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Vault Creek

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodity Gold
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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. 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 10308620
Record type Site
Current site name Vault Creek

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -147.71796, 65.03867 (WGS84)
Relative position Vault Creek has been mined for almost four miles over most of its length. Drift mines are marked on the Livengood A-2 quadrangle from the mouth of Treasure Creek, down into the Chatanika Flats where more recent mining has occurred. The location given is on a placer mine along Vault Creek, 2.5 miles SSW of Olnes; SE1/4SE1/4 sec. 34, T. 3 N., R. 1 W., of the Fairbanks Meridian.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Fairbanks North Star(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Livengood A-2(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Circle SW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Livengood(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 119
USGS model code 39a
Deposit model name Placer Au-PGE
Mark3 model number 54

Nearby scientific data

(1) Qs
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Vault Creek has been mined over most of its length, for about 4 miles. Drift mining took place to the east of the current position of Vault Creek, from the mouth of Treasure Creek, down to the Chatanika River. Several of these drift mines are marked on the Livengood A-2 quadrangle. Placer gold is found in gravels up to 200 feet deep. Near the mouth in the Chatanika Flats, where recent drift mining has occurred, the alluvium is over 300 feet thick. The pay streak of early mining operations was reported to be 100 or more feet wide and 3 to 6 feet thick (Prindle, 1908). Most of the mining before World War II was drift mining. Mining occurred from 1906 to 1940, and drift mining in the Chatanika flats was reported as recently as 1994 (Cobb, 1976; OFR 76-633; Swainbank and others, 1995). Gold production, including tributaries, through 1924 was worth $2,749,000 with gold valued at $20.67 per ounce (Smith, 1926, p. 13). There is no record of the amount of production from recent drift mining activities.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Fairbanks

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Production, including tributaries, through 1924 was worth $2,749,000 (Smith, 1926, p. 13). Sam Skidmore started underground production at his Vault Creek property in 1994, however, production figures were not reported (Swainbank and others, 1995).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Placer mining, mainly from drift mines, occurred from 1906 to 1940 (Cobb, 1976; OFR 76-633). Placer gold was mined from a small underground drift near the old site of Vault, in 1989 (Bundtzen and others, 1990, p. 35). Sam Skidmore started underground production at his Vault Creek property in 1994 (Swainbank and others, 1995).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Cobb, 1976 (OFR 76-633)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer gold deposit (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 04-MAY-1999 C.J. Freeman, J.R. Guidetti Schaefer 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.