Alaska-Pioneer-Sourdough, Steinmetz, d Alaska Commercial Co.

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Copper, Lead, Zinc, Silver, Gold
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 10307358
Record type Site
Current site name Alaska-Pioneer-Sourdough, Steinmetz, d Alaska Commercial Co.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -146.54554, 60.85459 (WGS84)
Relative position This site represents a mine and several prospects on the north side of inner Landlocked Bay. The map site is at an elevation of about 500 feet on a south-facing bluff above the bay. It is in the SW1/4 sec. 6, T. 12 S., R. 7 W., of the Copper River Meridian. The site is accurately located to within 1000 ft. This location is a combination of sites C-72, C-75, and C-80 of Jansons and others (1984), and site #14 of Cobb (1972: MF-392).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Cordova D-7 SW(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Cordova NW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Cordova(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Federal lands

Chugach National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

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

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Bornite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Marcasite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Specularite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 90
USGS model code 24a
Deposit model name Massive sulfide, Cyprus
Mark3 model number 11

Nearby scientific data

(1) -146.54554, 60.85459

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The mineral deposits at this site are in sheared mafic volcanic rocks of the Tertiary Orca Group (Nelson and others, 1985). They consist of 2-inch- to 4-ft.-wide lenses of massive sulfide accompanied by quartz gangue. Metalliferous minerals include arsenopyrite, bornite, chalcopyrite, marcasite, pyrite, and specularite. Early copper values reportedly were 11.4% to 12.5% Cu (Grant, 1906). Jansons and others (1984) report that a grab sample from the area contained 7.9% Cu. Chip samples contained 0.2%-3.9% Cu, along with a trace to 0.11 oz Au/ton.
  • Age = Probably Tertiary based on the age of the host rock.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Prince William Sound

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = 720 lbs. copper from 70 tons of ore shipped in 1905 (Grant, 1906).

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = 500 tons @ 2.27% Cu inferred reserves (Jansons and others, 1984).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The first discovery of copper (1897) in Prince William Sound was made in this area (Schrader, 1900). Capps and Johnson (1915) reported several adits, open cuts and a shaft. Early copper values reportedly were 11.4% to 12.5% Cu (Grant, 1906). Jansons and others (1984) report that a grab sample from the area contained 7.9% Cu. Chip samples contained 0.2%-3.9% Cu, along with a trace to 0.11 oz Au/ton.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Jansons and others, 1984

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Cyprus massive sulfide (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 24a)
Deposit Other Comments = Crowe and others (1992; 1993) and Sainsbury (1993) discuss the genesis of the volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in this area.. Chugach Alaska Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska has control of these lands.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 10-JUN-00 S.W. Nelson 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.