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Marvel Creek

Producer 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. 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 10002463
MRDS ID A013393
Record type Site
Current site name Marvel Creek
Related records 10160857

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -159.62282, 60.90933 (WGS84)
Relative position Marvel Creek is a north tributary to Eagle Creek, a west tributary of the Salmon River. About 3 miles of Marvel Creek have been placer mined. The map site is the approximate midpoint of the placer workings, at the southwest corner of section 32, T 10 N, R 58 W, of the Seward Meridian. It is locality 12 of Cobb (1972 [MF 455]) and of Hoare and Cobb (1977).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Bethel(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Bethel D-2(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Bethel NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Bethel(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Aniak(hydrologic unit)

Lower Kuskokwim River(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southwest(hydrologic subregion)

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

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Clay, Mud
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Holocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Silt
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Slate
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock > Quartzite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -159.62282, 60.90933
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Marvel Creek has been extensively placer mined over about 3 miles, or most of its length. It is in a non-glaciated valley with headwaters in an area where the Upper Cretaceous granitic stock of Marvel Dome is surrounded by hornfels in sedimentary rocks of the mid-Cretaceous Kuskokwim Group (Box and others, 1993). A small undated felsic stock is bedrock at the head of the placer workings. Hornfels near the intrusive rocks is locally cut by abundant quartz stringers and veins up to 8 inches wide. Some iron-staining accompanies the quartz veins, but metallic minerals are not obvious (Maddren, 1915, p. 341).? Marvel Creek valley has not been glaciated. The alluvium is moderately well sorted but locally derived, coarse, and subangular. Silt is present in the gravels and a discontinuous yellow clay horizon is present on or near bedrock. Pay is on bedrock and in bedrock fractures, or on the clay horizon where it is present. There are discontinuous sloping bench deposits that are incised by the active stream along lower parts of the creek. The lower creek also incises bedrock, and the initial discovery of gold in 1911 was on bench bedrock exposed in a cutbank there (Maddren, 1915, p. 343). Along the present flood plain, the gravel deposits are about 800 feet wide and 5 to 25 feet thick. It appears that they thicken upstream; near the head of mining a 60-foot deep shaft failed to reach bedrock (Maddren, 1915, p. 342). The creek has been placer mined over 3 miles of its length. Most of the mining on the lower part was by a small dredge. Mining took place almost every year from the 1920s to 1940 and recommenced after WW II until at least 1970 (Hoare and Cobb, 1977). Much of the pay ranged in grade from 0.01 to 0.02 ounce of gold per square foot and much of the gold was coarse (Hoare and Cobb, 1977, p. 19). In 1912, a 20,000-square-foot open cut completed with pick and shovel recovered about 0.03 ounce of gold per square foot (Maddren, 1915, p. 344).
  • Age = Quaternary.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active

Mining district

District name Aniak

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Maddren (1915) reported that about 1,100 ounces of gold were produced between 1912 and 1914. In 1912, a 20,000-square-foot open cut completed with pick and shovel recovered about 0.03 ounce of gold per square foot (Maddren, 1915, p. 344). Much of the pay ranged in grade from 0.01 to 0.02 ounce per square foot, and much of the gold was coarse (Hoare and Cobb, 1977, p. 19).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The creek has been placer mined over 3 miles of its length. Most of the mining on the lower part was by a small dredge. Hydraulic and open-cut methods were used above the dredged area. Mining took place almost every year from the 1920s to 1940 and recommenced after WW II until at least 1970 (Hoare and Cobb, 1977).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Maddren, A.G., 1915, Gold placers of the lower Kuskokwim with a note on copper in the Russian Mountains: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 622-H, p. 292-360.

  • Deposit

    Hoare, J.M., and Cobb, E.H., 1977, Mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Bethel, Goodnews, and Russian Mission quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-156, 98 p.

  • Deposit

    Box, S.E, Moll-Stalcup, E.J., Frost, T.P., and Murphy, J.M., 1993, Preliminary geologic map of the Bethel and southern Russian Mission quadrangles, southwestern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2226-A, 20 p., scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Bethel quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-455, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Hoare and Cobb, 1977

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 24-MAR-2001 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.