Chatham

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Antimony
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 10002949
MRDS ID A015444
Record type Site
Current site name Chatham
Related records 10232801

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -147.38102, 65.06468 (WGS84)
Relative position Cobb (1972, MF-413), loc. 44; NE1/4NE1/4 sec. 29, T. 3 N., R. 2 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. This mine is at the extreme head of Chatham Creek, at an elevation of 1,825 feet, adjacent to the cabins marked on the Livengood (A-1) quadrangle map.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Fairbanks North Star(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Livengood A-1(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Circle SW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Livengood(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Antimony Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Stibnite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Scorodite and stibiconite in carbonaceous quartzite.

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 Metamorphic Rock > Schist

Nearby scientific data

(1) PzPxyqs

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The prospect was located in 1908 when Fred Fey discovered a large quartz boulder with visible gold (Times Publishing Company, 1912). About 150 feet below this discovery, an adit revealed a shear zone striking N 60 W and dipping 65 to 80 S. The shear exhibits prominent slickensides showing nearly horizontal strike-slip motion (Smith, 1913; B 525). Average ore width in the stopes was 14 inches (Times Publishing Company, 1912).? A stibnite-bearing shear zone striking east and dipping south cuts the Chatham shear in the southeast drift about 150 feet from the main adit (Brooks, 1914). The stibnite occurs in massive, lenticular pods oriented diagonally to the strike of the shear zone. The shear zone is 10 to 15 feet wide and was traced on the surface for over 500 feet. Individual pods range from a few inches to several feet in width and are 10 to 12 feet in length. In a raise 825 feet from the portal, the stibnite is along a N 70 E, vertically-dipping shear zone with about 18 inches of pure stibnite in a clay-rich gouge zone (Brooks, 1918).? This mine produced both gold and anitmony ore. Ore from the Chatham mine was estimated to contain $30 to $40 per ton in gold (1.45 to 1.93 ounces of gold per ton) (Times Publishing Company, 1912). Workings consisted of the main 1300 foot Chatham adit and a Lower adit which was collared 120 feet below the Chatham adit.? the Chatham mine area was examined by Fairbanks Exploration Inc. in 1986 and preliminary sampling conducted (Fairbanks Exploration Inc., unpublished report, 1986). A sample taken from a small pit near the head of Chatham Creek contained 1800 ppb gold, with anomalous silver, arsenic and antimony. The sample consisted of scorodite and stibiconite in stained carbonaceous quartzite with no visible sufides. Visible gold was found in the pit from which this sample was extracted.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Fairbanks

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = On August 12, 1912, a 12-ton-per-day two-stamp Joshua Hendy mill began treating the Chatham mine gold ore (Times Publishing Company, 1912). Approximately 100 tons of stibnite was mined from a four-foot-thick pod in the east drift (Stewart, 1915). Total amount of gold and antimony ore production is not known.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = By mid-1916, the main Chatham adit had been driven 1,300 feet (Brooks, 1918). Approximately 400 feet of the shear zone had been stoped from the drift level to the surface; the workings extended from a point 175 feet northwest of the main adit to a point 225 feet southeast of it (Brooks, 1914). A second adit was collared 120 feet below the Chatham adit.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Cobb, 1976 (OFR 76-633)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Polymetallic vein (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 22c).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 04-MAY-1999 C.J. Freeman Avalon Development Corporation
Reporter 04-MAY-1999 J.R. Guidetti Schaefer Avalon Development Corporation

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.