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Nukalaska

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Tellurium
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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 10100936
MRDS ID A010574
Record type Site
Current site name Nukalaska
Alternate or previous names Honolulu Group
Related records 10185423

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -150.66947, 59.50837 (WGS84)
Relative position The Nukalaska mine is on a precipitous north-facing slope below peak 2560 in the southwest part of the Seldovia C-2 quadrangle. The mine's camp was located on Sunny Cove, an embayment on the west arm of Nuka Bay. From the camp, a road was driven 1 1/4 miles to the mill site at an approximate elevation of 600 feet. The mill site was the terminus of an aerial tramway which rose 1,800 feet to the mine's portal about 235 feet north and 200 feet below the discovery outcrop. This Cobb's (1972, MF-397) location 17 and Richter's location 1. This location is accurate to within 300 feet.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Kenai Peninsula(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Seldovia C-2(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Seldovia NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Seldovia(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Resurrection River-Frontal Resurrection Bay(hydrologic unit)

Prince William Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

South Central Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Port Graham Corporation(ANCSA Village)

ANCSA Village NTVPIC(Type of land area)

NTVPIC(Federal land areas administered by NTVPIC)

Kenai Fjords 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
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Copper Secondary
Tellurium Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Chalcocite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Covellite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Sylvanite Ore
Tetrahedrite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) None reported although Borden and others (1991) report other veins in the Nuka Bay district show carbonization, sulfidization, sericitization, and silicification of the wall rock adjacent to the veins.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 273
USGS model code 36a
Deposit model name Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
Mark3 model number 27

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Siltstone
    Rock unit name Valdez Group
    Rock description Valdez Group;Valdez Group;

Nearby scientific data

(1) g
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The host rocks of the mine are slate and graywacke of the Cretaceous Valdez Group that have been cut by quartz diorite dikes of Tertiary age (Richter, 1970). The deposit consists of a 10- to 18-inch-thick banded quartz vein that occurs along the footwall of a 12-foot-thick quartz diorite dike. The vein is younger than the dike; low-grade veinlets that divert into the dike are common. The vein strikes almost due east at a right angle to the graywacke country rock and dips 80S. The ore consists of somewhat banded quartz with free gold, arsenopyrite, pyrite, galena, and chacopyrite. Microscopic examination by Yewell (Capp,1938) also identified tetrahedrite, chalcocite, and covellite. The gold appears to be localized within high-grade shoots within the vein. ? From the top of the tramway the main haulage drift was driven 235 feet to intersect the vein. Two drifts were driven both east and west along the vein. The east drift was driven 200 feet but no significant mineralization was encountered. All the production came from the west drift. In 1936, the west stope was 140 feet long and 80 feet high along the 12- to 18-inch-wide vein. Concentrates from this stope carried 21 to 51 ounces of gold per ton; even though two-thirds of the mill feed was wall rock (Capps, 1938).
  • Age = Tertiary; Boden and others (1991) report other veins in the district are about 55 m.y. old.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Homer

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = The gold occurred in very high-grade shoots. Ore mined in 1936 yielded $100 per ton ($35 per ounce gold) even though two-thirds of the mill feed was country rock (Capps, 1938, p.27-29). The total production for this mine is unknown.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = None reported.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The mine was discovered in 1926 and developed in 1934-35. It produced from 1935 to 1940. In 1936, the west stope was 140 feet long and 80 feet high along the 12- to 18-inch-wide vein. Concentrates from this stope carried 21 to 51 ounces of gold per ton; even though two-thirds of the mill feed was wall rock. (Capps, 1938). A fire in 1938 and snow slides in 1939 hampered mining. World War II closed the mine in 1942 and an attempt to reopen the mine after the war failed (Richter, 1970).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Capps, 1938; Richter, 1970

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Low-sulfide, Au-quartz vein (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a)
Deposit Other Comments = This mine is within Kenai Fjords National Park; the area is closed to mineral entry.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 02-FEB-99 Jeff A. Huber 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.