Prometheus (ARDF #FB041) Au

Prometheus

Prospect, Inactive

Commodities and mineralogy

Main commodities	Au
Other commodities	Ag; Cu; Sb
Ore minerals	arsenopyrite; chalcopyrite; covellite; gold; jamesonite; stibnite; tetrahedrite

Geographic location

Quadrangle map, 1:250,000-scale	FB
Quadrangle map, 1:63,360-scale	D-2
Latitude	64.8744
Longitude	-148.005
Nearby scientific data	Find additional scientific data near this location
Location and accuracy	The Prometheus prospect is located in the NW1/4 sec. 32, T. 1 N., R. 2 W, Fairbanks Meridian. The Prometheus shaft is at an elevation of approximately 1,500 feet, just northwest of the Wandering Jew mine (FB042). The exact location is uncertain, but it is about 1.5 miles east-southeast of the top of Ester Dome on the basis of the description by Hill (1933, p. 121,148). The prospect is included in locality 14 of Cobb (1972 [MF 410]).

Geologic setting

Geologic description By 1913, a 60-foot shaft was sunk on an 8-foot-wide quartz vein that carried stibnite and disseminated sulfides; visible gold was reported to be fairly common (Smith, 1913 [B 525, p. 208]; Hill, 1933, p. 148). Samples from the dump contained two generations of quartz cut by fine veinlets of stibnite; some rocks have the greenish-yellow antimony-oxide stain (Chapin, 1914, p. 355). When visited in 1931, the Prometheus shaft was filled with water (Hill, 1933, p. 148). Surface exposures of the vein indicated that it trended N. 40 E. The ore on the dump consisted of white quartz cut by later veinlets of gray quartz with sulfides (Hill, 1933, p. 148). A grab sample from this ore pile assayed $9.52 in gold and silver and contained 6.4 ounces of silver per ton (Hill, 1933, p. 148). The sulfides include arsenopyrite, jamesonite, covellite, chalcopyrite, and tetrahedrite (Hill, 1933, p. 148; Chapman and Foster, 1969, p. D18).
Geologic map unit	(-148.007430232336, 64.873963721105)
Mineral deposit model	Schist-hosted gold-quartz vein

Production and reserves

Workings or exploration	By 1913, a 60-foot shaft had been sunk on an auriferous quartz vein (Smith, 1913, p. 208).
Indication of production	Undetermined
Production notes	No information is available.

References

MRDS Number	A015269
References Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Lode mining near Fairbanks, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-J, p. 321-355. Chapman, R.M., and Foster, R.L., 1969, Lode mines and prospects in the Fairbanks district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 625-D, 25 p., 1 plate. Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-410, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-662, 174 p. Hill, J.M., 1933, Lode deposits of the Fairbanks district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 849-B, p. 29-163. Killeen, P.L., and Mertie, J.B., 1951, Antimony ore in the Fairbanks District, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 51-46, 43 p. Smith, P.S., 1913, Lode mining near Fairbanks, in Prindle, L.M., A geologic reconnaissance of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 525, p. 153-216. Smith, P.S., 1913, Lode mining near Fairbanks: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 542-F, p. 137-202.
Reporters	J.R. Guidetti Schaefer and C.J. Freeman (Avalon Development Corporation)
Last report date	7/31/2001