Io

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Gold
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. 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 10307343
Record type Site
Current site name Io

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -149.05335, 67.79973 (WGS84)
Relative position The Io prospect is at an elevation of about 4,800 feet just above the headwaters of Robert Creek about 4 1/2 miles south of the confluence of Quartz Creek and the North Fork Chandalar River (SE1/4 sec. 2, T. 34 N., R. 7 W., of the Fairbanks Meridian). The location is accurate within a 1-mile radius.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Yukon-Koyukuk(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Chandalar D-5(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Chandalar N(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Chandalar(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Doyon, Limited(ANCSA Region)

ANCSA Region NTVPIC(Type of land area)

NTVPIC(Federal land areas administered by NTVPIC)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Copper Primary
Lead Primary
Zinc Critical Primary
Gold Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Magnetite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore

Alteration

  • (Local) Calc-silicate.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 60
USGS model code 18c
Deposit model name Skarn Zn-Pb
Mark3 model number 22

Nearby scientific data

(1) -149.05335, 67.79973

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Io prospect is one of a number of skarn deposits in the Chandalar area. Newberry and others (1986) classified this prospect as a Pb-Zn-Ag-Cu skarn and group it with a number of similar prospects that are northwest of and related to the Devonian(?)granitic plutons in the Horace Mountains. Many of these skarns exhibit both garnet and pyroxene prograde and epidote and actinolite retrograde mineral assemblages, and Newberry and others (1986) stated their characteristics place them in the category of continental-margin, porphyry-related copper skarns. They also suggest that the Pb-Zn-rich skarns represent distal concentrations surrounding the porphyry systems in the district. Newberry and others (1997) classify the Io prospect as a calcic Zn-Pb skarn and replacement body. A hand specimen of skarn from Io contains epidote, chlorite, actinolite, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, and magnetite (Newberry and others, 1986). Analysis of this specimen returned values of 12.6 percent Pb, 8.5 percent Zn, 0.04 percent Cu and 83 ppm Ag. In a listing posted on the Ventures Resource Corporation (currently exploring Doyon, Limited lands in the area under an agreement with Doyon, Limited) website (1998, URL http://www.venturesresource.com/) the Io prospect is classified as a Cu-Au prospect, although no supporting data are shown. The prospect is in an area underlain principally by Devonian Skajit Limestone and Hunt Fork Shale (DeYoung, 1978).
  • Age = Devonian based on reported Early Devonian Pb/Pb zircon ages from the associated Baby Creek batholith and Horace Mountain plutons (Dillon and others, 1996).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Chandalar

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Newberry and others, 1986

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Zn-Pb skarn deposits (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 18c)
Deposit Other Comments = See also: Deimos (CH061), Ginger (CH060), Hurricane-Diane (CH062), Venus (CH065), Pilgrim (CH099), Mike (CH100), Vicki (CH097), Cindy (CH098), and Evelyn Lee (CH059).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 17-NOV-99 J.M. Britton U.S. Geological Survey

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.