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  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Busby

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Lead
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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. Nearby scientific data
  8. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  9. Mining district
  10. Links to other databases
  11. Bibliographic references
  12. General comments
  13. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10307453
Record type Site
Current site name Busby

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -147.32284, 64.02965 (WGS84)
Relative position The Busby mine is accessible by a winter trail from Ferry on the Alaska Railroad or from mile 46 on the Richardson Highway. The prospect is about 1 mile north of Slide Creek, a tributary of Dry Creek in the SE 1/4 sec. 11, T. 10 S., R. 2 E., Fairbanks Meridian. An airstrip for the mine was constructed on top of a hill in sections 26 and 27, T. 10 S., R. 2 E. (Conwell, 1973).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Southeast Fairbanks(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Fairbanks A-1(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Big Delta SW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Fairbanks(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Lead Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Galena Ore

Nearby scientific data

(1) -147.32284, 64.02965
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The following description of the Busby mine is taken from Conwell (1973). The rock at the mine is the Mystic Creek Member of the Totalanika Schist, which consists of black schist with interbedded limestone. Galena-bearing veins crosscut the black schist and are nearly vertical. A well-defined vein containing galena is exposed along a trench about 130 feet long. Two additional veins containing high-grade galena diverge from the main vein at an acute angle. Assays indicate that the ore has about 1 ounce of silver for each 1 percent of lead. In addition to the galena-bearing fractures, there is a prominent altered zone; samples from this zone are not of ore grade, but they are anomalously high in silver and lead. High-grade lead-silver ore was hand-sorted from a shallow trench. Approximately 12 tons of ore assaying 44.4 ounces of silver per ton and 48.1 percent lead was shipped to the American Smelting and Refining Company, at Helena, Montana, in the spring of 1973.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Bonnifield

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Approximately 12 tons of ore assaying 44.4 ounces of silver per ton and 48.1 percent lead was shipped to the American Smelting & Refining Company, at Helena, Montana, in the spring of 1973 (Conwell, 1973).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = High-grade lead-silver ore was hand-sorted from a shallow trench (Conwell, 1973). Approximately 12 tons of ore assaying 44.4 ounces of silver per ton and 48.1 percent lead was shipped to the American Smelting and Refining Company, at Helena, Montana, in the spring of 1973. Approximately 130 feet of trenching along the vein has exposed a well-defined fracture containing galena. Two additional veins containing high-grade galena diverge from the main fracture at an acute angle.

Reference information

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Conwell, 1973

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Schist-hosted galena vein

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 31-JUL-01 J.R. Guidetti Schaefer and C.J. Freeman Avalon Development Corporation

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.