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Charlie Creek (lode)

Prospect in Alaska, United States with commodities Bismuth, 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 10308930
MRDS ID D001940
Record type Site
Current site name Charlie Creek (lode)
Related records 10009203

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -165.47971, 64.84509 (WGS84)
Relative position The prospect is on the east fork of Charlie Creek, a north-flowing tributary of upper Sinuk River. The prospect is at an elevation of about 1,000 feet and is located within about 1,000 feet. It is locality 4 of Hummel (1962 [MF 248]) and locality 11 of Cobb (1972 [MF 463], 1978 [OFR 78-93]).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nome(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

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

Solomon NW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Nome(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Nome(hydrologic unit)

Norton Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Bismuth Critical Primary
Gold Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Gangue = sericite (white mica)

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Bismuth Ore
Bismuthinite Ore
Gold Ore
Pyrite Ore
Graphite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 273
USGS model code 36a
Deposit model name Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein
Mark3 model number 27

Nearby scientific data

(1) -165.47971, 64.84509
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Two bismuth-bearing quartz veins were found prior to 1907 by tracing native bismuth nuggets found during early placer gold mining on Charlie Creek to their souce (Moffit, 1907). These veins are exposed in cuts on both sides of Charlie Creek. As described by Cathcart (1922, p. 223-224), one vein was 5 inches and the other 10 inches wide. They were separated by about 1 foot of schist. The veins strike N 80 W and dip 50 degrees N. The veins were predominantly vuggy quartz with some white mica, native bismuth, and bismuthinite. Chapin (1914 [B 592-L, p. 397-407]) reported a 4-foot-wide quartz vein with gold-bearing intergrown bismuth and bismuthinite. When the property was visited by Cathcart (1922), there was only about 1 or 2 percent of bismuth minerals in dump material. Some richer material may have been hand-picked and produced earlier. Although platinum had been reported, the U.S. Geological Survey did not find any by assay (Cathcart, 1922). Platinum was again reported in the 1950's but its presence has not been reliably confirmed. The prospect must have been active periodically, because there were buildings and some fairly modern equipment at the site when one of the the compilers (C.C. Hawley) visited the property in about 1995. The veins and widely spaced veinlets in joints are presumably the source of gold, bismuth, and rutile reported in the Charlie Creek placer below the lode (NM047). The country rock of the Charlie Creek prospect is lower amphibolite facies pelitic schist containing garnet and biotite (Bundzten and others, 1994). The schist strikes east-northeast to east and dips south. North-dipping joints are common and contain thin quartz veinlets at a 1-foot or greater spacing. The country rock could be the older part of the Nome Group and have a Precambrian protolith (Bundzten and others, 1994; Till and Dumoulin, 1994). The Nome Group underwent regional blueschist facies metamorphism in the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous (Sainsbury, Coleman and Kachadoorian, 1970; Forbes and others, 1984; Thurston, 1985; Armstrong and others, 1986; Hannula and McWilliams, 1995). The blueschist facies rocks were recrystallized to greenschist facies or higher metamorphic grades in conjunction with regional extension, crustal melting, and magmatism in the mid-Cretaceous (Hudson and Arth, 1983; Miller and Hudson, 1991; Miller and others, 1992; Dumitru and others, 1995; Hannula and others, 1995; Hudson, 1994; Amato and others, 1994; Amato and Wright, 1997, 1998). Lode gold mineralization on Seward Peninsula is mostly related to the higher temperature metamorphism in the mid-Cretaceous (Apodoca, 1994; Ford, 1993 [thesis]; Ford and Snee, 1996; Goldfarb and others, 1997).
  • Age = Probably mid-Cretaceous, the same age as some gold-quartz veins of southern Seward Peninsula.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Probably inactive

Mining district

District name Nome

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Possibly some hand-picked bismuth ore was shipped from this prospect.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = The prospect was found prior to 1907 by tracing bismuth or bismuthinite nuggets found in sluice boxes in lower Charlie Creek upstream to their source (Moffit, 1907). In 1914, Chapin reported that prospectors had found a 4-foot vein which contained bismuth and gold. Cathcart (1922) reported open cuts on both sides of upper Charlie Creek; evidence of later workings and support facilities were found in 1995.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Cathcart, 1922

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Low-sulfide Au quartz vein (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 36a).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 22-OCT-99 Hawley, C.C. and Hudson, Travis L. Hawley Resource Group

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative Alaska resources

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