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Last Chance Creek

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Commodities and mineralogy

Main commodities PGE
Ore minerals platinum-group metal alloys

Geographic location

Quadrangle map, 1:250,000-scale HG
Quadrangle map, 1:63,360-scale D-6
Latitude 58.94
Longitude -161.71
Nearby scientific data Find additional scientific data near this location
Location and accuracy Last Chance Creek is a 0.6-mile-long west tributary to Salmon River. It is between Boulder (HG026) and Squirrel Creek (HG013). It is included in locality 8 of Cobb (1972 [MF 362]; 1980 [OF 80-909]).

Geologic setting

Geologic description

Platinum-bearing alluvium is reported to be present in this creek, but apparently not in mineable grades or volumes (Mertie, 1976). A Defense Minerals Exploration Administration contract funded drilling of 50 exploration holes in alluvium along the east side of Red Mountain between Last Chance and Dowry Creeks in 1953. The depths of these drill holes ranged from 5 to 51 feet and the PGM content ranged from 0 to 0.0085 ounce of PGM per cubic yard (Fechner, 1988). Last Chance Creek flows across Paleozoic or Mesozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks that are intruded by the Jurassic Red Mountain ultramafic pluton (Hoare and Coonrad, 1978). The border zone of this pluton is within a few hundred feet of the upstream limit of the creek.
Geologic map unit (-161.712225546316, 58.939216294557)
Mineral deposit model Placer PGE-Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39b)
Mineral deposit model number 39b
Age of mineralization Quaternary.

Production and reserves

Workings or exploration A Defense Minerals Exploration Administration contract funded drilling of 50 exploration holes in alluvium along the east side of Red Mountain between Last Chance and Dowry Creeks in 1953. The depths of these drill holes ranged from 5 to 51 feet and the PGM content ranged from 0 to 0.0085 ounce of PGM per cubic yard (Fechner, 1988, p. 80).
Indication of production None

References

MRDS Number A013210

References

Cobb, E.H., 1977, Placer deposit map of central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-168-B, 64 p., 1 map, scale 1:1,000,000.
Cobb, E.H., 1980, Summaries of data and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in fifteen quadrangles in southwestern and west-central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-909, 103 p.
Fechner, S.A., 1988, Bureau of Mines mineral investigation of the Goodnews Bay mining district, Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 1-88, 230 p., 3 sheets.
Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1976, Platinum deposits in the Goodnews Bay district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 938, 42 p.
Reporters Travis L. Hudson
Last report date 3/18/2001