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Bonnifield 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. Mineral occurrence model information
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  10. Mining district
  11. Links to other databases
  12. Bibliographic references
  13. General comments
  14. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10097556
MRDS ID A015356
Record type Site
Current site name Bonnifield Creek
Related records 10233564

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -147.93897, 64.06353 (WGS84)
Relative position The Bonnifield Creek mine is located in sec. 9 and possibly sections 1 or 10, T. 10 S., R. 2 W., Fairbanks Meridian. Small-scale placer mining took place about 4 miles below the head of the creek. This mine is locality 83 of Cobb (1972 [MF 410]).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Denali(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Fairbanks A-2(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Big Delta SW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Fairbanks(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

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 119
USGS model code 39a
Deposit model name Placer Au-PGE
Mark3 model number 54

Nearby scientific data

(1) -147.93897, 64.06353
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Small-scale placer mining that produced no more than a few hundred dollars worth of gold was reported on Bonnifield Creek in 1929 and 1935 (Smith, 1932, p. 40; Smith, 1937, p. 46). The gold was 818 to 832 fine (Glover, 1950). Production from placer mines on the creek was reported in the 1980's and 1990's (Bundtzen and others, 1990; Swainbank and others, 1995). Only the extreme headwaters of Bonnifield Creek lie within the California Creek Member of the Totatlanika Schist; it is composed of gray quartz-orthoclase-sericite schist and augen gneiss (Wahrhaftig, 1970 [GQ-808]). The lower 8 miles of the creek cuts through the Nenana Gravel (Wahrhaftig, 1970 [GQ-808]).
  • 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 = Not more than a few hundred dollars worth of gold was produced on this stream in 1929 and 1935 (Smith, 1932, p. 40; Smith, 1937, p. 46). There are no production figures available for more recent mining.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Apparently there was only small-scale placer mining prior to WW II. In 1924, two men had a groundsluicing operation on the creek (Wimmler, 1925 [ATDM MR 195-8, p. 43]). In 1994, D'Log Industries (Ferrel Woods) mined ground on Bonnifield Creek. A test run indicated average values of about $4.00 in gold per cubic yard of gravel, and the cost of mining ran about $1.75 per cubic yard (Swainbank and others, 1995, p. 29).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Wimmler, N.L., 1925, Placer mining in Alaska in 1925: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-8, 118 p.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1932, Mineral industry of Alaska in 1929, in Smith, P.S., and others Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1929: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 824-A, p. 1-81.

  • Deposit

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

  • 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-2 quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Quadrangle Map GQ-808, 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., 1973, Placer deposits of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1374, 213 p.

  • 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

    Bundtzen, T.K., Swainbank, R.C., Deagen, J.R. and Moore, J.L., 1990, Alaska's mineral industry 1989: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 44, 100 p.

  • Deposit

    Swainbank, R.C., Bundtzen, T.K., Clough, A.H., Henning, M.W., and Hansen E.W., 1995, Alaska's mineral industry 1994: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 49, 77 p.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Smith, 1932

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.