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Homestake Creek

Past 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. 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 10002867
MRDS ID A015351
Record type Site
Current site name Homestake Creek
Related records 10208613

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -148.55287, 63.99963 (WGS84)
Relative position The Homestake mine is located in sec. 33, T. 10 S., R. 5 W., Fairbanks Meridian. Placer mining on Homestake Creek, in the Fairbanks quadrangle, took place along the lower mile of the creek. However, most mining took place upstream in the Healy quadrangle. Homestake Creek is a tributary of the Totatlanika River and is about 10 miles east-southeast of the Liberty Bell mine. This mine is locality 74 of Cobb (1972 [MF410]).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Denali(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Healy D-4(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Healy N(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Healy C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Igneous Rocks Reddish-Brown Due To Oxidation By Weathering

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) -148.55287, 63.99963
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Homestake Creek was one of the most important gold-producing creeks in the Totatlanika basin. The upper part of the basin, in the Healy quadrangle, is underlain by sand, clay, gravel, and lignitic coal (Capps, 1912). The stream then flows through a ridge of schist that has been intruded by andesite (Capps, 1912; Wahrhaftig, 1970 [GQ-810]). In 1912, placer operations were in and immediately upstream of the canyon where gold was first discovered near the mouth of Fox Gulch in the Healy quadrangle (Capps, 1912; Maddren, 1918). The richest placers are below a zone that contains many quartz veins in carbonaceous slate (Maddren, 1918). Gravels are generally 6 feet deep on decayed schist bedrock. The gold is rusty and rather coarse; it is found mainly in the top foot of schist bedrock (Capps, 1912). The gold varies from 833 to 842 fine (Glover, 1950).
  • Age = Quaternary placer.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Bonnifield

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = About 3,870 ounces of gold was produced from 1905 to 1909 (Maddren, 1918). There is no information available of the amount of production in subsequent years.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Small-scale mining occurred from 1905 to 1909 and in 1912, 1935, 1936, and 1939 (Cobb, 1976 [OFR 76-662, p. 73]).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Prindle, L.M., 1907, The Bonnifield and Kantishna regions, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 314-L, p. 205-226.

  • Deposit

    Brooks, A.H., 1911, The Mount McKinley region, Alaska, with descriptions of the igneous rocks and of the Bonnifield and Kantishna districts by L.M. Prindle: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 70, 234 p.

  • Deposit

    Capps, S.R., 1911, Mineral resources of the Bonnifield region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480-H, p. 218-235.

  • Deposit

    Maddren, A.G., 1918, Gold placers near the Nenana coal field: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 662, p. 363-402.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1937, Mineral industry in Alaska in 1935: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 880-A, p. 1-95.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1938, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1936: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-A, p. 1-107.

  • Deposit

    Glover, A.E., 1950, Placer gold fineness: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-1, 38 p.

  • Deposit

    Wahrhaftig, Clyde, 1970, Geologic map of the Fairbanks A-4 quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Quadrangle Map GQ-810, 1 sheet, scale 1:63:360.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-410, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-662, 174 p.

  • Deposit

    Capps, S.R., 1912, The Bonnifield region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 501, 64 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1941, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1939: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 926-A, p. 1-106.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Maddren, 1918

General comments

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

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 31-JUL-2001 J.R. Guidetti Schaefer Avalon Development Corporation
Reporter 31-JUL-2001 C.J. Freeman Avalon Development Corporation

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.