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Snipe

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Thorium, Uranium
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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. Alteration
  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 10307487
Record type Site
Current site name Snipe

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -144.20264, 62.85968 (WGS84)
Relative position The Snipe uranium-thorium prospect is at an elevation of 4,300 feet in an unnamed west-flowing tributary to the upper East Fork of Indian Creek. It is about 3.4 miles north of the west end of Long Lake in the SW1/4SW1/4, section 36, T. 13 N., R. 6 E., Copper River Meridian. The prospect is limited to a 30 foot by 50 feet outcrop in a stream cut. (WGM 1979).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Valdez-Cordova(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Gulkana D-1(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Gulkana NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Gulkana(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Copper River(hydrologic unit)

Copper River(hydrologic accounting unit)

South Central Alaska(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Thorium Primary
Uranium Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Opal Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Tourmaline Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Marked by pyrite, quartz, tourmaline, and sericitized plagioclase.

Nearby scientific data

(1) -144.20264, 62.85968
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Snipe prospect is in a coarse-grained potassic-diorite phase of the Pennsylvanian to Permian, Ahtell pluton, possibly near a contact with the Grubstake quartz monzonite phase (Richter, 1966). The prospect consists of vuggy quartz-tourmaline vein material bordered by bleached, clay-rich alteration zones in Indian Creek quartz monzonite, a phase of the Ahtell pluton defined by WGM Inc. (1979). Scintillometer readings vary up to 3,500 cps (over 8 times background) and grab samples contain up to 730 ppm uranium and 8,650 ppm thorium (WGM Inc.,1979). The prospect is limited to a 30 foot by 50 feet outcrop in a stream cut. (WGM Inc., 1979).
  • Ore Material = Uranium
  • Ore Material = thorium are concentrated in iron oxides
  • Age = Probably associated with emplacement of Richter's (1966) Permian or possibly Jurassic, diorite to quartz-diorite complex.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Chistochina

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Shallow hand trenching in three areas.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Richter, D.H., 1966, Geology of the Slana district on south-central Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geological Report 2l, 36b p., 3 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

  • Deposit

    WGM Inc., 1979, 1978 Annual Progress Report, Uranium Exploration, Ahtell Creek Area, Volume I: WGM Inc., 39 p., appendices and 4 maps. (Report available, Ahtna Mineral Co., Anchorage, Alaska).

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = WGM Inc.,1979

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Vein-type uranium (?)
Deposit Other Comments = Additional information can be obtained from Ahtna Minerals in Anchorage, Alaska.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 06-DEC-00 W.T. Ellis Alaska Earth Sciences
Reporter 06-DEC-00 Hawley, C.C. Hawley Resource Group
Reporter 06-DEC-00 W.J. Nokleberg 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.