Gagaryah

Occurrence in Alaska, United States with commodity Barium-Barite

Sections on this page

Identification information
Geographic coordinates
Site location context
Geographic areas
Commodities
Materials information
Mineral occurrence model information
Nearby scientific data
Economic information about the deposit and operations
Mining district
Links to other databases
Bibliographic references
General comments
Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID	10307751
Record type	Site
Current site name	Gagaryah

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates:	-154.47541, 61.82465 (WGS84)
Relative position	This occurrence is in the easternmost headwaters of the Gagaryah River near a low divide with a creek draining northwest to Big River. It is at an elevation of 2,500 feet and 0.6 mile southeast of peak 3125. The map site is in the NE1/4 section 14, T 20 W, R 29 W, of the Seward Meridian. This location is from Bundtzen and Gilbert (1991, figs. 1 and 2).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Bethel(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Lime Hills D-4(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Lime Hills NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Lime Hills C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Stony River(hydrologic unit)

Upper Kuskokwim River(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country	State
United States	Alaska

Commodities

Commodity	Importance
Barium-Barite Critical	Primary

Materials information

Materials	Type of material
Barite	Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code	212
USGS model code	31b
Deposit model name	Bedded barite

Nearby scientific data

(1)	-154.47541, 61.82465	ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

Geologic Description = This occurrence consists of nodular, laminated, composite, and massive light-gray to light blueish-gray barite interbedded with Devonian (Frasnian) shale and siltstone (Bundtzen and Gilbert, 1991). The barite-rich intervals are at least 640 m long and vary from 6 or 7 m to as much as 39 m thick. The barite does not contain significant amounts of other elements including strontium, silver, lead, or zinc. Bundtzen and Gilbert (1991, p. 15) estimate that the deposit contains 2.3 million tonnes with an overall average grade of 57 percent barite. The setting and character of the Gagaryah deposit is similar to Middle to Upper Devonian barite deposits in northeastern British Columbia and the Selwyn Basin of central Yukon Territory (Bundtzen and Gilbert, 1991).
Age = Devonian. Two brachiopod-rich fossil localities that are 50 to 60 meters stratigraphically above the barite-bearing interval are Frasnian in age (Gilbert and others, 1990).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status	Occurrence

Comments on exploration

Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name	McGrath

Comments on the reserve resource information

Reserves = the deposit is estimated to contain 2.3 million tonnes with an overall average grade of 57 percent barite.

Comments on the workings information

Workings / Exploration = Surface observation and sampling have been completed on this deposit.

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency	Database name	Acronym	Record ID	Notes
USGS	Alaska Resource Data File	ARDF	LH002

Bibliographic references

Deposit

Bundtzen, T.K., and Gilbert, W.G., 1991, Geology and geochemistry of the Gagaryah barite deposit, western Alaska Range, Alaska, in Reger, R. D., ed., Short notes on Alaskan geology 1991: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Professional Report 111, p. 9-20.
Deposit

Gilbert, W.G., Bundtzen, T.K., Kline, J.T., and Laird, G.M., 1990, Preliminary geology and geochemistry of the southwest part of the Lime Hills D-4 quadrangle, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Report of Investigations 90-6, 4 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.

Comments on the references

Primary Reference = Bundtzen and Gilbert, 1991

General comments

Subject category	Comment text
Deposit	Model Name = Bedded barite (Cox and Singer, 1986, model 31b)

Reporter information

Type	Date	Name	Affiliation	Comment
Reporter	10-JUN-01	Travis L. Hudson	Applied Geology
Reporter	10-JUN-01	Madelyn A. Millholland	Millholland & Associates

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.