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Kiruktagiak River

Occurrence in Alaska, United States with commodities Phosphorus-Phosphates, Vanadium, Uranium
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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 10003139
MRDS ID A015672
Record type Site
Current site name Kiruktagiak River
Related records 10136275

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -152.90355, 68.37966 (WGS84)
Relative position Located on west side of upper Kiruktagiak River, 450-1200 m above mouth of Monitis Creek. Known to within one mile.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

North Slope(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Chandler Lake B-5(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Chandler Lake SW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Chandler Lake(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Chandler-Anaktuvuk Rivers(hydrologic unit)

Colville River(hydrologic accounting unit)

Arctic Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Gates of the Arctic National Park(National Park)

National Park NPS(Type of land area)

NPS(Federal land areas administered by NPS)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Phosphorus-Phosphates Primary
Vanadium Critical Secondary
Uranium Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Gangue = All samples contained calcite

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Fluorapatite Ore
Vanadinite Ore
Quartz Gangue
Dolomite Gangue
Fluorite Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 243
USGS model code 34c
Deposit model name Phosphate, upwelling type

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock unit name Alapha Limestone
    Rock description Alapha Ls.;Alapha Ls

Nearby scientific data

(1) -152.90355, 68.37966
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Phosphate deposits are restricted to 40 ft. black shale and chert horizon of the Alapha Limestone of late Mississippian age. Rocks of phosphitic zone are chiefly a mixture of phosphatic material, Ca CO3, silt, and clay; in some places secondary purple fluorite is on bedding surfaces and in veinlets. Phosphatic material occurs as pellets (oolites) as much as 10 mm long and are composed of carbonate-fluorapatite. There are marked lateral variations in lithologic character and phosphate content. On the Kiraktagiak River and Monotis Creek, measured sections indicate that the phosphatic units are either lenticular or displaced by small folds and faults.
  • Age = Mississippian

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Non-metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Colville

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = A 38 ft. thick zone of chert and shale unit in the Mississippian Alapha limestone contains an average of 12% P2O5; the upper 19 ft. averages 19% P2O5. A 27 inch thick sequence contains 27% P2O5. Samples analyzed for vanadium contained 0.07%-0.49% V2O5. Highest uranium content was 0.21% U. Samples collected by the USBM contained up to 20.6% phosphate.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Bedded phosphorite

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 07-FEB-1997 J.M. Schmidt U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 07-FEB-1997 K.D. Kelley U.S. Geological Survey

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.