAME WAS CREATED BY THE REPORTER OR OTHER USGS EMPLOYEE BASED ON PROXIMITY TO SOME MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE.
Deposit ABANDONED CHANNEL AND BENCH DEPOSITS ARE HIGHEST GRADE-152,000 CY GRADING 0.0106 OZ/CY AU OR MORE. STREAM CHANNEL GRAVELS-500,000 CY, MEDIUM GRADE. ALLUVIAL FAN-6,000,000 CY.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAR-1987 Leonard, Kenneth R. (Huber, Donald F.) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

External references

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.