1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Pioneer Gulch

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Silver, Gold
Map
XML
JSON
KML
B
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 10308946
MRDS ID A012819
Record type Site
Current site name Pioneer Gulch
Related records 10184637, 10001975

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -165.42359, 64.69459 (WGS84)
Relative position This partly residual, alluvial placer gold mine is in Pioneer Gulch, a small west tributary to upper Snake River on the east side of hill 1276. The map site is in the NW1/4 section 23, T. 9 S., R. 34 W., Kateel River Meridian. It includes localities 35 and 90 of Cobb (1972 [MF 463], 1978 [OFR 78-93]) and locality 14 of Hummel (1962 [MF 247]).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nome(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Nome C-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)

Federal lands

Sitnasuak Native Corporation(ANCSA Village)

ANCSA Village NTVPIC(Type of land area)

NTVPIC(Federal land areas administered by NTVPIC)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Silver Primary
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Gold Ore
Pyrite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Quartz Gangue

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) -165.42359, 64.69459
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = A partly residual alluvial gold placer was mined in Pioneer Gulch as early as 1903 (Collier and others, 1908). Its discovery must have occurred early in the history of the Nome District because a 4.5 mile-long ditch had been constructed from Last Chance Creek to Pioneer Gulch by September of 1903 (Collier and others, 1908, p. 183). The placer gold was coarse and angular, and some had attached quartz fragments (Moffit, 1913). Prospecting for lode deposits, including at least one shaft, identified narrow limonitic calcite-quartz veins containing pyrite, arsenopyrite, and free gold (Cathcart, 1922). Gold-bearing quartz veins were exposed on the property in 1992. The veins cut graphitic schist that probably has an early Paleozoic protolith age (Hummel, 1962 [MF 247]; Sainsbury, Hummel, and Hudson, 1972 [OFR 72-326]; Till and Dumoulin, 1994; Bundtzen and others, 1994).
  • Age = Quaternary; veins are mid-Cretaceous or younger because they cut schist metamorphosed in the mid-Cretaceous.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Nome

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Surface mining of alluvial placer deposits commenced in 1903, and a residual placer deposit was mined by 1913. Hard rock exploration, including at least one shaft, was reported by Cathcart (1922).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Moffit, 1913

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Alluvial placer Au, in part residual, and low-sulfide Au-quartz veins (Cox and Singer, 1986; models 39a and 36a).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 10-JUL-00 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

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.