Merrill's Silver

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Lead, Zinc, Gold, Copper
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 10002201
MRDS ID A013101
Record type Site
Current site name Merrill's Silver
Alternate or previous names Sunshine Mt. Silver

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -136.07213, 59.38974 (WGS84)
Relative position This prospect is north of the Little Salmon River at an elevation of approximately 700 feet; it is approximately 1.1 miles, S32W from VABM 1720 ('Knob'). It is approximately 6 miles west of the village of Klukwan in the NE1/4, section 1, T. 29 S., R. 55 E. of the Copper River Meridian. It is shown as locations 214 to 218 by Still and others (1984); site M by Still and others (1987); site K by Gilbert and Redman (1989); and number S016 by Wells and others (1986).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Haines(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Skagway B-3(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

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Galena Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Malachite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

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
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Mississippian
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Devonian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pennsylvanian
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Late Silurian
    Chronological age 33
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pennsylvanian
    Stratigraphic age (oldest) Late Silurian
    Chronological age 29.3

Nearby scientific data

(1) -136.07213, 59.38974

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Still and others (1991) describe this as a silver prospect that consists of silver-bearing, galena-sphalerite-quartz veins in dolomite and argillite. They collected rock samples that contained up to 610.3 ppm silver, 15.7% lead, 5.8% zinc, 0.471 ppm gold, and 1,640 ppm copper. Sample descriptions include: 'quartz vein with sphalerite, galena pyrite, and malachite(?)', 'quartz-gossan breccia with galena' and 'quartz-calcite breccia with galena and sphalerite'. The Devonian to Mississippian age of the carbonate host rocks (Gilbert and others, 1987) establishes a maximum age for the mineralization. However, the quartz-sulfide veins are probably of Tertiary age based on the 29.3 + 1 to 33.0 + 1 m.y. age of nearby intrusive bodies (Gilbert and others, 1987).
  • Age = The Devonian to Mississippian age of the carbonate rocks that host the deposit (Gilbert and others, 1987) establishes a maximum age for the mineralization. However, the quartz-sulfide veins are probably of Tertiary age, based on the 29.3 + 1 to 33.0 + 1 m.y. age of nearby intrusive bodies (Gilbert and others, 1987).
  • Age = Chron age is for nearby intrusive bodies. Host rock is Mississippian - Devonian.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Probably inactive

Mining district

District name Juneau (Skagway subdistrict)

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = According to Still and others (1991), this prospect is in an area penetrated by overgrown logging roads, with few outcrops. It was discovered by Merrill Palmer in 1980.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Still and others, 1984

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Silver-bearing quartz-sulfide veins in dolomite and argillite (Cox and Singer, 1986; 22c).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 04-FEB-2001 T.C. Crafford T. Crafford & Associates

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.