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Platinum Creek Platinum Placer

Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities PGE, Gold, Chromium
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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. Host and associated rocks
  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 10107536
MRDS ID A013214
Record type Site
Current site name Platinum Creek Platinum Placer
Alternate or previous names Claims: Discovery, 1b-5b, 1b R.L.B, 2b R.L.B.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -161.70657, 58.91675 (WGS84)
Elevation 30
Relative position 0.7 MI. SE OF GOODNEWS MINING CAMP

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Bethel(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Hagemeister Island D-6(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Hagemeister Strait(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Hagemeister Island(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Kuskokwim Delta(hydrologic unit)

Lower Kuskokwim River(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

BLM(Federal land areas administered by BLM)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Comments on the location information

  • USGS MF-362, LOC. 12 (APPROXIMATE LOCATION). LOCATION IS AT CONFLUENCE OF PLATINUM CREEK AND SALMON RIVER. PLACER EXTENDS UPSTREAM ABOUT 1.5 MI TO FOX GULCH. LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2,500,000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).

Commodities

Commodity Importance
PGE Critical Primary
Gold Secondary
Chromium Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • GOLD IS ALIEN MINERAL INTRODUCED BY GLACIATION, PGM OFTEN INTERGROWN WITH CHROMITE

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Ilmenite Gangue
Chromite Unknown

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Holocene

Nearby scientific data

(1) -161.70657, 58.91675
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • MAJOR.UNITS: BEDROCK CONSISTS OF UPPER PALEOZOIC (?) SEDIMENTARY ROCKS. ; REG.COM: SOURCE OF PGM IS ULTRAMAFIC ROCKS OF GOODNEWS BAY ULTRAMAFIC COMPLEX ON RED MTN.. PLACER MATERIAL TRANSPORTED TO PLATINUM CREEK BY FOX AND DRY GULCHES, AND SQUIRREL CREEK.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1927
Discoverer Charles Thorsen
Year of first production 1927

Mining district

District name Goodnews Bay

Comments on the workings information

  • OPEN CUTS FROM CONFLUENCE WITH SALMON RIVER TO HEAD OF FOX GULCH FROM DRAGLINE EXCAVATOR.

Comments on development

  • MINED BY SMALL-SCALE METHODS 1927-34. 6 PLACER, 2 BENCH CLAIMS ESTABLISHED. MINED BETWEEN DRY GULCH AND HEAD OF FOX GULCH BY GOODNEWS BAY MINING CO. USING DRAGLINE EXCAVATOR FROM 1938-41. DOWNSTREAM PORTION MINED FROM 1968 ON, USING DRAGLINE.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    USGS MF-362, LOC. 12 (1972)

  • Deposit

    USGS P 938, P. 4, 5, 23-26 (1976)

  • Deposit

    USGS OF 80-909, P. 24 (1980)

  • Deposit

    USGS B 918, P. 57-64 (1940)

  • Deposit

    USBM OFR 51-86, P. 2, 6-7 (1986)

  • Other Database

    BAG-MF-362-12

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit STREAM GRADIENT 100 FT/MI. TRIBUTARY OF SALMON RIVER. GOODNEWS PLATINUM CO. IS ONLY U.S. MINE WHOSE PRIMARY COMMODITY IS PGM. BECAUSE PGM NOT FOUND ON PLATINUM CREEK ABOVE FOX GULCH, FOX GULCH CAN BE CONSIDERED HEADWATERS OF PLACER. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT
Deposit THIS SITE NAME WAS CREATED BY THE REPORTER OR OTHER USGS EMPLOYEE BASED ON PROXIMITY TO SOME MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE.
Deposit PLACER CONSISTS OF ABOUT 12 FT. THICK SUBROUNDED TO SUBANGULAR GRAVELS, OVERLAIN BY 3 FT. OF MOSS AND TURF. GRAVEL AVERAGES 8-12 IN. IN DIAMETER NEAR FOX GULCH, 5-6 IN. IN DIA. DOWNSTREAM, WITH BOULDERS UP TO 3 FT. DIA.. PLATINUM METALS FOUND ON SURFACE AND IN CREVICES OF BEDROCK, WITH SOME PRESENT IN LOWER 2-3 FT. OF GRAVEL. PAYSTREAK ON UPPER PORTION OF CREEK IS 100-200 FT. WIDE. DOWNSTREAM FROM SQUIRREL CREEK, TWO PAYSTREAKS PRESENT. PRIMARY ONE (80% OF PGM) IS FROM SQUIRREL CREEK, OTHER ONE FROM UPPER PLATINUM CREEK. WIDTH OF PAYSTREAK IN LOWER PLATINUM CREEK IS 120-400 FT.. PGM NOT FOUND ABOVE FOX GULCH ON PLATINUM CREEK.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAY-87 Leonard, Kenneth R. (Huber, Donald F.) 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.