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Kwiniuk River

Occurrence in Alaska, United States with commodities Copper, REE, Tungsten
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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. Host and associated rocks
  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 10309014
MRDS ID A012572
Record type Site
Current site name Kwiniuk River
Related records 10001779

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -162.35925, 64.72835 (WGS84)
Relative position This occurrence is at about 175 feet elevation on a north tributary to the Kwiniuk River. The mouth of this tributary is 1.6 miles downstream from the confluence of Kwiniuk River and a major south tributary that is unnamed on the curent USGS topographic map, but is identified as Corral Creek by West (1953, Plate 1). This is locality 134 of Cobb (1972, MF 445; 1978, OF 78-181).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nome(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Solomon C-1(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Solomon NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Solomon(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Norton Bay(hydrologic unit)

Norton Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Elim 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
Copper Primary
REE Critical Primary
Tungsten Critical Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Allanite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Powellite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Apatite Gangue
Epidote Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Hematite Gangue
Hornblende Gangue
Magnetite Gangue
Rutile Gangue
Sphene Gangue
Spinel Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
    Chronological age 88.3
    Dating method K-Ar
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Cretaceous
    Chronological age 92.8
    Dating method K-Ar
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type

Nearby scientific data

(1) -162.35925, 64.72835
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = A heavy-mineral concentrate from stream gravels at this locality contained sphene, hornblende, allanite, apatite, hematite, garnet; traces of spinel, scheelite, powellite, magnetite, epidote, rutile, pyrite, and chalcopyrite. This sample (approximate concentration ratio of 230:1) contained 0.017% equivalent uranium (sample 2961, West, 1953). The stream drains the contact between the Darby pluton (Miller and others, 1972; Miller and Bunker, 1976; Johnson and others, 1979) and Paleozoic marble and related metasedimentary rocks (Till and others, 1986). The slightly uraniferous granodiorite and granite of the Darby pluton is mid-Cretaceous; K/Ar ages for the Darby pluton are 88.3 +/- 1.5 and 92.8 +/- 2.6 Ma (Berry and others, 1976). The possible sources of heavy minerals in the stream gravels include skarns, veins, and disseminations at or near the contact of the Darby pluton and metasedimentary rocks. The widespread elevated Nb values in stream sediments (Miller and Grybeck, 1973) and in heavy -mineral concentrates (West, 1953) of the Clear Creek-Vulcan Creek area to the north may indicate specific mineralized zones or disseminations in late, felsic phases of the Darby pluton (Miller and Grybeck, 1973).
  • Age = Chron age is for the Darby pluton.
  • Age = The lode source of the heavy minerals in the stream gravels is probably mid-Cretaceous, the age of the Darby pluton; K/Ar ages for the Darby pluton are 88.3 +/- 1.5 and 92.8 +/- 2.6 Ma (Berry and others, 1976).

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Council

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = There are no known workings; exploration in the region may have included reconnaissance stream sediment sampling and radiometric surveys.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    West, W.S., 1953, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in the Darby Mountains, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 1948: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 300, 7 p.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic resources map of the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-445, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Miller, T.P., Grybeck, D.J., Elliott, R.L., and Hudson, T.L., 1972, Preliminary geologic map of the eastern Solomon and southeastern Bendeleben quadrangles, eastern Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 72-256, 11 p.

  • Deposit

    Miller, T.P., and Grybeck, D.J., 1973, Geochemical survey of the eastern Solomon and southeastern Bendeleben quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 553, 115 p.

  • Deposit

    Berry, A.L., Dalrymple, G.B., Lamphere, M.A., and Von Essen, J.C., 1976, Summary of miscellaneous potassium-argon age determinations, U. S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, for the years 1972-1974: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 727, 13 p.

  • Deposit

    Miller, T.P., and Bunker, C.M., 1976, A reconnaissance study of the uranium and thorium contents of plutonic rocks of the southeastern Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Journal of Research, v. 4, p. 367-377.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-181, 185 p.

  • Deposit

    Johnson, B.R., Miller, T.P., and Karl, S., 1979, Uranium-thorium investigations of the Darby pluton, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 804-B, p. 68-70.

  • Deposit

    Till, A.B., Dumoulin, J.A., Gamble, B. ., Kaufman, D.S., and Carroll, P.I., 1986, Preliminary geologic map and fossil data, Soloman, Bendeleben, and southern Kotzebue quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 86-276, 10 p., 3 plates, scale 1:250,000.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = West, 1953

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Skarns, veins, or disseminations at or near the contact of the Darby pluton and metasedimentary rocks; disseminations in late, felsic phases of the Darby pluton.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 19-AUG-1999 Travis L. Hudson Applied Geology

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.