Alvinella

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Lead, Zinc
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 10307432
Record type Site
Current site name Alvinella
Alternate or previous names Cub Creek

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -162.87174, 68.15144 (WGS84)
Relative position This prospect is at an elevation of about 1,000 feet in the northwest wall of lower Ikalukruk Creek. The map site is in the NW1/4 of section 30, T. 32 N., R. 18 W., of the Kateel River Meridian. This site also is referred to as the Cub Creek prospect.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Northwest Arctic(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

De Long Mountains A-2(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

De Long Mountains SE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

De Long Mountains(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Wulik-Kivalina Rivers(hydrologic unit)

Noatak River-Lisburne Peninsula(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

NANA Regional Corporation, Incorporated(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
Lead Primary
Zinc Critical Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Galena Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Slight silicification.

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 208
USGS model code 31a
Deposit model name Sedimentary exhalative Zn-Pb
Mark3 model number 13

Nearby scientific data

(1) -162.87174, 68.15144

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Alvinella prospect is in the southern part of a several-square-mile area which contains five surface showings of lead and zinc mineralization in the black shales of the Mississippian Lisburne Formation. The geologic and structural setting is similar to that at Red Dog (ARDF number DL001). Thrust faults cause repetition of the mineralized shale horizon. The thrust blocks overlie the Cretaceous Wolverine Creek allochthon, which is the structural footwall of the Red Dog sequence. Drilling at the prospect has intercepted zones of low-grade mineralization. The prospect is named for fossilized worm tubes commonly found in the Ikalikrok Member, which consists of silicified, sulfide-bearing shale, carbonate, and non-silicified shales. The tubes are associated with at least minor base-metal sulfides and are thought to indicate sites of hydrothermal discharge (Young, 1989).
  • Age = Mississippian.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active

Mining district

District name Lisburne

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The general area has been mapped, sampled, and explored by geophysical surveys. Several core holes, drilled since the early 1980's, have intercepted thin, low-grade mineralization (Scott Jennings, oral communication, 1999).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Young, L.E., 1989, Geology and genesis of the Red Dog deposit, western Brooks Range, Alaska: Canadian Institute of Mining Bulletin, v. 82, p. 57-67.

  • Deposit

    Phelps, R., 1998, Leader of the Pack, Red Dog Mine 'Grows Up': Engineering and Mining Journal, v. 199, p. 34-44.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = This description

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Sedimentary exhalative Zn-Pb (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 31a).
Deposit Other Comments = the prospect is located on NANA-owned lands.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 21-DEC-99 Williams, Anita 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.